The modern world is full of uncertainty; many people feel less safe than previous generations were able to boast of. The world, itself, has become a much smaller place. In this context, the emergency management career path offers many opportunities for helping people, organizations, and whole societies to overcome catastrophic events and continue moving forward. Most people are familiar with the existence of the Office of Emergency Management at each level of the US government, owing to the events of September 11th, 2001; here are five different emergency management careers for an EM graduate’s consideration.
Resource: Top 10 Emergency Management Bachelor’s Degrees Online 2016-2017
Emergency Management Intern
With paid and volunteer positions available, EM intern is a good position for adding to your competitiveness in a popular and growing field. With an emergency management degree, coupled with some experience learning the ins and outs of the field as an intern, you will become a prime candidate for leadership positions on the emergency management career path.
Emergency Management Officer
Many people are unaware of just how widespread the emergency management field is. Take the position of emergency management officer, for example. In several of America’s greater metropolitan areas, such as New York and Los Angeles, there may be multiple emergency management facilities at the county or local level. Officers are needed to maintain day-to-day operations and be on call for any emergencies which may arise, whereupon their expertise may be applied to a wide range of situations.
Emergency Management Program Specialist
Emergency management is a career path known for requiring those who follow it to be capable of applying their expertise to a wide range of situations. The EM skill set, however, is one that has a lot of value in various specific areas. Many law enforcement agencies, government environmental agencies, and other responder-type agencies have uses for specific applications of an EM specialist’s skills. As a specialist, you would most likely be called upon on a day-to-day basis to aid in the development of plans for handling various situations, pertinent to the jurisdiction of whichever agency you’re working for.
Director of Emergency Communications
This position is called different things, including “emergency communications specialist,” depending upon where you’re applying. The word “emergency” might not appear, but it’s directly connected to the EM field regardless. During a crisis, someone needs to make sure that various public and private agencies receive the information that they need to execute their respective functions effectively. This falls to the director (or coordinator; occasionally, “administrator”) of emergency communications, as well as their staff. This is usually a government position at the county level or higher, and it requires familiarity with a wide range of law enforcement and disaster relief agencies, policies, and personnel.
Airport Emergency Administrator
For a variety of reasons, airports are one of the most immediately affected agencies during times of crisis. All major airports and airlines maintain emergency management personnel to assist with the handling of important matters during an emergency situation. An airport emergency administrator would need to see that appropriate emergency countermeasures were implemented, based upon the nature of a given situation — such as a fire, a flood, or a terrorist attack. Depending upon the scope of the situation, they would also need to work with emergency management personnel within other agencies, and at various levels of the government.
Emergency management covers a wide range of skills and expertise. It is a growing field, but is also extremely popular among today’s college graduates, and is exceptionally competitive as a result. An emergency management degree and direct, pertinent experience helps to make a particular candidate stand out as someone truly exceptional.