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Well - I'm not a Paramedic - so unless an actually Paramedic on Oahu wants to chime in, this is the best I've got. Of course you can make more, $42K implies the median.
Honestly, those sites that post salary information are so misleading they shouldn't even be mentioned on CDF.
I have 6 commercial journeymen electricians employed in my company making $44/hour plus benefits. I know exactly how much they are paid because I cut the checks. That's just under $90K salary. The site that you linked above states the average for Hawaii journeymen electricians is $25,000. That is so grossly off it's not even funny.
One of the EMTs I know lives in a 2-bdrm in the Keola Lai. They bought when it was new and have a sizable mortgage. His wife is a school teacher. So I can only assume he makes well over $42K. My other friend works as an EMT but at the fed level. We spoke extensively about the pros and cons vs municipal/private but it was years ago and I can't recall.
Honestly, those sites that post salary information are so misleading they shouldn't even be mentioned on CDF.
I have 6 commercial journeymen electricians employed in my company making $44/hour plus benefits. I know exactly how much they are paid because I cut the checks. That's just under $90K salary. The site that you linked above states the average for Hawaii journeymen electricians is $25,000. That is so grossly off it's not even funny.
One of the EMTs I know lives in a 2-bdrm in the Keola Lai. They bought when it was new and have a sizable mortgage. His wife is a school teacher. So I can only assume he makes well over $42K. My other friend works as an EMT but at the fed level. We spoke extensively about the pros and cons vs municipal/private but it was years ago and I can't recall.
No problem. How about the Bureau of Labor Statistics? More credible? I seem to recall that was a favorite when telling me Oahu median salaries overall were so low and I disagreed.
For Honolulu - the median wage of an electrician according to BLS is $32.26/hour or $67,100/year - seems you might have some job applicants coming your way - or, BLS is not accurate.
How about a Paramedic according to BLS - $23.37 or $48,609 - a bit better than salary.com but I wouldn't exactly rush out and take the wife and kids to Morton's for you aspiring paramedics.
No problem. How about the Bureau of Labor Statistics? More credible? I seem to recall that was a favorite when telling me Oahu median salaries overall were so low and I disagreed.
For Honolulu - the median wage of an electrician according to BLS is $32.26/hour or $67,100/year - seems you might have some job applicants coming your way - or, BLS is not accurate.
How about a Paramedic according to BLS - $23.37 or $48,609 - a bit better than salary.com but I wouldn't exactly rush out and take the wife and kids to Morton's for you aspiring paramedics.
My point was it's not particularly helpful to CDF members if you post links to generic salary data. The only way to get any credible local salary data is to call multiple employers and find out exactly what they are paying. It takes a few more minutes of time but at least they'll have something real to work with.
We do mostly federal work so DB wages pump their pay up a little more than other electricians' pay. But I'd pay $90K for a solid professional commercial journeymen electrician for private sector any day. These people have both brains and brawn (which is VERY rare)... and put themselves in risky situations from time to time. The $25K figure posted on that site was just an example of how erroneous their numbers are. There isn't a single journeymen electrician on this island making anywhere near that kind of pay.
pj737, thanks for your response. It's nice to hear something positive like that. Your comment has led me to book a flight and at least check things out. Positivity goes a long way, so thank you for that. And as far as salary goes, the medics I know over there started out at 52k/yr.
Again, thanks for your comment...
When I get over there I'll send you a message if I have any more questions
Quick question ben, how complicated was it for you to obtain you EMT-Paramedic for HI????
Quote:
Originally Posted by str8edg
Hello everyone, I'm a paramedic in Kentucky with 10+ years experience. I have my Hawaii Paramedic License and now I'm trying to decide where to look for employment. I prefer the more rural areas, the more rural the better. And it's just me moving to Hawaii and I don't care to live in a shack, it's all about the location that concerns me.
Do you all have any recommendations of which islands and towns to focus on? I've looked on several employment sites, like Indeed, Monster, etc. but all I can find is part-time employment. I wouldn't mind to work in a hospital or flight service.
Do you all think if I took a part-time position I could pick up enough hours to survive? I'm getting tired of looking online and I'm booking a flight to Hawaii and I'm going to just try to hit as many EMS services and hospitals as I can, I just need a little help on picking a good starting point to begin my job search. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thank you for your time!!
