Careers

Tough Job But Some Woman's Got to Do It

TRANSPLANT SURGEON Dr. Linda Wong ➥Wong, Hawaii’s only woman transplant surgeon and a specialist in liver transplants, does her work in the Transplant Center at The Queen’s Medical Center. She performs all the liver transplants – about 12 to 18…

Fighting the Good Fight

For 7 years, Yancy Medeiros has been a pro MMA fighter. NAME: Yancy Medeiros AGE: 28 JOB: Professional mixed martial arts fighter, Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) START: Medeiros was born and raised in Makaha, and graduated from Waianae High School.…

Giving Forests New Life

Sheri Mann, Forester and Kauai Island district manager works with the State to conserve nature's wonders. NAME: Sheri Mann AGE: 48 JOB: Forester and Kauai Island district manager, Division of Forestry and Wildlife, state Department of Land and Natural Resources…

Color My World

She’s an expert in how colors affect people, psychologically and physiologically. NAME: Jill Morton JOB: Color consutant and president of Colocom START: After earning her master’s in art education from UC Santa Barbara and her master’s of fine arts in…

My Job: Criminal Sketch Artist

NAME: Chun Yee AGE: 55 JOB: Civilian forensic/ graphic artist, Honolulu Police Department START: Yee was born in Hong Kong, but grew up in Kahaluu and got his associates degree in commercial arts from Honolulu Community College. He has been with HPD for nearly…

Can The Boss Vet My Facebook?

Q: My boss and I have very different views, and I’ve discovered he’s monitoring my Facebook posts and tweets. He came to my cubicle yesterday and said, “You’d better watch that stuff you post online.” These are my personal views and my…

My Job: Submarine Pilot

Name: Travis Grammer Age: 38 Job: Submarine Pilot (Official Title: Fire Control Technician Leading Chief Petty Officer), U.S. Navy, USS Hawaii (SSN 776)   Start: Grammer was deeply moved by a Navy recruiting poster he saw during his senior year…

Cafeteria Culture

Google and other high-flying companies have reinvented the corporate cafeteria. The local cafeterias we visited are not that lavish, but they still cost plenty of money. It's all worth it, the companies say, because their investments pay back in many…

He Brings the Big Stars to Hawaii

Name: Tom Moffatt Age: “Older than Elvis” Job: Concert promoter and president, A Tom Moffatt Production Start: Born in South Lyon, Michigan, Moffatt came to UH in the early ‘50s “because I wanted to go as far away from where…

My Job: It’s Shaping Up Nicely

Name: Makani McDonald Age: 47 Job: Shaper/designer, Town and Country Surfboards Responsibilities: “I mainly design and shape surfboards and, with that, comes a lot of R&D with riders and equipment. The personal R&D is riding new variations of boards that you’ve…

Your Company Wishes You Well

When companies offer effective wellness programs, many of their employees become healthier, happier and more engaged. Here are before-and-after stories of four employees who signed up for wellness programs and turned their lives around. Does one of these "Before" stories sound like yours?

Master of None

Q: In May, it will be four years and five jobs since I graduated from college and I’m still trying to map out a career. Is it better to be a specialist or a jack-of-all-trades? A: I posed this question…

My Job: The Hottest Job in Town

Name: Hadley Andersen Job: Senior Science Educator, Bishop Museum Duties: Twice a day – at noon and 2:30 p.m. – Andersen dons a protective aluminized suit, enters a shielded “cage” and melts little pieces of volcanic rock, or cinder, in…

Turning Play into Pay

Most of them are Millennials, first-generation digital natives strutting their stuff and chiseling new entry points into a post-recession economy. Those who achieve social-media stardom get labelled as “digital talent,” which sounds so Hollywood, but signals their digital charisma and…

Workers: Know Your Rights

There are many myths and misunderstandings about employment rules and regulations. Here’s our guide to workers’ rights and employers’ obligations, but please take note: We are not lawyers and this guide is no substitute for legal counsel. In many ways,…

All Work and No Job

There are a million stories in the white-collar gig economy. Let me introduce you to one. Alison Chock has two jobs: One is in retail, where she works nights at a boutique. Her other job is more unpredictable. The work…