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Hi guys I decided to share my experience looking for jobs in Honolulu. I moved to Hawaii because my husband got station at the hickam air force base. Thankfully this is his last year in the service. I have applied for jobs almost everywhere so I think I'm somehow well informed on how the job market is at least in certain sections. I have a degree in business administration and have worked in hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail stores, office jobs Ive done all sorts of things. I thought since I have experience in costumer service it will be easy for me to land on a job at any of the multiple hotels in Waikiki. How wrong I was.
Jobs in Hospitality: unless you speak Japanese,Korean or Chinese hotels won't even consider your application. Waikiki's hotels are monopolized by the Hilton and Sheraton chains, 99% or their jobs will require you to speak japanese.I have been turn down soo many times because I don't speak Japanese. If you do speak Japanese I highly highly encourage you to get a job at a hotel. Just by speaking Japanese you can make no less than 15 dollars an hour for Just greeting people.
Have in consideration that Hawaii for it's proximity to Asia is the dream destination for countries like Japan and Korea. Most of Hawaii's tourists come from those countries so if you can speak any of those languages regardless if you are trained or not, you will be ahead of your game.
Retail jobs: Most retail jobs will pay you minimum wage. Even highly recognized brands like banana republic, nine west, Gap, bebe will star paying you 8 dollars an hour. I can get this if I was living in Oklahoma or Texas where the cost of living is much much lower than Hawaii. Also almost all stores avoid hiring full timers so they can get away with paying any benefits. So even if you get a minimum wage job you will only work part time. And that's pretty much the same situation everywhere on the island.
It is very difficult for mainlanders to get a decent paying job because most employers won't trust you will stay on the island. it's definitely tough right now. Sometimes I read comments from people thinking how easy will be to get a job at a hotel, restaurant or any store since Hawaii is all about tourism but it is not always that way.
Reading this makes the South look like a liberal worker's paradise...lol. $8 an hour for retail, when everything costs 2x as much as on the mainland?!? The state needs to raise its min wage to where it can meet the basic costs of living - in Hawaii, I would expect that to be no less than $15 an hour. And this practice of having everyone working 19 hours a week to avoid paying benefits is just atrocious - talk about a loophole that you can drive a truck through. It'd make great sense to pass a law that says each employee is guaranteed 20 hours a week, presto, the problem of not having health insurance would be diminished instantly.
Oh yeah, the language requirements of these hotels really sticks in my craw, what American citizen is going to take the time and trouble to learn Japanese - just to work in a friggin' hotel? They need to outlaw that too - English is America's language, there's no reason for *anyone* to have to learn a new language just to work - to think otherwise is just wrong, and yes, un-american.
And haven't the good folks in Hawaii learned about rent control and such? Sure, shortages would develop, but at least that would stem more people coming over (sorry, Hawaii dreamers, the state is really all filled up...lol), and lower rents would improve the standard of living island-wide, due to exorbitant real estate prices.
I just find a bit distressing to hear about how such a beautiful state can make it so difficult for its residents to live like, well, Americans....lol.
Reading this makes the South look like a liberal worker's paradise...lol. $8 an hour for retail, when everything costs 2x as much as on the mainland?!? The state needs to raise its min wage to where it can meet the basic costs of living - in Hawaii, I would expect that to be no less than $15 an hour. And this practice of having everyone working 19 hours a week to avoid paying benefits is just atrocious - talk about a loophole that you can drive a truck through. It'd make great sense to pass a law that says each employee is guaranteed 20 hours a week, presto, the problem of not having health insurance would be diminished instantly.
Oh yeah, the language requirements of these hotels really sticks in my craw, what American citizen is going to take the time and trouble to learn Japanese - just to work in a friggin' hotel? They need to outlaw that too - English is America's language, there's no reason for *anyone* to have to learn a new language just to work - to think otherwise is just wrong, and yes, un-american.
And haven't the good folks in Hawaii learned about rent control and such? Sure, shortages would develop, but at least that would stem more people coming over (sorry, Hawaii dreamers, the state is really all filled up...lol), and lower rents would improve the standard of living island-wide, due to exorbitant real estate prices.
