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Hi, all! I see there are a lot of threads about Asheville, going back a few years, and I've already read a few of them (and will continue reading). But I haven't found recent mentions of environmental science jobs, so I thought I would ask - are there any? My husband and I are hoping to move to Asheville so I can go to UNCA for environmental science with an Earth Science concentration. It will be my second degree (first is in political science). I figure with my transfer credits I'll spend about 3 years in school, and I'm hoping by the time I'm done, the job market will be creeping back. But I know it wasn't great in WNC to begin with! I'm used to a 40-minute each way commute, so I'm willing to drive to surrounding areas for work. I'm interested in any work relating to environmental health and sustainability - government, nonprofit, private industry, whatever. (Hopefully interning while I'm in school will help me find a focus and make some connections.) Does WNC have a history of decent job availability in this field?
I'm not looking to make six figures and buy a McMansion; I just want a job I enjoy and a home in a town where I truly feel at home, and Asheville has made me feel at home the times I've visited. I love downtown, I love the Laughing Seed, I love Malaprop's, I love the architecture, I love the NC Arboretum, I love the beautiful cemetery...I'm sure there's a lot to love that I haven't discovered yet as a tourist. If this all works out and we do move to AVL, we would be looking for a fixer-upper probably in West or North Asheville. I know development is (or was, before the slump) out of control, but how are sales of preexisting homes? If things didn't work out, would we likely be stuck with the place, or is demand still relatively high?
Thanks in advance to anyone willing to chime in. General advice is appreciated, but just FYI, we're not put off by the crime rate or the pot smell in the air, and we love dirty hippies.
it's a good thing you are not looking for a 6 figure salary because you would never find a job in WNC that pays anywhere near that...At the most you can expect to earn would be no more than $30,000.
As for jobs, I suggest you contact UNCAs environment science department and ask them their advice in that field. You may also want to contact the NC employment security office & see what they have to say www.ncesc.com they have the resources to be able to tell you what you could expect to earn in that field & what the job market is like in this area. I personally do not know of anyone in that field & do not even know of any jobs in this area that meet your requirements other than state jobs but then I am still not sure if there are any state jobs in this area that have what you want.
as for housing in the west & north part of Asheville & Buncombe county you are looking at the 2 most popular areas in WNC for people to move to. Some people here will tell you that housing prices have come down to a reasonable rate & some on here will even tell you that you should buy now because they believe prices are on their way back up but I personally have not seen home prices drop to a reasonable rate yet. Housing is still way over priced for what you get & the amount of money you can expect to earn here. Even the most run down, poorly built house from the 1960's or 1970's that has never been updated will run you in the area of $150,000 & up. That may seem like a great deal compared to where you are coming from now but compared to the amount of money you can expect to earn here that is way over priced.
Even a double wide mobile home in those areas start in the $130,000 range & can go as high as $300,000 depending on how big the home is & how much land it comes with.
I can send you links to homes that are currently on the market in both areas if you are interested.
You need to do some serious research on this area, make a few trips here, look at houses, talk to people in your field of work, talk to the instructors at UNCA & see if this is truly what you want to do. Yes the mtns are beautiful, lots of nature everywhere & tons of things to do with these mtns but all that beauty is not going to pay your bills
I graduated from UNCA with a bio degree and got a masters certificate thinking it would help with jobs. I was looking for a forestry/national or state park job in anything biology/environmental science related for 2 years and never even got an interview AND i knew people (they said they just didn't have openings).
I have just moved to greenville SC.
So take that information as you see fit.
What does your husband do? If hes in medicine he MIGHT be able to find a job and then you two MIGHT be able to make it.
Thanks for the info! Part of my attitude toward Asheville is based on where I currently work and live; the housing prices don't sound high to me and I currently make under $25k working in Greensboro, NC with a four-year degree already under my belt. I know Asheville won't be a big step up in regards to salary, but I suppose I view it as a sidestep, not a step down. My big concern is, of course, job availability, but again, it's not great here either. At least the scenery and downtown life would be better fitting for us there.
My husband is a freelance graphic and web designer, and he has a good base of clients and can work from anywhere with a high-speed Internet connection, so his work won't be negatively affected by the move, and we will still have income. However, he's also looking for full or part-time work in Asheville just on the off chance something comes up. I know competition for art and design work is high, though.
The suggestion to talk to UNCA folks is a good one; maybe the environmental science department or career center has numbers on job placement for the department.
From recent studies I have read & been told by friends that I have who live in Greensboro, coming to Asheville you can expect to earn $2 to $3 less on the hour than you can in Greensboro. So I think it would defiantly be a step down in your career move.
Jobs in general no matter what field you go into are far & few between here in the mtns of WNC. For every one job opening there are here in WNC there is an average of 250 people applying for that job, all with the same qualification or better than you. I personally do not know of any jobs in WNC that are in the environmental science field but I can not imagine there are many.
Asheville & all of WNC are not big in the way of web design, graphics, etc.. Most jobs here are medical, food service, tourist industries, sales & service (department stores, grocery stores, cell phones, cars, real estate, small shops) hotel & motel services, call centers, construction & maintenance, auto repair & delivery.
Here is a break down of the differences between Asheville & Greensboro in general. All the figures in RED are for Asheville, all the figures in PURPLE are for Greensboro.
Wow, thank you for those numbers, WNCbadwolf! I've looked up the median incomes for both places but hadn't seem them broken down by age before. That is eye-opening. I appreciate you taking the trouble to look that up! Maybe Asheville will have to stay a vacation destination for me...
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