University of Hawai'i at Manoa | William S. Richardson School of Law Forum

Xnegd · Post by **Xnegd** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 6:30 am

Any graduates on here from University of Hawai'i at Manoa | William S. Richardson School of Law?

Was hoping for some insight into job prospects outside of Hawaii, say for somewhere in LA/SF - California?

Online research makes it seam that it doesn't look like great prospects outside of Hawaii, but it's three years in Hawaii...HAWAII!!!

TheSpanishMain · Post by **TheSpanishMain** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 8:56 am

I get the strong sense you've never lived in hawaii.

Xnegd · Post by **Xnegd** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 10:04 am

TheSpanishMain wrote:I get the strong sense you've never lived in hawaii.

Fair enough point, but the rest of my family have and several friends were at their military base for a few years. Said it was the best time of their lives.

Dcc617 · Post by **Dcc617** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 12:55 pm

I don't know about the law school, but I know the undergrad is pretty awful. Most people I know who went there hate it.

Don't make your school decisions based on it being Hawaii. There are a lot of cool places in the world. And Hawaii is kind of ghetto and poor.

Xnegd · Post by **Xnegd** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 1:10 pm

Dcc617 wrote:I don't know about the law school, but I know the undergrad is pretty awful. Most people I know who went there hate it.

Don't make your school decisions based on it being Hawaii. There are a lot of cool places in the world. And Hawaii is kind of ghetto and poor.

Thanks!

TheSpanishMain · Post by **TheSpanishMain** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 1:24 pm

Xnegd wrote:
TheSpanishMain wrote:I get the strong sense you've never lived in hawaii.
Fair enough point, but the rest of my family have and several friends were at their military base for a few years. Said it was the best time of their lives.

See, saying "the military base" makes me think you don't actually know anything about Hawaii other than "oh my God, Hawaii!" There are like six bases on Hawaii. And yeah, of course spending a few years in Hawaii when you're a young sailor without responsibilities is awesome.

I lived in Hawaii for a few years. Living there is a lot different than vacationing there. A lot of the infrastructure is crumbling. Traffic sucks. Getting to and from the mainland sucks. Locals aren't a huge fan of non-locals. You'll pay east coast prices for an apartment that hasn't been updated since the 80s. Parts of the island are really sketchy. Seriously, if your only concept of Hawaii is Waikiki Beach, you have no idea what life there is actually like.

I'm not shitting on it or anything. Every place has it's positives and negatives. There's a lot that's good about Hawaii too. But if you go in with this idealized vision of it, you're in for a real rude awakening.

The other thing to remember is Hawaii is insular as shit. Locals>everyone else when it comes to jobs and getting ahead. If you just show up as a random mainland dude who thought it would be cool to live on the island, you're going to have a bad time. To the extent that anyone should go there, it should be locals who are dead set on staying local, not people who want a three year vacation before they head back to the mainland (where your UH law degree will open zero doors, btw).

Xnegd · Post by **Xnegd** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 1:38 pm

TheSpanishMain wrote:
Xnegd wrote:
TheSpanishMain wrote:I get the strong sense you've never lived in hawaii.
Fair enough point, but the rest of my family have and several friends were at their military base for a few years. Said it was the best time of their lives.
See, saying "the military base" makes me think you don't actually know anything about Hawaii other than "oh my God, Hawaii!" There are like six bases on Hawaii. And yeah, of course spending a few years in Hawaii when you're a young sailor without responsibilities is awesome.

I lived in Hawaii for a few years. Living there is a lot different than vacationing there. A lot of the infrastructure is crumbling. Traffic sucks. Getting to and from the mainland sucks. Locals aren't a huge fan of non-locals. You'll pay east coast prices for an apartment that hasn't been updated since the 80s. Parts of the island are really sketchy. Seriously, if your only concept of Hawaii is Waikiki Beach, you have no idea what life there is actually like.

I'm not shitting on it or anything. Every place has it's positives and negatives. There's a lot that's good about Hawaii too. But if you go in with this idealized vision of it, you're in for a real rude awakening.

The other thing to remember is Hawaii is insular as shit. Locals>everyone else when it comes to jobs and getting ahead. If you just show up as a random mainland dude who thought it would be cool to live on the island, you're going to have a bad time. To the extent that anyone should go there, it should be locals who are dead set on staying local, not people who want a three year vacation before they head back to the mainland (where your UH law degree will open zero doors, btw).

Cheers, and don't worry about "shitting" on me, I was looking for an honest answer. I don't remember which base they were on, but it was the military not the navy. If nothing else, this proves your point. Thank you very much for your help!!!!!

Fyi - I don't actually live in America (though I have a US accent), I live in the Channel Islands so my interest in Hawaii is more to do with the fact that I want to continue living an "island life" but pursue law school. Would like to visit, but tickets are £5,000 ($7,500) just to get there. Only other option I could think of is Rhode Island...and I don't really have an interest to study there.

