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According to a couple of my friends in HR (one at UH Mānoa and another at Hawaiian Airlines), a person with a master's in HR and little experience will probably have a starting salary of about $44,000 per year in Hawaiʻi.
I think (and hope) this will be enough to get us started. I am well aware that many people start on much less, but we will be a family of four...
Debt free and thrifty, can it work? I am thinking a centrally located apt. without a car will help even if the rent is a little higher than it would be further out.
I think (and hope) this will be enough to get us started. I am well aware that many people start on much less, but we will be a family of four...
Debt free and thrifty, can it work? I am thinking a centrally located apt. without a car will help even if the rent is a little higher than it would be further out.
$44,000 for a family of four - no way. I don't suggest single people come out unless they can make at $50,000 - at $44,000 you net about $2,900 before healthcare and other deductions - just not enough.
$44,000 for a family of four - no way. I don't suggest single people come out unless they can make at $50,000 - at $44,000 you net about $2,900 before healthcare and other deductions - just not enough.
Well, my $44,000 plus my wife's income(assuming she can pull down $16000 a year, which doesn't sound far-fetched) would be 60k. I know it wouldn't be a comfortable two years, but when both of our kids are school aged, my wife could work full-time again. Our family has lived in Japan on an equivalent of $32k for a few years and though Hiroshima isn't Honolulu, it also isn't Wichita. People find a way to make things work.
I appreciate your advice. I honestly do. Your pessimism probably deters many people who have no business moving to Hawaii from doing so, however I will find a way, no matter the circumstance. I always seem to make things work. This world is full of people who overcome obstacles far greater than moving a family to Hawaii while poor.
In the future I will refrain from asking questions about possibility. I welcome all advice.
FWIW I moved to Oahu with a job and excellent benefits lined up and I found that as a single person I didn't have that much left at the end of the month on a $60K Federal salary. I hope it works out for you but as someone pointed out, a degree from UH gets you a lot more in the HI job market. It's not right, it's not fair, it's just the way it is. Best of luck to you.
Yeah she has a BA and experience as a museum guide and retail manager herein Japan. I guess I figured she would stay home with our two kids and hopefully take on two more whose parents want their children to learn Japanese while being babysat. I would imagine there is a market for that...
I think I've decided on Seton Hall's master's in HR plus getting my Japanese ability on par. From what I read on this forum, it seems I shouldn't even start looking for work until I get there. Any thoughts?
Where did you and your wife do your bachelor's degrees?
If you weren't born and raised in Hawaiʻi, it's never too early to start networking. Although Honolulu seems like a big city, it's really a fairly small town and "who you know" is often more important than "what you know." While there are a few folks with master's degrees from Seton Hall in Hawaiʻi such as Ted Yao (who's a professor at UH Mānoa), I'm not sure how much it helped their careers. Also, don't underestimate your wife's ability to network in Hawaiʻi, especially if she graduated from a fairly reputable Japanese college or university.
Where did you and your wife do your bachelor's degrees?
I attended Kent State and she, Hiroshima Jo gakuin. Her college is quite famous in this part of Japan but I doubt if anyone knows it in the US. It's not Tokyo Uni or anything.
jglass11, you came on this forum asking for advise, then when given advise you argue. whtviper1, who lives in Honolulu and is a frequent, valuable poster on this forum gave you the advise you were seeking, and your response was "Your pessimism probably deters many people who have no business moving to Hawaii from doing so" Please substitute "realism" for "pessimism" and you would be correct. You then go on to say that, despite what's happened to many people in the past, YOU will find a way to make it work. I think that you really do need to spend some time reviewing the advise that long-time residents are trying to give you.
Also, you doubt that people in the US have heard of your wife's college, which is quite famous in Japan. Jonah's trying to tell you that there are a lot of Japanese in Hawaii, who probably have heard of her college if it is as famous as you say it is. So don't discredit what he is telling you. Probably would be a different situation in Denver or Dallas, but this is Hawaii.
Keep posting and keep asking questions, but also please listen to what we are telling you.
I attended Kent State and she, Hiroshima Jo gakuin. Her college is quite famous in this part of Japan but I doubt if anyone knows it in the US. It's not Tokyo Uni or anything.
