Moving to Hawaii for Grad school and have to work. What cool jobs can I choose from?

Well Wahine, welcome to Hawaii, you gonna have great time, ok? Problem rite now here is very high unemployment, higher than politicians admit, ok? Also, you gonna be limited to certain job cause just not a lot going on here rite now, ok? If you have ever worked in hospitality industry, like maybe food server, or cashier, then you can look there too, so job where you find them, and good luck you gonna have great experience what eva you decide to do, ok?' Peace and aloha to you!

I had fun teaching English to Japanese students in Hawaii. You can do it at Tokai University or on campus with the NICE Program. It doesn't pay much but I loved meeting so many people. The job is called English Conversation Partner. You could also try to get a Teaching Assistantship in a different department on campus.

Well, when I was in Hawaii for grad school, I had friends who delivered cell phones to tourists and convinced tourists to take free tours of Maui Divers (as a way to get them to buy jewelry). Both of those jobs required them to be able to hold a conversation in Japanese. Hawaii used to be an economy based on agriculture: sugar and pineapple. Agriculture has been on the way out for decades, so tourism is mostly what we have left. Hawaii is one of the most unionized economies you will ever find, and the unions exist primarily to protect jobs for Local people. And by Local with a capital L, I mean people whose families used to work on the plantations back in the day. On the other hand, if you can put on a cheerful face, and a friendly, helpful tone in your voice, you'll definitely have an advantage over most folks who grew up here in the field of customer service.

This is my standard answer that I give. There are good things about living in Hawaii and there are some not so good thing about living in in Hawaii. Living here is not a 24/7 vacation there are no grass shacks on the beach. I say this because people come here expecting it. And when they find out the truth they go back to the mainland disappointed and complaining about Hawaii. Don't come here to be homeless. it is illegal and annoying.Have money saved. Oahu is the most populated. There are areas where it really crowded. And other areas where it less crowded. The weather great it does not get bellow 60 degrees. Hawaii is expensive. Ninety percent of everything is shipped in this is the main reason it cost more. Gas prices are in the high three dollar range. Visiting Hawaii is different then living here when you visit you don't pay rent or utilities. Right now our unemployment rate is quite high . If you want to work in tourism it good to know another language. With out an college education you will need to work more than one minimum wage job to survive.Another think about jobs. If you are only going to be here for a short time jobs will go to Locals first. Our Public Educational system is lacking. It goes way beyond the Furlough Fridays. Hawaii is just as safe as anywhere else maybe safer. That is not to say Hawaii does not have crime. One of out biggest problems is with illegal drugs .We have everything the mainland has except for a few restaurants and stores. The water that surrounds us does not make much of a difference. No Daylight Savings Time we never move out clock forward or back. We have an excellent bus system on Oahu. If you are willing to take the time then it will cut down on gas costs. You can have car but you might want to take the bus most of the time and use a car only when really needed. Right now gas is in the mid to high three dollar range. I have seen gas at $3.49. Hawaii is one of most culturally diverse place in America. We have several cultures here. Hawaiians being the most obvious. We also have a diverse Asian population; Japanese, Chinese, Filipino, Thai, Vietnamese (sp?). All these culture differ. And it is best if you learn the differences. If you love food Hawaii is one of the best places to be. Due to our many cultures we have many different kinds of food. Try them all. Since we have many different cultures in Hawaii there are many set of "rules" all of them slightly different. Make an effort to learn. When you make an effort to learn the the differences then you will be accepted. There is racism in Hawaii, racism is everywhere. Some of the racism is aimed at Whites. Racism at White is not all that common so you will get Whites saying that all Locals and or Hawaiian are racist. That is not true. The Locals and Hawaiians who are racist toward Whites tend to be racist against other cultures. Racism is not right. But it does exist. Not everybody who lives in Hawaii is Hawaiian. To be Hawaiian to must have Hawaiian blood. Or be of Hawaiian ancestry. If you are like me and have lived in Hawaii all their life but have no Hawaiian blood you are considered a Local. Do not call anyone in Hawaii "natives" if you have to say Native Hawaiian. We also have a dialect of Pidgin Creole English. Or it is called Pidgin for short. This language was created during the plantation days. We had workers from all over Asia and the Pacific they all spoke different languages and the needed a way to communicate. So a new language grew and was created.There a some who hear Pidgin an the equate it with lack of intelligence. Do not do this! Then there is what can be called "Rock Fever" some people tend to feel trapped because they can't drive anywhere else but Hawaii. There is no way you can drive into another state. If you need to fly home to the Mainland then 1) take more time because you have to fly over an ocean first. 2) Will cost more because you have fly home. The problem with jobs in counseling is your lack of understanding of Hawaii's culture/ It is not something that can be picked-up from reading books. you need experience of living here for a few years. You might be able to work with the military.