So I'm from Hendersonville and have spent almost 12 years away as an Army officer and am now looking to move back and get a "real" job. I've applied at Eaton, GE Aviation,  and Ferrellgas in Hendersonville.

Anybody got any leads? Have a strong background in IT and operations.  I was in local law enforcement before leaving to go active back in the day.

Anything is appreciated

Both Google and Apple have facilities in the foothills around Hickory and Google for sure is hiring and Apple is expanding.

Are you dead set on moving back?

I’m from roughly the same area (Fletcher/Mills River), gone for a similar length of time before EAS.

When I got out, the recession of ‘08-‘09 was in full swing up there.  It was a part of how I ended up as a DoD civilian at Lejeune.  Didn’t want to slug it out for minimum wage jobs and there was a lot of change up there I didn’t care for.   Bought back my military time, so it now applies to my Federal civilian retirement.  That’s a big plus and I kinda enjoy working around a military installation.

If staying in the WNC area appeals to you, and you’d like to see about applying your military time to Fed civilian retirement, get on USAJobs.gov and see if there are some Fed Civilian jobs up that way.  V.A., U.S. Park Service, and U.S. Forest Service are right off the top of my head.

All my time is T32 AGR and doesn't transfer into FERS unfortunately.  Giant crock because I do a T10 mission every day.

I do really like that area though- and family is getting older and would like my kiddo to get to know her grandparents before they are too old to be a part of her life.

The VA is up in Asheville and the USDA.  Again USAJOBs is the way to go let me know if you need info on how to "word" your resume.  With Vet preference you get a good bit of additional points than the rest of us.  So its much easier to get on with .gov.  I have been with .mil for 8 years as a civilian.

Let me know if you have any questions specifically about fed jobs.

Good luck and thank you for your service.

Eaton has been hiring lots of people.  IM me if you want more info.

I had a pre interview with them and was told to expect a follow up call but never heard anything.

But, I got a good job in Asheville that I start next month!

At the VA?  If so I'll stop by and say Hi when I have to go to a clinic/appointment out there.

The entry level job market in Western NC is flat dead in the water coupled with stagnate wage growth if you happen to be lucky enough to land a fair paying job. There exists an endless supply of available workers at the ready in conjunction with unending young illegal aliens (who choose to work) flooding the area. And taxes are going up in an incessant government effort to subsidize those who do not work. It's a lose-lose situation.

Not going to disagree, but if you are on the border like I'm at, there is always East TN and the Johnson City/Bristol/Kingsport Area.