Teen Editorial Board members share their personal outlook on their future in Hawai'i after graduation.

USE INCENTIVES TO ATTRACT QUALITY JOBS

There are developments and businesses all around Hawai'i, but few available jobs that could provide an adequate wage for maintaining a comfortable life-style in Hawai'i.

The cost of living is very high, and there is only so much room for any more expansion. This could prove to be a substantial problem for Hawai'i, as much of the youth, such as myself, may feel the need to move to the Mainland in order to live comfortably.

There are few good solutions to this problem because there will always be opposition, but government could give incentives, such as tax breaks, to existing and prospective businesses looking to make a base in Hawai'i.

Or, as suggested by the Corporation for Enterprise Development, government could promote the growth of homegrown businesses to possibly create more full-time jobs and diversify the economy.

I would like to be able to come back to Hawai'i and find a quality job after college. Hawai'i is my home, but I may find myself having to live in the Mainland if this problem is not helped.

Marcie Kagawa | Junior, 'Aiea High School

JOB MARKET GOOD, BUT NOT THRILLING

In a few years, I will graduate from high school and move on to college, which is a great leap toward my future goals. I plan to leave Hawai'i to pursue my undergraduate studies, and once I finish college I sadly don't see myself returning to my birthplace.

Currently, Hawai'i is a rapidly growing state, filled with many job opportunities that result from the continuous opening of new businesses and stores. Although the conditions here are ranked as one of the healthiest environments, personal preference is what keeps me from seeking permanent residence here.

New York has always fascinated me. Here in Hawai'i, I miss the hubbub that I wish to live in.

There is much opportunity in Hawai'i, and I would like to return periodically.

I will always care about improving Hawai'i since it has been such a great home to me. Even while I am away, I would hate to see conditions decline.

Hawai'i is moving in the right direction, taking baby steps toward growth. I would be more than happy to return from the Mainland and see Hawai'i as a further strengthened state.

Sean Maekawa | 'Iolani School

STAYING HERE FOR COLLEGE LAST OPTION

With my bags packed and ready for wherever I go after high school, only one question remains: Where will I go after college graduation?

While Hawai'i is an option, it is at this point an option only worth exploring once others have been exhausted. There just doesn't seem to be anything worth remaining here for.

Jobs don't seem to be as rewarding or as plentiful here.

Government should wean the Islands from tourism-based jobs, and instead help push the state toward a better tomorrow.

Engineering, alternative energy research and more should be explored to make the job market more appealing to the next generation.

We'd see fewer teachers leave if they were not stymied by a lack of resources, for themselves and their students. By offering forward movement and improving the job market, careers here may not seem so bad.

In the end, it all comes down to improvement and expansion to capitalize on a critical part of jobs: human innovation.

Jonathan Banasihan | Senior, Waipahu High School

COST AND QUALITY OF LIVING NEED HELP

Government needs to realize that it takes more than good weather and beautiful beaches to bring people to Hawai'i.

There are quite a few reasons why most graduates leave Hawai'i. The high cost of living and affordable housing are two areas the government could improve.

Reducing the high tax burden will ease housing costs, as would reducing the highest gasoline tax in the country.

Job creation is another field government could involve itself in to encourage people to relocate and stay in this great state.

For those with families, the educational system is a major concern. It seems that the best educational opportunities are in the private schools. The parents who cannot afford those schools or simply don't want to use private schools look to the public school system, which ranks near the bottom of many national education surveys. If Hawai'i wants to bring more employees to the state, the government needs to improve the quality and cost of living, including public education.

William Grip Jr. | Junior, Radford High School

WE URGENTLY NEED DIVERSIFIED JOBS

Hawai'i's salaries aren't keeping up with the cost of living, resulting in more and more prospective college students deciding to leave for the Mainland after high school.

The economic stress upon college-bound students is great, and the comparatively high prices for groceries, real estate, etc. only compound it.

For many families, the cost of living here is 30 percent or more above the national average. It is no wonder that so many students leave Hawai'i for the Mainland. Living in Hawai'i is simply not an economically feasible option.

Living in the Islands needs to be made affordable for more people. Many major changes must be made to accomplish this. Mainly, we need to increase the number of jobs that pay enough to support a family in a decent home.

The 2004 per capita income in Hawai'i was below the national average and ranked 20th in the nation.

Numerous jobs for both skilled and unskilled workers are drastically needed, because staying in Hawai'i is becoming an impractical option for an increasing number of us.

Kevin Chafe | Sophomore, Kapolei High School

WE'LL MAKE OUR MILLIONS ELSEWHERE

I've always known that eventually I'd have to move away from Hawai'i. Not because my parents were going to kick me out of the house the second I became 18, or because my childhood dream was to live and work at Disneyland, but because there weren't the types of jobs in the Islands that could provide for myself and a family in the future.

