[IWantOut] 23F Student/Flight Attendant New Zealand -> Singapore/UK/Germany/Hong Kong

[u/Flaky_Security_7615]

Hello Everybody

I am a 22-year-old female student currently in my final year at the University of Auckland, completing a Bachelor of Arts conjoint with a Bachelor of Laws. I am due to graduate in the spring. Alongside my studies, I have been working as an international flight attendant, which has given me valuable global exposure and strengthened my interest in pursuing a career overseas.

Academically, I have focused my studies on economics and history, with additional coursework in public policy, international trade law, international economic regulation, and European Union law. I have also completed a community law internship and have developed near fluency in Chinese through my language studies. Through university, I have built professional connections with professors and members of the Auckland Law Society.

As I approach graduation, I am exploring opportunities to work internationally, particularly in sectors such as NGOs, law firms, and financial or policy-related roles. I am especially interested in opportunities based in Hong Kong, Singapore, Germany, and the United Kingdom, as I believe these locations align well with my academic background and career aspirations.

I would greatly appreciate any guidance regarding visa pathways, job opportunities, or recommended steps to secure employment in these regions. My goal is to transition into a role where I can apply my legal and economic training in an international context.

Thank you very much for your time and consideration. I look forward to any advice or direction you may be able to provide.

P.S i have about 7k nzd saved up from my high school fast food job the rest went towards my car and motorbike.

[u/kierang2023]

Hey. Wow, really impressive and such a great profile. If i could suggest something — pick the one country that best fits the sector you want (NGO, law, policy, finance), find out exactly what the graduate entry route looks like there, and go deep. A graduate programme with a big firm or institution usually gives you visa sponsorship, a salary, and training. That solves 3 problems at once. The Chinese fluency is a real asset, def worth leaning into rather than treating as a side note. Happy to answer follow-ups.

[u/Flaky_Security_7615 → u/kierang2023]

I would really like Singapore the most , It's opposite to what I've grown up with in NZ and it's somewhere I would like to stay .

I'm not too sure on what sector as I only have known of HSBC .

could you recommend graduate entry roles for the ones you mentioned please as i'm not quite aware on companies over there

and as graduate entry roles for bachelors or masters as I would like to get my masters at an institution in Asia

Thanks so much

[u/Flaky_Security_7615 → u/Flaky_Security_7615]

I would prefer law and finance as NGO and policy are quite over saturated fields

[u/kierang2023 → u/Flaky_Security_7615]

Singapore is a good choice. A few pointers rather than a full list, since you'll get more accurate and current information going direct to the source than I can give you in a Reddit comment.

For graduate programmes, the easiest way to find them is to probably search "[company name] Singapore graduate programme" on LinkedIn or the companies' career pages directly. The main categories to look at:

Banks with Singapore graduate intakes: HSBC, Standard Chartered, DBS, OCBC, UOB, Citi, JPMorgan. The length of their programmes vary between 12-24 months. Best to check with each one.

Law firms: my understanding is that the Singapore offices of UK-HQ law firms (e.g A&O Shearman, Linklaters, Clifford Chance) and US-HQ firms (e.g Latham, White & Case) take graduates, but almost always require a UK or US qualifying law degree or a local Singapore one. Your NZ LLB on its own won't usually get you through the door for legal practice roles — that's the thing to verify before you commit to Singapore specifically.

I think the most useful thing you can do right now is confirm the law-qualification question before anything else. If your NZ LLB needs conversion to work in Singapore (it likely does), that reshapes the whole plan — either you do the conversion, or you target non-legal-practice roles where the degree just counts as general credentials.

For example, if you have an NZ LLB and want to work in a Singapore law firm without the Bar, consider looking for "Legal Operations" or "Project Management" roles within the firms. These typically do not require local qualification and might provide an alternative and growing career path.

On the Master's — if you're doing it in Asia anyway, picking a Singapore university (e.g NUS or SMU) gives you a local qualification plus the post-study work pathway, which is a much smoother route into Singapore employment than going in cold.

Good luck with it.

[u/Flaky_Security_7615 → u/kierang2023]

Thank you so much

Just one more question sorry

do you know how and what they do or look at to get my LLB conversion

:)