Moving to HI Big Island vs oahu? Job wise (Honolulu: unemployment rate, camp)

[tonesdef]

So me and my wife decided after our stint in Thailand we will be heading to Hawaii. My wife wants to move to Hilo.
So my question is mostly Job wise. I have looked at monster and CL and it seems that jobs are beyond sparse on the Bigisland were as oahu is rather plentiful (more jobs than chicago it seems). We both have BA's and I have an IT cert. We would be willing to do what ever at first as long as it pays the bills but i have a feeling oahu would be easier to start off on.

[isabella20]

Your impression is correct. There are little to no jobs here in Hilo. Even the "willing to do whatever at first as long as it pays the bills" types of jobs are non-existent for the most part. What you would "lower" yourself to do elsewhere you would be lucky to get here. It's much worse now than it was five years ago, but that's the case most places since the recession.

I've heard that 80% of the total population in the islands lives on Oahu because that's where the jobs are. I don't know how accurate the percentage is, but it sounds about right.

Good luck with your move!

[mdand3boys]

For all practical purposes, there are no IT jobs in Hilo (or Kailua-Kona for that matter).
What you see on Craigslist or the local newspaper is about it. There are a few medical related jobs for nurses, etc., through the two or three temp agencies.

[hotzcatz]

If you can bring a job with you that you can do over the internet, that would be a good thing!

[tonesdef]

My IT experince is limited to fixing comps, never liked making websites. Also have tons of mechanic background/contracting. It looks like we will feel it out in Oahu first and if we get on our feet sooner or later try out the big island

[hotzcatz]

Small engine repair might be a viable business in the Big Island. There was a fellow in the next camp over from us who had a small engine repair business but he retired last year. He ran it out of his garage and it was profitable, he just wanted to retire. Nobody has started another shop yet, so there's room for another one.

[cmholm]

I don't know that an "IT cert" is going to do much for you in Hilo. Technical jobs open periodically in the various telescope support shops in the tech park next to UH-Hilo, but you'd need pretty solid s/w engineering experience to qualify. Frankly, you'd have better odds (neighbor island-wise) on Maui (Kihei tech park), or Kauai (Waimea/PMRF).

There's a lot more opportunity on Oahu, the trade off being the degree of urban living, if that's an issue.

[blau808]

Originally Posted by bkinsey808

I am one of the developers of a free job website called JobsFreeForAll.com, and we have a page dedicated to just jobs on Big Island: Big Island, Hawaii Jobs - Jobs Free For All (http://www.jobsfreeforall.com/jobs/big_island_hawaii - broken link)

If you end up looking for jobs on Oahu, you might want to check our Oahu jobs page: Oahu Jobs - Jobs Free For All (http://www.jobsfreeforall.com/jobs/oahu - broken link)

Times are tough! Good Luck!

--Ben Kinsey
Web Developer and former resident of Big Island

No offense, but you're a web developer that doesn't recognize when php tags aren't working? Twice?

[OpenD]

Just a general comment... as bad as it seems, the 8% unemployment rate in Hawai'i is actually lower than the national rate of 9.8%. There, don't you feel better?

Of course there are fewer jobs in Hilo. It's a town of 40,000. Honolulu is a city of nearly a million. It's simple math.

[mdand3boys]

Originally Posted by OpenD

Just a general comment... as bad as it seems, the 8% unemployment rate in Hawai'i is actually lower than the national rate of 9.8%. There, don't you feel better?

Of course there are fewer jobs in Hilo. It's a town of 40,000. Honolulu is a city of nearly a million. It's simple math.

That 8% rate for Hawaii is scewed by Oahu, the outer islands' rates are much higher.