The idea is that I'm going to make my millions elsewhere, and then when I'm ready to retire at the ripe age of 35, return to my beautiful homeland and settle in an oh-so-inexpensive $5 million estate in Kahala.

What's sad is that I'm not the only teenager who has such an idea.

Many of Hawai'i's brightest minds leave for a better life on the Mainland. They know that the salaries on the Mainland are more than sufficient to cover the cost of living, whereas here many are just scraping by.

Yes, new schools at the University of Hawai'i have opened Hawai'i to different industries (film, medicine, etc.), but for the next generation to make a living to survive, our cost of living must decrease, or else we might as well just say "aloha" to the future of the state.

Paul Iona | Junior, Kamehameha Schools

TEACHER SHORTAGE WILL LIKELY WORSEN

Though it is less than a decade away, I imagine Hawai'i will be a very different place when I graduate from college.

I have no idea what types of jobs will be available here. We will always need doctors and lawyers, but there will also be a need in other occupations, such as teachers.

We already are facing a teacher shortage, but in five years I imagine that there will be even fewer teachers here in Hawai'i to educate our youth.

When I graduate from college, I think Hawai'i will be in serious need of qualified teachers. But the increasing cost of living in paradise will certainly attract many potential teachers away from our state.

As a senior in high school, I have been contemplating many different career options. I would like to return to Hawai'i after attending a Mainland college to become a teacher, but with the current salary the average teacher earns here, it seems a bit more rewarding to live on the Mainland.

I feel this idea is common among people my age, and this is why there will definitely be many openings in the field of education as the years go on.

Sarah Turgeon | Senior, 'Iolani School

DESPITE JOB SCENE, HAWAI'I IS HOME

I really don't feel that Hawai'i has quality jobs for a lot of people in my generation to return to after graduating from college or graduate school.

I believe that the Mainland will offer many more job opportunities in the future than Hawai'i will.

Although I do feel that the Mainland offers more job opportunities, I would rather return to Hawai'i and seek a career here.

I would rather have a job in Hawai'i because this is where I was born and raised; I know the people and how to interact with them.

As an aspiring lawyer, I believe that I could be more effective here in Hawai'i because even though Hawai'i is such a small state, there are many things that happen here that require legal aid.

Malie Pine | Junior, Wai'anae High School

SCARCITY OF QUALITY FULL-TIME JOBS A MAJOR CONCERN

Today, there are a number issues that will become problems for Hawai'i's teens in the future if nothing is done to correct them. Issues range from the growing traffic congestion to overflowing landfills, increasing energy costs to overcrowded schools. A major concern that will affect Hawai'i's teens is the scarcity of quality full-time jobs.

Too often, many of Hawai'i's residents are forced to work more than one job because of the limited number of well-paying, full-time jobs. After a Mainland college education, Hawai'i students often stay there for jobs with higher pay and a better future.

Changes must be made to keep Hawai'i's economy vital and growing and to allow young people to return home to work. There must be a more diverse economy, more government help for business owners and better educational foundation for all.

One solution is to have state, city and county incentives for entrepreneurs and more freedom from red tape to stimulate the creation of quality jobs and new businesses.

Hawai'i's economy is still too reliant on tourism; it is weak in industrial diversity and technology.

Industry and political leaders must focus on cultivating and supporting homegrown businesses that don't take up lots of land, pollute the environment or depend on the whims of visitors. Finally, the next generation of workers will come from today's youth. Investments must be made to strengthen their secondary and college education, which will allow them to remain in or return to Hawai'i.

Long-term results will improve the future workforce, thus putting an end to Hawai'i's brightest moving to the Mainland in search of better jobs and a better quality of life.

Cydrienne Llamas | Sacred Hearts Academy

HAWAI'I FACES PROBLEM IN OFFERING QUALITY JOBS

The number of jobs available is critical for Hawai'i to achieve sustainability.

Many in the younger generation are looking to the Mainland for higher-income jobs.

The problem Hawai'i faces is not the number of jobs but their quality.

People have jobs, but the jobs do not pay a high enough salary to maintain a healthy living style. Many people have to work multiple jobs.

New graduates often find jobs here that cannot pay for their houses, cars, college loans and family expenses. That is the dilemma I will face as I go off to college.

Shall I return or not? Will I find a well-paying job in Hawai'i?

Hawai'i's job situation can be significantly improved if we take action now.

For example, the proposed new transit system is a wonderful opportunity to create more jobs for engineers and technicians.

We need to follow this trend by updating our technology, such as looking into an ethanol plant, and strengthening our healthcare situation.

We need to also strengthen our education system to produce more people who have the qualifications to fill these jobs. By addressing these key points, Hawai'i will be one step closer to its goal of sustainability.

Kimberly Lee | Punahou School