How business school helped me plan my career direction

Many ambitious professionals dream of working with top multinationals; the world’s leading employers provide wide-ranging opportunities and access to diverse career pathways.

For Eddie Cheung, a graduate of the University of Hong Kong Business School (HKU Business School), completing a Master of Science in Business Analytics helped shape his career at PwC, one of the Big Four accounting and professional services firms.

Prior to enrolling, Eddie joined PwC Hong Kong as a tax associate in September 2022. From September 2023 to May 2024, he balanced his full-time master’s alongside his role at PwC. The experience gave him new ways to apply technology and analytics to his work, and in October 2024, shortly after graduating, he was promoted to senior consultant. Since then, his career has shifted from traditional compliance work toward integrating technology and analytics into tax and business consulting.

Spending time at business school helped Eddie (pictured) refine the direction in which he wanted to take his career and plan how to maximize his impact. Here, he shares some of the key career benefits he feels studying for a business master’s degree can provide.

Gaining valuable workplace skills

Undertaking a master’s degree at business school can provide you with both technical capabilities and human-oriented skills that are transferable across a variety of functions and roles.

When considering where to apply for his degree, HKU stood out to Eddie due to its world-class faculty and the practical curriculum of its Master’s in Business Analytics. He appreciated that it integrated modern analytics tools with real-world business applications.

During his studies at HKU, Eddie developed his skills through capstone projects and real-world dataset modeling. He also gained practical exposure to machine learning, AI frameworks, and business intelligence tools, while learning how to apply them directly to commercial operations.

“The program equipped me with data-driven problem-solving skills, enabling me to approach tax advisory and business process analysis with an analytical mindset—a capability highly valued by PwC,” Eddie explains.

Careers support at business school

At business school, having access to careers support as you navigate the next steps in your journey can be crucial to your development. Often, careers teams play a vital part in preparing students to find new roles or helping them ascend to higher positions.

For Eddie, making use of the Career Development and Training (CDT) team helped him refine his career narrative and see how a combination of business analytics skills and accounting experience could set him apart within a large consulting firm and open doors to new opportunities. The CDT team offers career development workshops, personalized coaching, and networking events to help connect students with employers in their target industries.

“The careers department provided clear industry benchmarks and helped me articulate a distinct value proposition, one that combines specialized professional qualifications such as my Certified Public Accountant (CPA) and Certified Tax Advisor (CTA) certifications with modern data analytics capabilities suited for consulting roles,” he explains.

Throughout the program, Eddie made full use of the opportunities offered by the CDT team. Career coaches helped him review his resume, sharpen his interview technique, and present his data analytics skills effectively. Networking events, including alumni receptions and corporate mixers, also helped him build lasting connections across the consulting, technology, and financial sectors.

Similarly, panel sessions enabled him to learn directly from leaders about ongoing developments within his industry and other sectors while gaining greater insight into business across the globe.

Highlights included attending a seminar focused on how companies can transition from ESG awareness to practical application, and a Leader Entrepreneur Forum series that covered topics such as the strategic opportunities and challenges facing Chinese enterprises going abroad.

“I attended several industry sharing panels and guest speaker sessions featuring senior business leaders and entrepreneurs, along with career mentorship sessions involving alumni and industry professionals,” Eddie says.

Building professional relationships

Reflecting on his experience at HKU, Eddie says it was the combination of one-on-one career advice and extensive networking opportunities that he found most useful in shaping his career direction.

During his studies, he benefited from numerous networking opportunities, ranging from interacting with recruiters to gaining access to an active, highly responsive alumni network. This network included people working across a range of major firms, and Eddie was invited to alumni receptions, corporate mixers, and guest speaker panels, all hosted by the CDT.

“The program brought together a diverse group of high-caliber peers and industry-leading guest speakers,” says Eddie. “Through active involvement in student leadership and alumni engagement initiatives, I was able to build lasting professional relationships across the corporate consulting, technology, and financial sectors.”

Giving back as an alumnus

Since graduating from HKU in May 2024 and stepping into his senior consultant role at PwC later that year, Eddie has remained closely connected with the HKU community. Now serving as vice president of the Young Alumni Ambassador Committee, he helps to organize engagement initiatives and mentors current students who are looking to bridge the gap between traditional professional services and modern data analytics.

For others looking to pursue a similar path, he advises focusing on developing the ability to translate complex data insights into clear, actionable business strategies—a key learning he took from his degree. At firms like PwC, this is a particularly important skill and one that is highly sought after today, especially when modernizing client solutions.

He also suggests building a strong professional network that you can leverage to gain opportunities and guidance within the industry: “Take full advantage of career resources, and consistently demonstrate how your analytical skill set can address real-world client challenges.”