Hawaii is Recruiting Teachers Through Online Chat July 14 and July 16

Hawaii is in serious need and massive shortage of school teachers. Around 1,600 positions are up for grabs.

The pay seems to be on the higher side in the upper $50K region. Which might sound like a lot, but we will get to that in a minute.

First, let’s discuss what the opportunity is and how you can go about applying and being a part of the online recruitment chat in mid-July.

There are many positions up for grabs and many opportunities across the education board (no pun intended). And some positions will also pay a bonus of $3k annual bonus. You can also read the FAQ to help answer some of your questions before applying.

You can browse the Hawaii Education Department website to see the available opportunities. They are seeking mainland teachers to come to Hawaii. Some circumstances, they may relocate, but not all.

They only want serious inquiries and seriously qualified (with one be qualified to teach in the United States, no international applicants).

If you are serious about wanting to move to the islands and become a teacher, then this is the process to apply and join the online chat on July 14 or July 16.

Now, let’s talk a bit more seriously. This sounds like a dream job. But Hawaii has a large teacher turnover rate at around 40% after 5 years. Why would many leave a dream teaching job?

Well, I don’t know the exact reasons, but can speculate:

• The pay sounds nice and perhaps quite an increase from what you may be making as a teacher now. But the cost of living in Hawaii is quite astronomical. In fact, before even considering this for one second, use a cost of living calculator to get a reality check on whether this is the job for you and if you are willing to most like “take a pay cut” to teach in paradise.
• You are stranded. Yes, you are stranded on one of the most coveted islands on the globe, but you are stranded. And it is expensive to leave to visit the mainland, and anywhere else in the world for that matter. It’s nice to be stranded on an island (at least I can assume and dream as I haven’t yet had the opportunity to try. ;)) for a week at a time on vacation, but would you really want to do it long-term?

It reminds me of a gentleman I met a while back. Actually he was the dental assistant to my dentist. He was born and raised in Hawaii. I said, “Oh wow, what a treat to live in paradise!” He answered, “No, it was horrible” and he was very jealous of the kids that grew up on the mainland because they got to see the world. He felt stranded. Never left the island, never experienced the world, never experienced the mainland and he hated it. He said pretty much every kid he grew up with felt the same. Living there vs. vacationing there are two very different things. So, it’s something to seriously think about.

Not that we are trying to discourage you, but just put some thoughts on the table. Now if you really love paradise, don’t have much here that you will miss, possibly take a pay cut (even if the pay is more) and really love teaching, this really could be the dream job for you!

Head to the Hawaii Public Schools site for more information and to apply and join the chat in July. BTW – if you live in or near Las Vegas, they are doing a live recruitment on July 19-21, 2016.

What are your thoughts on this? Is it the opportunity of a lifetime?