Surprisingly, Hiroshima Jogakuin Daigaku (広島女学院大学) is well-known by some folks in Hawaiʻi. One of the founder's of your wife's university, Sunamoto Teikichi, was the second pastor of Harris United Methodist Church in Honolulu. The current senior pastor of Harris United Methodist Church, Dr. Nobuko Miyake-Stoner received much of her higher education at Hiroshima Jogakuin, so apparently, that particular church and your wife's university have a fairly strong link. Next, things get a little interesting because Nobuko Miyake-Stoner has a son, Shigeki, who's currently working on his Ph.D. in biochemistry at UC San Diego. And, UC San Diego has a "Hawaiʻi Club" called "ʻOhana O Aikāne (http://hawaiiclub.ucsd.edu/index.php/about - broken link)." With a couple of more "connections," your wife is linked to two ex-governors of Hawaiʻi, the current mayor of Hawaiʻi County, several large shareholders in the James Campbell Company, and plenty of other folks here. All she has to do is "talk story" with Nobuko Miyake-Stoner and she'll end up with a network of hundreds of people in Hawaiʻi with almost no effort.
Unfortunately, it's a little more difficult to find linkages between Kent State University and Hawaiʻi or Seton Hall and Hawaiʻi. If you haven't done so already, it might prove quite worthwhile to join professional networking sites such as LinkedIn....
I think that you really do need to spend some time reviewing the advise that long-time residents are trying to give you.
Dreaming-
First off, many people on this forum have given me valuable advice. Jonah is an example of a person who has really gone out of his way to help. I am blown away by his and many others' advice and info. Even whtviper1 has given me good info but from what I have read on other posts, he/she seems very negative about most people's prospects of making it in Hawaii. As I posted his/her advice is probably warranted. Pessimism is defined as the tendency to see, anticipate, or emphasize only bad or undesirable outcomes, results, conditions, problems. Show me a post that contradicts mine and I will gladly defer.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dreaming of Hawaii
You then go on to say that, despite what's happened to many people in the past, YOU will find a way to make it work.
I apologize. Is this the wrong attitude?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dreaming of Hawaii
jglass11, you came on this forum asking for advise, then when given advise you argue. whtviper1, who lives in Honolulu and is a frequent, valuable poster on this forum gave you the advise you were seeking, and your response was "Your pessimism probably deters many people who have no business moving to Hawaii from doing so"
You left out the part where I thanked and appreciated whtviper1's responses.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dreaming of Hawaii
Also, you doubt that people in the US have heard of your wife's college, which is quite famous in Japan. Jonah's trying to tell you that there are a lot of Japanese in Hawaii, who probably have heard of her college if it is as famous as you say it is. So don't discredit what he is telling you. .
This comes as a very nice surprise. I am very appreciative to Jonah for the extremely valuable info. Discredit, I will not!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Dreaming of Hawaii
substitute "realism" for "pessimism"
As long as we are making substitutions how about "advice" for "advise"
In all seriousness, I really want to thank those of you who responded to my query.
Surprisingly, Hiroshima Jogakuin Daigaku (広島女学院大学) is well-known by some folks in Hawaiʻi. One of the founder's of your wife's university, Sunamoto Teikichi, was the second pastor of Harris United Methodist Church in Honolulu. The current senior pastor of Harris United Methodist Church, Dr. Nobuko Miyake-Stoner received much of her higher education at Hiroshima Jogakuin, so apparently, that particular church and your wife's university have a fairly strong link. Next, things get a little interesting because Nobuko Miyake-Stoner has a son, Shigeki, who's currently working on his Ph.D. in biochemistry at UC San Diego. And, UC San Diego has a "Hawaiʻi Club" called "ʻOhana O Aikāne (http://hawaiiclub.ucsd.edu/index.php/about - broken link)." With a couple of more "connections," your wife is linked to two ex-governors of Hawaiʻi, the current mayor of Hawaiʻi County, several large shareholders in the James Campbell Company, and plenty of other folks here. All she has to do is "talk story" with Nobuko Miyake-Stoner and she'll end up with a network of hundreds of people in Hawaiʻi with almost no effort.
Unfortunately, it's a little more difficult to find linkages between Kent State University and Hawaiʻi or Seton Hall and Hawaiʻi. If you haven't done so already, it might prove quite worthwhile to join professional networking sites such as LinkedIn....
Jonah thank you so much for this! My wife isn't the most outgoing of people, but this will surely help. Thank you for going out of your way.
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