I just find a bit distressing to hear about how such a beautiful state can make it so difficult for its residents to live like, well, Americans....lol.
If the minimum wage was raised - there would be even fewer jobs available. It is a BAD idea.
Rent control would be a terrible idea! If you owned property, would you not want to be able to rent it at a rate that can make you a profit? There are so many things wrong with rent control, I don't even know where to start.
Reading this makes the South look like a liberal worker's paradise...lol. $8 an hour for retail, when everything costs 2x as much as on the mainland?!? The state needs to raise its min wage to where it can meet the basic costs of living - in Hawaii, I would expect that to be no less than $15 an hour. And this practice of having everyone working 19 hours a week to avoid paying benefits is just atrocious - talk about a loophole that you can drive a truck through. It'd make great sense to pass a law that says each employee is guaranteed 20 hours a week, presto, the problem of not having health insurance would be diminished instantly.
Oh yeah, the language requirements of these hotels really sticks in my craw, what American citizen is going to take the time and trouble to learn Japanese - just to work in a friggin' hotel? They need to outlaw that too - English is America's language, there's no reason for *anyone* to have to learn a new language just to work - to think otherwise is just wrong, and yes, un-american.
And haven't the good folks in Hawaii learned about rent control and such? Sure, shortages would develop, but at least that would stem more people coming over (sorry, Hawaii dreamers, the state is really all filled up...lol), and lower rents would improve the standard of living island-wide, due to exorbitant real estate prices.
I just find a bit distressing to hear about how such a beautiful state can make it so difficult for its residents to live like, well, Americans....lol.
The minimum wage is fine and employers will pay more, much more, if they need workers and they can;t find them for that wage. But if we have people who will work for the low wages, is it the employer or employee keeping the wage down? Why does a demolotion explosive handler get paid 3X on Hawaii what they do on the mainland? because they are a rare person on Hawaii and can command more money. Why do Hawaii employers pay waiters so little compared to a similar place on the mainland, because there is a glut of waiters.
If you wer to require a 20 hour week, employers will just eliminate 3 14 hour positions to make only 1 single 20 hour position. Anyway, who is hawaii to tell a business how many hours they must employ a person, isn;t that the decission for the bsuiness to make based on staffing needs.
Please, your not serious aboutt he language thingb are you? Thats as stupid as forcing a company to hire a person for at least 20 hours minimum. Language is a skill. Are you saying that a software company can;t ask for certain computer skills to get the job, or a restruant shouldn;t require a chef to know how to cook? Please such nonsesne. Speaking japanesse is a legitimate skill required if that hotels needs it. To tell a bsuiness that requires certain special skills that they can't require those skills for the job, well that is just plain UN-AMERICAN and sounds like a bunch of communist/socialist speaking to me.....
If the minimum wage was raised - there would be even fewer jobs available. It is a BAD idea.
Rent control would be a terrible idea! If you owned property, would you not want to be able to rent it at a rate that can make you a profit? There are so many things wrong with rent control, I don't even know where to start.
I agree with making a profit, but when 1-bedroom apts are going for $2000 a month or however much they're scamming tenants for, that's just extortion. Here in Atlanta, you can rent a 4-brm HOUSE with a large yard in a decent neighborhood for less than a $1000- so see what's wrong with that picture? If there's a shortage of something, and that shortage can't be fixed by increased supply (which is why housing is so cheap around here...lol), then there should be reasonable market regulations to keep prices from soaring to the moon. Just like when we had a gas shortage here back in '08 - if gas stations had been allowed to raise prices to "what the market can bear", gas prices would have soared to $8 a gallon! But due to the Governor's state of emergency, prices were "locked down" at regular prices until the shortage abated - sounds like a good idea to me.
All Hawaii has to do is to declare a "housing emergency" and they'd have the power to limit rents to *reasonable* levels - to what people can afford to pay, not how much they can gouge renters for, just because it's "Hawaii".
