Ideas on career

[dayna]

Hello!

So, I currently live in Alaska. I am a dog groomer. It's a good living here. However, after looking at how much local dog groomers charge, I feel that it just won't do for me to groom dogs in Puna.

In 4 years (or maybe a couple more) we plan on making the move to our property there.

I have zero education. So I'm looking at going to college to assist in supporting my family after the move. My husband would have a government job of some sort or another. He said he has to put in 11 more years in a gov job till retirement.

So, thoughts? Ideas? I live in a great state for college education, I live close to the campus and we have a lot of stuff online even. I was thinking of working in the education system, teaching.

I'm only 32 so I have plenty of hard working years ahead of me.

Dayna

[DanielP]

I have a friend that has a dog grooming van that she drives to people's homes. She seems to do quite well. She serves higher end clients. She is wanting to retire soon and is thinking of selling her rig. It is a pretty high end rig though.

[P.T.]

You can start dog grooming business 30 years from now.Getting good education at 60 is too late IMHO.I think Puna can use more vets.
Otherwise - nurses ,doctors are always in demand.
Teaching pays very little + work for free at home and hard to find jobs too.

[Carey]

My first question would be: What do you WANT to do? If you love dog grooming, there is always a way to make it work... it may take time to build your clientele though...

For more common positions: There are usually some tourism positions, esp. for those fluent in Japanese. There are usually positions for nursing & early ed.... if you are interested in teaching with the DOE here, special ed positions are usually more needed.... all of this is with a few caveats... most positions requiring any certification, require Hawaii state certification...so you may want to see if you can get that or at least close to - Transfer & cross credits are easier as Alaska & U of Hawaii are WSR schools - link:
http://hilo.hawaii.edu/studentaffairs/ad...ern_us.php

But there is such a range of positions... this place has astro-physicists to zoologists, and everything in between - but there aren't bunches of any jobs.... As you transition over, you may want to get known - even volunteer for something you may be interested in before you move & keep up the contacts....

ETA: as a "non-trad" student (read "old fart") It is never too late to get a good education....
and UH-Hilo is a very good school with some remarkable qualities.... although it is one of the least expensive state universities in the country, it has very small class size, top profs & some heavy duty resources

[laniA]

"High end dog grooming" in Puna? What you've been smoking,DP?[]
LOL,I want that too.

[Seeb]

dont count on getting a Gov job here.

[DanielP]

I suppose any dog grooming in Puna is high end. I better lay off the hash.

[dayna]

I think my husband would not have an issue getting a transfer federal job, regardless of what he applied for. So Seeb why do you say that, it doesn't make much sense. We are on the update list with the fedjobs website and he sees things come up occasionally?

As far as dog grooming, yes I love it, but Puna (as far as the grooming places I checked) won't pay enough for the hard work involved. Here I make a really good living at it. It would be hard to make as much as 40% less at it than I do now and still have my cost of living be the same.

And yes, the cost of living in Hawaii is the same or even cheaper for a lot of stuff than I'm used to paying.

Carey, I have no idea "what" I want to do. Sigh. If I had an unlimited amount of time and money, I'd be a vet. I have a ton of parrots and assist my own vet with a variety of jobs (including wildlife). But the sheer number of years involved.... Wow. I am 32 and don't think I want to spend the whole of my 30's and 40's in school. Special ed positions might be more up my alley, that's a great idea I didn't even think of. I'll go look up the quals and what the job entails.

Dayna

[lostboystoy]

Unfortunately most dogs don't get groomed here, most people end up just shaving their dogs, not to mention the smell I brought six dogs from the mainland, they never stunk till I moved to Hawaii, now it's a weekly routine that we all get a shower at least once a week and shaved once a month, just to keep the smell down and to keep them from dragging In cinder.

I think Carey is right, if you love what you do, then you'll make it work, it takes alot longer to build your clientele here, than on the mainland . But it can be done.


setting my soul free....

[lostboystoy]

And yes you will make about 40 percent less than on the Mainland but everyone else is making 40 percent less than on the mainland so you will be in the same boat as everyone else, that's just one of the many things you will have to get used to living here, ya it's paradise but it doesn't come free. It's about quality of life here, not how much we make

setting my soul free....