The Frustration of Undergraduates 🎓 23 years of Earning Power
Recently, I was chatting with a group of undergraduates.
Many of them shared the same fear: not being able to land a job after graduation.
One final-year student told me he applied to over 30 jobs
And received only ONE interview.
He felt hopeless.
Others had given up on job hunting entirely.
I tried my best to encourage them, because I genuinely believe we should help our younger generation.
They are our future 💛
Here's what I shared with them:
The job market has changed.
Qualifications are no longer the deciding factor.
Connections and work experience matter more.
So I told them:
🔹 Get an internship or placement BEFORE you graduate
🔹 Ask your parents, cousins, anyone to get referred into a company, just to gain real work experience first
I also asked them two uncomfortable questions:
❓ "Why should an employer hire YOU?"
❓ "What value do you bring your boss and why should someone pay you HK$20k a month?"
And for those who still can't land a job?
I encouraged them to sell their skills.
Any skill the market is willing to pay for.
Honestly, I think every university should teach entrepreneurship.
At minimum, graduates should know how to survive
how to make money from a skill or product they created themselves.
Because here's the hard truth:
Qualifications and technical knowledge matter less and less.
AI and computers already beat humans on knowledge and memory 🤖
And unless you're pursuing academia..
Skip the extra Master's or PhD.
Here's my math:
We graduate at 22. That gives us roughly 23 years of earning power.
I've seen too many people laid off and retrenched at 45.
Every extra degree shortens your earning window from 23 years to under 20.
And even if you make HK$1 million a year and save 50%
That's HK$10 million by 45.
With lifespans now reaching 90+, that's simply not enough to retire on... or to be forced into retirement on.
So my message to all undergraduates and all employees:
Take your skill set seriously.
Make as much as you can from your job, AND outside your job. 💰
Because after 45, we are all in a risky and vulnerable position unless you're in Sales.
I cover mostly back office roles in the FS industry.
I've witnessed too many candidates at Director level and above get restructured — labelled "too expensive" — while their roles get outsourced to India, Malaysia, and Manila.
So tell me 👇
Final-year students and fresh grads — how is the job hunt really going for you?
And to the experienced hires: what's your plan for staying valuable past 45?
PS: If you’re job hunting today, feel free to check out my guides on:
📝 Fixing Your CV & LinkedIn in 1 Day
If you enjoy my writing, subscribe to my Substack ✍️ nicolehui.substack.com
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