Moving between states / Pennsylvania

Flag of HawaiiHawaiitoFlag of PennsylvaniaPennsylvania, Electrician

Moving from Hawaii to Pennsylvania as a journeyman electrician

What a journeyman electrician licensed in Hawaii has to do to work in Pennsylvania, what the move does to your pay, and who in Pennsylvania is hiring from out of state.

Licensed by the city. Pennsylvania has no state electrician licence; the City and county building departments decide what card you need, and it can differ between cities. No state electrician licence; Philadelphia, Pittsburgh and many municipalities license locally. Ask the contractor hiring you which municipality the first job is in and apply to that one. Your Hawaii state licence is evidence of hours, not a licence there.

What the move does to your paycheck

On a $60,000 salary Pennsylvania leaves you roughly $2,778 a year more than Hawaii does, because Pennsylvania's rate is lower.

SalaryHawaii state taxPennsylvania state taxDifference a year
$40,000$3,080$1,228+$1,852
$60,000$4,620$1,842+$2,778
$90,000$6,930$2,763+$4,167

Rough figures for a single filer: exact in the flat-rate and no-tax states, approximated at 70% of the top bracket in the progressive ones. In Pennsylvania: municipalities add an earned income tax, 1% in most places and 3.75% in Philadelphia. Property and sales tax are not in it.

CNA: Hawaii to Pennsylvania

Transfers by reciprocity. Your Hawaii certificate stays on the Hawaii Department of Commerce and Consumer Affairs, Nurse Aide Registry (administered by Prometric); to work in Pennsylvania you apply to the Pennsylvania Nurse Aide Registry (Pennsylvania Department of Education, administered by Credentia) for reciprocity. It accepts an active certificate in good standing from another state; there is no retest if your record is clean. Most registries list you within two to six weeks.

RN and LPN: Hawaii to Pennsylvania

Endorsement, six to twelve weeks. Hawaii is not in the compact, so your Hawaii licence is single-state. Apply to the Pennsylvania board for licensure by endorsement (Nursys verification, fingerprints, the board's fee); six to twelve weeks is normal, so start before you give notice. Because Pennsylvania is a compact state, ask for the new licence to be issued as a multistate licence: from then on it works in every compact state.

CDL: Hawaii to Pennsylvania

Transfers at the DMV. A commercial driver's licence transfers like any licence: within 30 days of becoming a Pennsylvania resident you surrender the Hawaii CDL at a Pennsylvania driver licence office, pass the vision test, pay the fee, and your endorsements carry over. A hazmat endorsement needs a fresh TSA threat assessment in Pennsylvania. Your driving record follows you through the federal CDLIS system.

No statewide program in Pennsylvania pays people to move in. Towns sometimes list an offer through MakeMyMove, and employers in short-staffed trades pay relocation themselves; ask for it in writing before you accept.

Openings filed in Pennsylvania

85 open positions filed with the Department of Labor by Pennsylvania employers who could not fill them locally.

Your own route from Hawaii to Pennsylvania

Tell us your trade and your licence. We write the steps for your case, check the job offer for scams, and keep your resume ready for Pennsylvania employers.

Plan my move to Pennsylvania

Same move, by trade

CNA: Hawaii to Pennsylvania · RN or LPN: Hawaii to Pennsylvania · Truck driver: Hawaii to Pennsylvania · All licences: Hawaii to Pennsylvania

From Hawaii to the states next to Pennsylvania

New York (progressive, top rate 10.9%) · New Jersey (progressive, top rate 10.75%) · Delaware (progressive, top rate 6.6%) · Maryland (progressive, top rate 5.75%) · West Virginia (progressive, top rate 4.82%) · Ohio (progressive, top rate 3.5%)

To Pennsylvania from the states next to Hawaii

Everything about working in Pennsylvania · All moves between states · All 50 states

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