HI all, I had graduated and worked in a boutique market research firm for one year. And I am thinking of a career switch to an industry that is more professional and promising. And by all means, I want to make this decision quick and under full consideration, so I am dropping a question here for advises.

I have two industries in mind, management consulting and equity research. I know both are very hard to get in, but I am ready to put in effort and preparation for the sake of long term benefit of my career.

For management consulting, this is the field that I am interested in. But it seems to me that there are not many openings in HK for degree holders. For equity research, I think this route is though still difficult, but more realistic at this stage as I have a finance degree background. So my questions are:

- Comparison between the two industries in terms the difficulty of getting in as a junior position and career prospect. (To me, seems like the route of equity research is broader as it could be a gateway to banking)

- From which point that I should get in the industries? (For equity research: i.e. Should I aim at some local brokerage / asset management firms to build up some basic skills?) (For management consulting: I don't see many boutique/ local consulting firms, any other industries would be considered as relevant experience?)

- What skills should I acquire in order to be more competitive to be considered as a competent candidate?