Emergency Management Jobs

Thu, 11 Mar 2010 16:04:00 -0500

As the popularity and necessity of the field increases, so do the opportunities for those seeking emergency management jobs. Emergency management is the discipline of dealing with and avoiding risks, according to Wikipedia. It involves preparing for disaster before it occurs, disaster response, and supporting and rebuilding society after a disaster. The actions taken by emergency management professionals depends on the risk of those involved. Effective emergency management relies on integration of plans at all levels of government and non-government involvement. It's most common for a governmental agency or emergency services to handle the responsibility of emergency management. Since the Cold War, emergency management is one of the terms which has replaced civil defense, because the original focus was to protect civilians from military attack. Modern thinking focuses more on a general intent to protect people in times of peace and war. Those who work as emergency managers are trained in a wide variety of disciplines to support them throughout an emergency life cycle. Most emergency managers focus on either government and community preparedness or private business preparedness. Emergency management workers are usually trained by local, state, federal and private organizations. They learn skills ranging from public information and media relations to high-level incident command and tactical skills. The emergency management sector has traditionally consisted of workers with a military or first responder background. In recent years, however, the field has become more diverse, with workers from a variety or backgrounds Part of the reason the occupation is becoming more diverse is that the educational opportunities for those seeking undergraduate and graduate degrees in a related field have continued to increase. There are currently eight schools in the nation that offer an emergency management-related doctorate program, and one that offers a program specifically for emergency management. As the need for these professionals increases, professional certifications - such as Certified Emergency Manager and Certified Business Continuity Professional - are becoming more common. While the nature of the work depends on local economic and social conditions, most emergency management workers focus on the long-term plan. The process usually includes four phases - mitigation, preparedness, response and recovery. The international organizations that focus on emergency management include: the International Association of Emergency Managers, Red Cross/Red Crescent, United Nations, World Bank and European Union.

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Emergency Management Jobs