As for min wage - I'd really like to avoid seeing America become a 3rd world country, which doesn't typically have min wages, or if they do, it's so low it's laughable. Employers will hire people regardless, or they'd have to shut their doors. Pay up or shut up, I say...lol. Again, with Hawaii being a special case, the min wage should be way higher than the mainland, as everything costs more there. In Mississippi, the min wage is just fine, as it's actually possible to live on $7.50 an hour there...lol. But certainly not in Honolulu!
What I don't get is why so many people on this board think we should all be slaves to the all-holy "Market", as if it's a god that will rain down hellfire should we not obey its rules. What a bunch of poppycock...lol. Let the markets do what they can, and in areas where it falls short, it's up to *our* government to fill in the gaps and make things more fair for those who are less fortunate than others.
Last edited by NorthStarDelight; 02-09-2012 at 04:06 PM..
I agree with making a profit, but when 1-bedroom apts are going for $2000 a month or however much they're scamming tenants for, that's just extortion. Here in Atlanta, you can rent a 4-brm HOUSE with a large yard in a decent neighborhood- so see what's wrong with that picture? If there's a shortage of something, and that shortage can't be fixed by increased supply (which is why housing is so cheap around here...lol), then there should be reasonable market regulations to keep prices from soaring to the moon. Just like when we had a gas shortage here back in '08 - if gas stations had been allowed to raise prices to "what the market can bear", gas prices would have soared to $8 a gallon! But due to the Governor's state of emergency, prices were "locked down" at regular prices until the shortage abated - sounds like a good idea to me.
All Hawaii has to do is to declare a "housing emergency" and they'd have the power to limit rents to *reasonable* levels - to what people can afford to pay, not how much they can gouge renters for, just because it's "Hawaii".
As for min wage - I'd really like to avoid seeing America become a 3rd world country, which doesn't typically have min wages, or if they do, it's so low it's laughable. Employers will hire people regardless, or they'd have to shut their doors. Pay up or shut up, I say...lol. Again, with Hawaii being a special case, the min wage should be way higher than the mainland, as everything costs more there. In Mississippi, the min wage is just fine, as it's actually possible to live on $7.50 an hour there...lol. But certainly not in Honolulu!
What I don't get is why so many people on this board think we should all be slaves to the all-holy "Market", as if it's a god that will rain down hellfire should we not obey its rules. What a bunch of poppycock...lol. Let the markets do what they can, and in areas where it falls short, it's up to *our* government to fill in the gaps and make things more fair for those who are less fortunate than others.
Seeing as you are from Georgia I'll fill you in on a secret us locals know - Hawaii is mostly a tourist driven economy. When you give everyone a raise to $15/hr you'd then have to charge $500+ a night at the Hiltons, Sheratons, etc and the market will not bear those prices. When the market cannot bear those prices - the tourist economy crumbles locally when they go somewhere else or everything closes down. It isn't feasible to raise minimum wage to nearly double what it is today.
Labor is often the #1 cost of doing business - you double the cost of labor you need to increase your prices - once you do that, you offset any gain in your wages.
I agree with making a profit, but when 1-bedroom apts are going for $2000 a month or however much they're scamming tenants for, that's just extortion. Here in Atlanta, you can rent a 4-brm HOUSE with a large yard in a decent neighborhood for less than a $1000- so see what's wrong with that picture?
go to the West End and you can get houses for $40,000 so are you sayingt he people of Buckkead are being gouged? Or is it that the areas have vastly different ammenties that drives up prices. To be honsest, you can;t compare a average nothing special place like Atlanta to HAWAII. Thats like trying to compare Hancock County to Maui County, please, no comparrision... Georgia is just some state on the mainland where people may or may not want to go to, and when they get there its just another ho-hum anyplace USA, and after seeking Housewives of Atlanta, i think some dockside redlight districyt is more classy... But HAWAII... ahh land of paradise, beauty, oceans view all around, surfing, mai tais, young vacationing japanesse women, Giovann'is shrimp, Peal harbor, HULA, Waikiki, Luai, and the list just keeps on going.