LOL, it actually sounds exactly like here - too bad. I was hoping it would be a bit more inclusive of diversity, and looked a lot online but got conflicting answers. I was aboutt o say that at least everyone would speak English there, but don't know if that is true...

pancakes3 · Post by **pancakes3** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 1:56 pm

Rhode Island is not actually an island. Don't know if I'm being dense and not picking up on your joke, but just wanted to clarify.

Xnegd · Post by **Xnegd** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 2:12 pm

pancakes3 wrote:Rhode Island is not actually an island. Don't know if I'm being dense and not picking up on your joke, but just wanted to clarify.

The world may never know.

TheSpanishMain · Post by **TheSpanishMain** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 2:19 pm

Xnegd wrote:I don't remember which base they were on, but it was the military not the navy.

FWIW, the Navy is part of the military.

What is it you're actually trying to do? It looks like you did undergrad in California, then an MBA in Dublin, now you want to do law school...? What kind of job are you trying to position yourself for, anyway?

totesTheGoat · Post by **totesTheGoat** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 2:28 pm

Xnegd wrote: it was the best time of their lives.

Really really shitty reason to choose a law school. Yes, you will have some time to enjoy your surroundings in law school. However, it's 3 years, most of which will be spent indoors studying. Pick the best school you can get into, work your ass off for 3 years, and then use your shiny new law degree to move to a great place and buy a fancy house on the beach. That's much better than partying on the beach for 3 years and ending up in the slums working for $25k/year because you have a shit degree with a shit GPA.

haus · Post by **haus** » Sun Oct 25, 2015 3:00 pm

TheSpanishMain wrote:
Xnegd wrote:I don't remember which base they were on, but it was the military not the navy.
FWIW, the Navy is part of the military.

Really? I have always thought of them as the transportation and medical services for the Corps. (kidding)

If memory serves from my time stationed on Oahu, all of the branches have bases in Hawaii.

Phoenix97 · Post by **Phoenix97** » Fri Oct 30, 2015 11:35 pm

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Phoenix97 · Post by **Phoenix97** » Fri Oct 30, 2015 11:46 pm

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Smumps · Post by **Smumps** » Sat Oct 31, 2015 7:00 pm

Xnegd wrote:Any graduates on here from University of Hawai'i at Manoa | William S. Richardson School of Law?

Was hoping for some insight into job prospects outside of Hawaii, say for somewhere in LA/SF - California?

Online research makes it seam that it doesn't look like great prospects outside of Hawaii, but it's three years in Hawaii...HAWAII!!!

Use the search, there's been a few threads about this. I'm from Hawaii but went to UoC. Currently Clerking in Hawaii. My advice:

Don't. Job prospects are are non-existent outside of HI, and even then, they aren't wonderful. The insularity is a little overstated by other posters, but it certainly exists. Both judges and firms prefer to take local kids. HI is a great place to live and work, but island fever is a real thing.

Happy to answer specific questions via pm.

PoopyPants · Post by **PoopyPants** » Fri Nov 06, 2015 1:18 am

haus wrote:
TheSpanishMain wrote:
Xnegd wrote:I don't remember which base they were on, but it was the military not the navy.
FWIW, the Navy is part of the military.
Really? I have always thought of them as the transportation and medical services for the Corps. (kidding)

If memory serves from my time stationed on Oahu, all of the branches have bases in Hawaii.

Also the po-po for all the dumbass jarheads who don't know that no means no.

And yes, every branch is represented here--even the Puddle Pirates. There are numerous bases across the islands.

As to the OP, living in Hawaii has its upsides and downsides, many of which have been mentioned. Getting back to the mainland is a 6 hour flight minimum. You are always at least 2 hours behind everyone on the West Coast, and 5-6 hours behind the East Coast.

Groceries are expensive as fuck here. Like a small load of bread is over 4 dollars in places. Milk is equally expensive. Someone mentioned rent. It is expensive, and many places are laughably shitty (thank God I found a nice house in a good neighborhood, but the first place I went to was a shotgun house beneath a duplex with no dishwasher, paint coming off the walls, and stained carpets for $1800/month not including utilities).

There is a lot of poverty here. It is sad to see, particularly since everyone expects that everyone who lives here must be having the time of their lives. There are great things to do here, but I am not sad that I'm moving back to the mainland next year.

jeremydc · Post by **jeremydc** » Wed Nov 18, 2015 11:55 pm

Born and raised in Hawaii.

It's sad to say but it's a narrow-minded society (them vs us mentality). The COL is high and the job market is saturated but life is what you make of it. The locals can be tough to deal with but that isn't necessarily a Hawaii thing. I've experienced similar treatment all across the USA.

I've spoken to a few friends who recently graduated and they mentioned competing with mainland (Top14) grads for jobs @ 60-70K.