You can find out a ton of info on Cathay at
www.pprune.com. Look under the Fragrant Harbor section of the message boards and also under the South Asia and Far East section. Cathay does hire into the pax side, but they start as second officers and gradually work their way up to first officer. They also all are required to be based in HK. They do get housing allowances, but I don't know the pay scales.