Overseas experience

Overseas experience

Local business schools have been playing catch-up with global teaching methodologies and textbooks after aspiring young people flocked to the United States and the United Kingdom for degrees in subjects such as finance, economics and management in the hope of riding Shanghai's financial market boom in the near future.,Discount Nike shoes,

After graduating, many of them sought jobs in New York, London and Hong Kong instead of returning to Shanghai in the belief that challenging and dynamic job opportunities in a mature market would be a better stepping stone in their career paths.

Admitted into the masters program in management at London Business School, 22-year-old Wu Yabin is determined to start with a job in the UK capital after graduation. "I am confident about Shanghai's outlook as a global financial center and would like to go back eventually. But overseas working experience is essential if I am to find a management-level job in the future," he said.

While Shanghai is likely to lose finance graduates who care more about global exposure in a mature market to New York and Hong Kong, it does mean those who elect to go to Shanghai can climb up the career ladder more quickly and face less fierce competition.

Seven years ago, Zhang Tianxiang returned to Shanghai from Australia with an actuary degree, a major barely heard of on the Chinese mainland back then. Now aged 29, Zhang has already been promoted to a management position at an insurance company.

"Quite a few department heads and fund managers are in their early 30s. We would not be in management positions this quickly had we worked in New York or Hong Kong, where there are much more experienced financial professionals," Zhang said.