Well - I'm not a Paramedic - so unless an actually Paramedic on Oahu wants to chime in, this is the best I've got. Of course you can make more, $42K implies the median.
That's pretty shocking about the low pay for paramedics! Very low pay for the rated and not so related jobs listed in the links. How does the paramedic pay in Hawaii compare to the OP's pay in Kentucky? Maybe the OP could go back to school for a Paramedic to RN degree in about 18 months (if the advertisements are correct about the timing). I suspect that an RN in Hawaii would make more money than a paramedic. Although, maybe the RN pay in Hawaii is also low compared to the mainland.
That's pretty shocking about the low pay for paramedics! Very low pay for the rated and not so related jobs listed in the links. Although, maybe the RN pay in Hawaii is also low compared to the mainland.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has the median for a Paramedic at $23.37/hr - or $48,609 full-time
The median for a RN is $44.61 or $92,788 full-time.
A Paramedic does not require a college degree. Both can make more money I suspect via overtime.
That's pretty shocking about the low pay for paramedics! Very low pay for the rated and not so related jobs listed in the links. How does the paramedic pay in Hawaii compare to the OP's pay in Kentucky? Maybe the OP could go back to school for a Paramedic to RN degree in about 18 months (if the advertisements are correct about the timing). I suspect that an RN in Hawaii would make more money than a paramedic. Although, maybe the RN pay in Hawaii is also low compared to the mainland.
Even on the mainland, most EMTs and Paramedics aren't paid all that well.
If you prefer "the more rural the better", you might want to inquire about working for American Medical Response on the Big Island (they do interfacility transfers and 911 backup), or check to see if there are ER tech jobs at the hospitals there (Hilo Medical Center and Kona Hospital just laid off a number of workers due to lack of state funding, but you never know.) EMS positions on Maui and Kaua'i counties are basically sewn up and extremely difficult to get in to, even for local residents. There is only 1 hospital on Maui and 2 on Kaua'i, so employment opportunities can be limited. On O'ahu working for EMS is pretty much in an urban/surburban environment, no matter where you go. But ER tech positions do exist and O'ahu has the most hospitals of any island in the state. The pay, however, is below that of a even an EMT; at one hospital where a friend of mine works at as tech they are paid only about ~$19.00/hr to start.
The Federal Fire Department's hirings are few and far between and they are not currently looking to hire more paramedics, let alone regular firefighters. Hawai'i Fire Dept. does combined Fire and EMS on the Big Island and has recently been doing a yearly recruit class, but the hiring window for this year closed already.
There are 2 air ambulance services, AMR Air and Hawai'i Life Flight. In general, they have bases on O'ahu, Maui and the Big Island of Hawai'i. Depending on your type of EMS experience, they may be open to checking you out. Understand that because there is very little standardization in paramedic training from state to state and it is relatively easy to get a HI license now versus in the past, employers look carefully at whether a out-of-state medic can perform up to Hawai'i's admittedly high bar for EMS performance. Time doesn't really count for much; from what I've seen sometimes those with many years of experience struggle more because it's harder for them to make the change to a different system, environment, and culture. The hospital is an easier working environment because they are more used to new, short-term and traveling staff and the hospital in itself is more static, unlike the ever-changing dynamic of a 911 call.
It depends on where you work as to whether there are extra hours available to pick up if you only worked P/T. Some places limit you to X number of hours/week so they do not have to pay for benefits such as medical insurance (pretty risky thing to go without,) and Quest---i.e. welfare insurance, doesn't cover much as the State and taxpayers have to spread a limited amount of funds to pay medical expenses for a huge number of people. If only P/T work is available, shoot for more than 1 job. Working multiple jobs is a way of life for many people who live in HI, which of course doesn't give you much time to enjoy yourself. But if you've got a hell of a good work ethic, get along well w/ people and live frugally, you should survive.
Hopefully you have a solid chunk of $ set aside as an emergency fund and also have a bail-out plan in place if things don't work out after whatever allotted amount of time you have set to succeed has passed.
Good luck in your job search!
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Question for you Ben
