Carlsbad is an Ideal City for Veterans to Live and Work

Carlsbad is an Ideal City for Veterans to Live and Work

Every year nearly 200,000 service members exit the military. This transition from military to civilian life often means moving to a new city and settling in a new career path. As they exit the military and find a new way of living and working, Carlsbad is a city many veterans and their families like to call home. 

Carlsbad is a city rich in all the qualities many transitioning veterans may want — safe communities, great schools, a family-centric environment and diverse housing options. 

Carlsbad is also rich in resources for veterans who are looking for work and to pursue new opportunities or careers. Veteran entrepreneurs will find that Carlsbad has plenty of resources for small business starts including the SoCal Veterans Business Outreach located at the Carlsbad MiraCosta TCI campus. And once a business is up and running, the Carlsbad Life in Action toolkit can help new businesses promote the city as a great place to live and work for potential new hires. 

Looking to support a veteran-owned business in Carlsbad? Veteranownedbusiness.com provides a listing of veteran-owned establishments throughout Carlsbad and links to their websites for more information.  

Veterans looking for employment can also turn to a fellow veteran for help. 

Christopher Thorne, a 30-year Navy veteran, and a Carlsbad native runs Chris Thorne Consulting, a human resources firm dedicated to helping veterans gain employment and retention nationwide. Thorne is an active advocate for veterans throughout San Diego County and serves as the co-chair of the Military Affairs Advisory Council. He is also a board member of the SD Mac Foundation and the president of the San Diego chapter of the Gary Sinise Foundation.

Thorne believes employers should know that veterans are great employees because they are, “Incredibly adaptive. They are creative and they are used to working under high-pressure situations.”

Many veterans have found work at Viasat, a global communications company headquartered in Carlsbad.

“They are a crown jewel of the Carlsbad community,” said Thorne of Viasat. “They are incredibly engaged in veteran talent, acquisition and retention.”

ThermoFisher, a leader in life sciences, and one of the largest employers in Carlsbad, actively promotes the hiring of veterans and their spouses as part of their company mission. Proficio, a top cybersecurity service provider, avidly hires transitioning service members and veterans due to their advanced skills in cybersecurity and related technologies. 

Thorne feels Linkedin is a great resource tool for every veteran who is looking for work or wants to help others in the community. 

“Our veteran community, civic leaders, and advocates are all very actively engaged there,” Thorne said. “Jobs, opportunities, professional relationship building, and volunteering are significant there. It’s just robust and everyone is on it.”

Veterans can find additional resources at:

• Hiring Our Heroes, offering comprehensive career service information
• Blue Star Families, a community site created by military spouses to help  
• Operation Connect, helps transitioning veterans connect with business leaders and community leaders
• Best Accredited Colleges provides resources to veterans looking to go back to school
• Syracuse University provides career training programs in several fields of interest
• Escondido Chamber of Commerce has a business incubator program for veterans looking to build their own business 
• The Rosie Network is a resource tool for veterans and their spouses with their small businesses
• Carlsbad Life in Action, a comprehensive site with tools and resources to help veterans and their families at every stage of their transition.