You may need rent control in Atlanta to make people think that prices would be higher without it but reality is thats what the market holds and the low prioces for those big house sis because the houses are only worth that piddly amount. On Hawaii we are seeing just how valuable the land is without artificial controls.
Anyway, if not for the high prices, the cannibals would be able to afford to live next to the rich asians and they would end up eating up all that discretionary spending money!!
I agree with making a profit, but when 1-bedroom apts are going for $2000 a month or however much they're scamming tenants for, that's just extortion.
There's no scam, that's what people are willing to pay.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NorthStarDelight
Here in Atlanta, you can rent a 4-brm HOUSE with a large yard in a decent neighborhood for less than a $1000- so see what's wrong with that picture?
Nothing wrong with that picture. You are not comparing apples to apples. How much is the same size place near the ocean, say Tybee Island? Should they impost a "housing emergency" there too? No, that makes no sense.
Quote:
Originally Posted by NorthStarDelight
What I don't get is why so many people on this board think we should all be slaves to the all-holy "Market", as if it's a god that will rain down hellfire should we not obey its rules. What a bunch of poppycock...lol. Let the markets do what they can, and in areas where it falls short, it's up to *our* government to fill in the gaps and make things more fair for those who are less fortunate than others.
I think you are mixing ideals with things that you are not really educated on. Hawaii is a desirable place to live, and it is very different than Georgia. It is very different than most of the Mainland. There is no fix-all, and especially not a government mandated set of rules that can fix the problems in a complex environment like Hawaii.
Is it expensive? Sure. Do people get by? They sure do. The rules are just different than they are on the mainland. You either adapt and thrive, or you expect things to be the same and retreat when you find out they are not....there is no income level to this reality.
I think your sentiments are of a good nature, but IMHO they are way off base with the reality that is Hawaii.
go to the West End and you can get houses for $40,000 so are you sayingt he people of Buckkead are being gouged? Or is it that the areas have vastly different ammenties that drives up prices. To be honsest, you can;t compare a average nothing special place like Atlanta to HAWAII. Thats like trying to compare Hancock County to Maui County, please, no comparrision... Georgia is just some state on the mainland where people may or may not want to go to, and when they get there its just another ho-hum anyplace USA, and after seeking Housewives of Atlanta, i think some dockside redlight districyt is more classy... But HAWAII... ahh land of paradise, beauty, oceans view all around, surfing, mai tais, young vacationing japanesse women, Giovann'is shrimp, Peal harbor, HULA, Waikiki, Luai, and the list just keeps on going.
You may need rent control in Atlanta to make people think that prices would be higher without it but reality is thats what the market holds and the low prioces for those big house sis because the houses are only worth that piddly amount. On Hawaii we are seeing just how valuable the land is without artificial controls.
Anyway, if not for the high prices, the cannibals would be able to afford to live next to the rich asians and they would end up eating up all that discretionary spending money!!
(This is how we do it on the mainland......... )
Oh, we don't have rent control here, we don't need it...lol.
Oh, yeah, I poke fun at the Buckheaders all the time - paying all that money to live in a crowded, pretentious place - no thanks to that..lol. I live but 13 miles from downtown, 20 min away even in peak hour traffic on a 3/4 acre lot filled with massive trees, and birds galore - and guess what, it's *affordable.* That alone should make Atlanta special, don't you think? And guess what I do with all the money I'm not paying just to live - I go on vacation I can be on a palm-lined beach in just 9 hours, or should I desire coolness in the summer, the Smokies are just 4 hours away by car.
I'd not be a good candidate to move to Hawaii, even if I did have a good job - I'd spend every waking moment b*tching how much everything costs...LOL.
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But due to the Governor's state of emergency, prices were "locked down" at regular prices until the shortage abated - sounds like a good idea to me. 
)
That alone should make Atlanta special, don't you think? And guess what I do with all the money I'm not paying just to live - I go on vacation 
I can be on a palm-lined beach in just 9 hours, or should I desire coolness in the summer, the Smokies are just 4 hours away by car. 
