I’m battling back and forth on whether I should pursue a job offer in Honolulu. I’m sure Hawaii is an excellent place to live, albeit rather expensive I would presume. But what if … what if the job doesn’t work out?, I have a long way to paddle back home … what if I don’t like it out there?, I might have a great job but get claustrophobia … what if? …
I didn’t find living there much more expensive than the mainland,
with the exception of gas. Living and food were about the same. I was living outside of Hilo, however. If you can stand weather that is ALWAYS 82 daytime , 78 at night, go for it. It’s rough at first… If things don’t work out, they have a marvelous invention called an aeroplane, that will wisk you away in comfort. How many opportunities will you get to live in paradise, and get paid?
Go for it. Unless the job sounds bad, you’ll probly have a great time. I did!
I had a temporary job in Honolulu for ~7 months. I just got back about a month ago. I enjoyed it a lot, but I always knew it was a temporary situation and that made it easier to deal with any feelings of homesickness, claustrophobia, etc. Like Fern Forest said, it might help if you can give us some more info or ask some specific questions.
If they’ll find you a place to live & give you a moving allowance I’d go for it. I may not be the biggest fan of poy, but I’d eat it 24-7 for a chance at a job in Hawaii.
Please think of us poor peasants as you’re eating Truly fresh pineapple some Saturday & watching the white clouds drift from the mountains to the ocean…
There is a job opening for a tech firm that fits my background very well. I see the opening has been on their website for over 3 months now, so they must be having a hard time filling it. I lived in the FL keys for awhile and I felt somewhat claustrophobic there, I can imagine Hawaii would be much worse (and much more expensive to escape). I suppose I should apply and see if they think I fit the bill, and then go from there.
Most of the stuff there is shipped via Mason lines shipping, so things cost more. It’s hot yes. Some of the mountain areas are cooler, each island has its cool & hot areas.
Last time I went to Maui I was the only one wearing a suit.
I’m kinda leery of it. I knew some people who were in tech-type fields of study, and so far as I can tell less than half of them still live in Hawaii. I take this to mean that like for other industries, there is a dearth of jobs in the field. So I’m a little suspicious of a job that’s gone unfilled for 3 months. Is the position one that requires extensive training or experience?
And OOC, what’s the company? If you don’t mind saying, that is.
As to whether you’ll develop rock fever, it may help to think of the things you enjoy doing in FL, or some of the things you like about FL. What do you enjoy doing on weekends/vacation? If I were to ask you what you like about FL (or any place you may have lived) what kinds of things would you tell me? We could tell you if Hawaii has those things, or what comparable things it has.
Yeah, I am somewhat leery of the job too, since it has been open so long. It doesn’t require a great deal of technical know-how, but it is in a small niche of the computer world, a niche where I happen to have several years experience.
Ohhhh no you don’t. Actually I might post it here in a couple weeks if I accept a different position close to where I currently live. I have to do a lot of digging a scraping to find jobs like this, they aren’t advertised on monster.com.
Well, unfortunately, one of the things I enjoy are road trips. I don’t think I would get too far in Hawaii without retracing my tracks.
OK folks, here’s the Honolulu job. Don’t say I never did you any favors
(Disclaimer: I am posting this job opening out of kindness, I have no business association with VeriFone, and I have no monetary interest in this position being filled.)
SOFTWARE DESIGN ENGINEER
The overall objective is to develop embedded operating systems for our terminal family of payment products. Tasks will encompass all stages of this activity; such as: developing, integrating, and testing all modules of an OS (from driver to the API). The engineer will work with the entire product development team to make the project deliverables. The job requires broad skills. The position requires excellent overall firmware design and programming abilities. Moreover, successful candidates will be driven to create industry leading products that set new standards for price/performance, ease of use, adaptability, and quality.
BS EE/CS Math, Physics, or related degree.
At least 2 years post-degree related work experience.
Solid technical judgment.
Proven ability to code in 2 or more of the following languages: Assembly, C, C++.
Experience with commercial embedded operating systems.
Position location Honolulu, Hawaii. Posted September 10, 2003
Please reference “Software Engineer” in the subject line when applying for immediate consideration.
(I think that Sept. 10th date has been updated. Anyway, good luck folks.)
Ive been living and working here for close to 8 years now. Im in the Navy. If your asking about what its like to live here I can help. Cant help too much with how your particular job will be here. First of all, where are you from? If your from the north east you’ll find the drivers amazingly slow. Traffic is definately a problem on the major highways and its not isolated to rush hours. So if your working in Honolulu and living in say Aiea then this may be a concern. Realestate prices are on the high side so if you want to buy you may want to concider this. Rent is on average about $1100 for a decent 2 bedroom in a decent neighborhood. The weather is un-beatable if you ask me. Everyday is beautiful and theres always a little sprinkling of raining happening somewhere…hence the raindow state. This island has its beautiful aspects but is more commercial compared to the other islands. Thats all I can think of now. If you have any other concerns just ask. Ive been here long enough as a non-local person so I think I may be able to offer some insites.
I lived in Hawaii for 7 years, 9 years ago. I loved the place, but the only terms I would accept a job on Oahu is if it included living expenses. When I left, I was paying $450 a month plus utilities for 1 room in a 3 bedroom apartment, and that was about as cheap as I could find. The economy has changed since I was riding the wave of Hawaiian tourism, but I’d still be careful.
That said, knowing what I do now, would I still have taken the job which led me to Hawaii way back in the dark ages? In a heartbeat! I met wonderful people, including one I nearly married, saw impossibly beautiful places, got to ride in a helicopter, a submarine, and a stunt plane, and do things I’d only dreamed of. Oh, and the local weekly independent paper carried this column by this really cool guy called Cecil Adams.
Well I know about unreal rent, I lived in Key West for awhile. I was paying $1200 a month for a small 1 bedroom, and I had to stand in line and go through 3 interviews to get it. I’m not real big on traffic jams, I lived in and around Chicago for a long time, I don’t ever plan on living in conditions like that again. The major problem with Hawaii I see is the claustrophobic factor.
I’ve pretty much given up on the “island” idea. There seems to be plenty of openings around my local area, hard to believe but true. Thanks for the feedback.