What career options do Emergency Management degree holders have?
The United Nations defines “emergency” as an event that needs immediate attention using whatever resources are on hand, while “disaster” is an emergency that requires external support.
For example, hurricanes are considered disasters as the communities affected by them are expected to request greater help from different organizations, such as FEMA, and groups than those available locally.
This is what professionals in disaster and emergency professionals do: coordinate proper responses to emergency situations.
Emergency management professionals are trained to distinguish threats even before they happen, react to emergencies, and find approaches to implement policies to lessen the possibilities of future damage.
Although the field is somewhat broad, here are the three top careers an emergency management degree holder will find worth exploring:
Program Manager for Response and Recovery
While large natural hazards are very common, and in most cases, there are trained people ready to handle these situations, we’ve seen a growing number of organizations that are not only concerned about large threats. Some firms are concerned about how they will handle it in case internal emergencies happen.
When you have a degree in Emergency Management, you can become a program manager for response and recovery. This role sends you to different workplaces: from the local government to hospitals and other healthcare facilities.
You are responsible for handling all types of disasters and emergencies and implementing emergency response plans.
Homeland Security Officer
When you graduate with a degree in emergency management, it’s also very easy for you to get a career as a homeland security officer. Roles in this field include intelligence operations specialists, Secret Service agents, or mission support specialists, and you can work within the Department of Homeland Security.
Every homeland security professional’s main goal is to determine and mitigate possible security threats to the United States. This will include studying traffic and data patterns to forecast where any shocks are likely to happen, intercepting threats even before they cause untoward damages, and protecting geographic areas that are highly vulnerable.
In case there’s a disaster, a homeland security officer may be sent to affected areas to help in response efforts.
Security Analyst
Emergency Management degree holders are suitable programs to become a security analyst. When working in this field, you do not only collect data suggesting possible threats; you also contextualize the data and help organizations understand how their environment works and safely operate within it.
Security analysts think through all the potential concerns over the next 15 or 20 years for their organization. These jobs normally need a broad outlook of short-term challenges.
It’s also your responsibility to monitor any political development, determine cybersecurity and digital threats, and assist other emergency management professionals in fully understanding the implications of current events so they can prepare effective responses beforehand.
Related Resources: