Hi All,Suppose one (non-US resident) gets a better position in HK compared to the ones offered in NYC at present time, but eventually he/she wants to end up working in Wall St, NYC. Which path should he/she take? 1. Going for HK for the better position and plan to transfer to NYC or,2. Going for NYC for lesser position and plan to move to a better positionIn general, is it difficult to get transferred from one location to another in quant finance field? [e.g. HK, Tokyo, London, NYC]Thanks a bunch,L

i could be wrong, but I suspect it's very difficult to transfer. companies perfer to hire "new blood" at lower salaries. once you gain experience in HK, you will be more expensive. if NYC doesn't hire you now, why would they hire you after you are more expensive and also have to pay for your expensive relocation?

From what I have seen (as a headhunter operating in the AsiaPac market, but initially started in the European market) quant skills are more transferable between geographies than most other types of jobs in Markets. Unlike certain types of trading, structuring and sales jobs, local market knowledge is significantly less important to be a successful & effective quant. Modelling / coding skills are fairly transferable. In answer to Legacy's question - personally my advice would be if you want to end up in NY then stay in NY. However it really depends on the specifics of the two jobs you are being offered e.g. if it's a f/o quant role in HK vs model val in NY, and your goal is to end up as a f/o quant in NY, then the HK role may be better as you will be picking up the skills you need for where you want to end up. If you can tell us more about what you eventually want to do and what the 2 offers you have are then I can give some more specific advice. If it is your first quant role then I think it's important to gain experience in London, NY or Tokyo over HK. In the first 3 locations you will find well developed quant groups where there is a wealth of experience for you to learn from. The HK or Singapore quant groups are smaller and there is a lower number of very experienced senior quants in these two locations. For this same reason moving to HK or Singapore under the right circumstances can be a very good and lucrative move for anyone with 3+ years experience.

Thanks guys,@NShah,To be frank, I don't know much about the roles that I am going to undertake as yet; I'm currently attending an MFE program and my question is based on the input that I received from the most recent alumni of the program. Many of them told me that they're heading to HK as the job offers there are generally more appealing [for fresh grads] than the ones in NYC. But I'm concerned with the difficulty to return to the States to work in NYC later as I'm not a US resident.London is definitely a great option, nevertheless I'm taking the MFE program in US and wondering how difficult it is to secure a job in London upon graduation.Many thanks,L

QuoteTo be frank, I don't know much about the roles that I am going to undertake as yet; I'm currently attending an MFE program and my question is based on the input that I received from the most recent alumni of the program. Many of them told me that they're heading to HK as the job offers there are generally more appealing [for fresh grads] than the ones in NYC. But I'm concerned with the difficulty to return to the States to work in NYC later as I'm not a US resident.I suggest applying to firms and positions in both HK & NY and see how you get on. When you have more than one offer in hand then there is a decision to make. Without wanting to sound blunt until you have more than one offer in hand there is no decision to make. My feeling is that this year it is going to be a lot harder for entry level people to get good jobs than anytime since 2002. In general if you do end up taking that first job outside of the US it will be fairly difficult to get a job in the US later without having gained any US based experience. Internal transfers are still the easiest way to make it happen. These last two statements are massive generalisations - it all depends on what sort of skill set you gain and what the respective appetite for that skill set is in NY, HK or any other location.

How about if the job market in Zurich and Toronto for quantitative positions like risk analyst, asset analyst, financial engineer? I also believe that NYC, London should be more superior to other cities in financial market. How about the others like Tokyo, Zurich, Toronto, Chicago, HK, Singapore, how would you rank them for the prospect of quantitative related market?Look forward to your reply.

QuoteOriginally posted by: NShahFrom what I have seen (as a headhunter operating in the AsiaPac market, but initially started in the European market) quant skills are more transferable between geographies than most other types of jobs in Markets. Unlike certain types of trading, structuring and sales jobs, local market knowledge is significantly less important to be a successful & effective quant. Modelling / coding skills are fairly transferable. For this same reason moving to HK or Singapore under the right circumstances can be a very good and lucrative move for anyone with 3+ years experience.NShah, how do you think about the chance one can get to transfer to Asia (HK, Japan, etc) with experience of high-frequency futures trading job in the US? Is 3+ years experience a requirement (or kind-of) in the transferring market? What's the minimum amount of experience you think that one can use as an advantage during the transfer? Thank you!

QuoteOriginally posted by: legacyThanks guys,@NShah,To be frank, I don't know much about the roles that I am going to undertake as yet; I'm currently attending an MFE program and my question is based on the input that I received from the most recent alumni of the program. Many of them told me that they're heading to HK as the job offers there are generally more appealing [for fresh grads] than the ones in NYC. But I'm concerned with the difficulty to return to the States to work in NYC later as I'm not a US resident.London is definitely a great option, nevertheless I'm taking the MFE program in US and wondering how difficult it is to secure a job in London upon graduation.Many thanks,LWhy are many of the alumni heading to HK? Is it because they could not find a job in the US or is it because they found US jobs but could not get the work visa (h-1b)?

According to one alumnus (he is going to HK for a trading position in a BB), it was because some of the positions offered in HK are significantly better than the ones offered in NYC.