Chapter 10: Working in Hong Kong

Yan, a recent doctoral graduate in applied linguistics from a university in Hong Kong, was thrilled to receive a job offer from a very prestigious university in Hong Kong. She finally found a faculty position after spending a couple of years as a post-doctoral fellow in one of Hong Kong’s universities. However, she was surprised to see that most of her friends were worried. They told her that the university she was going to work in was the one of the best universities in the region but it was also a place of tension and stress. She would be expected to do so much that she might destroy her health. As there was no tenure system like that in North American universities, she might have to keep struggling for contractual renewal before she was offered a permanent position. Nevertheless, universities in Hong Kong do offer extremely competitive remuneration packages. It is also a great place for doctoral graduates to prove themselves as competent academics.