The Federal Emergency Management Agency, or FEMA, is easily one of the largest and most crucial federal agencies. Whether it’s a natural disaster or an attack on American lives, FEMA is responsible for being on the front lines and providing victims with everything from food and water to insurance adjustments and claims services. With that large amount of services and responsibilities, the agency hires all kinds of professionals who take on different titles, roles, and salary scales. To understand the potential for long-term career earnings within the Federal Emergency Management Agency, it might be worth considering the two major groups of individuals who work within the organization and serve Americans from coast to coast.
Emergency Management Specialists: The Core of FEMA’s Operational Efficiency
The primary responsibility of FEMA is to respond to any kind of emergency, no matter where it happens in the United States. That means the professionals employed by FEMA are responsible for hurricanes and avalanches, terrorist attacks and man-made disasters. Emergency management specialists are the ones responsible for drafting response plans, coordinating a response among numerous state and federal agencies, and implementing those plans as soon as the situation on the ground is ready for them. They’re central to everything that’s done, and they command a premium annual salary for their efforts.
While the average entry-level new hire at FEMA earns as little as $28,900 per year, this salary is actually pretty rare and is generally assigned only to those candidates with no prior experience in emergency management and only a two-year degree in the field. Typically, FEMA employees earn salaries that are more toward the upper end of the scale, around $90,000 per year. This elevated level of compensation is due largely to those employees’ long hours, central role in emergency management, and their extensive list of both inter-agency and intra-agency responsibilities.
Appraisers, Claims Adjusters, and Service Specialists at FEMA
Another crucial component of the Federal Emergency Management Agency is acting as a middleman when affected victims of a disaster begin to file claims so that they can rebuild and resume their lives. Generally, the role of FEMA is to act as a sort of regulatory body that ensures insurance companies are paying fair compensation amounts to their victims. Adjusters in this capacity will also make sure that claims are properly filed, and that insurance companies properly categorize claims as either a result of the disaster or as a result of other activities.
Though adjusters play a central role within FEMA, the occupation itself is growing slower than average. This has the related effect of bringing down salaries, since the competition for qualified employees is somewhat less. On average, the typical adjuster can expect to earn a median salary of about $58,460 per year. While that’s lower than the salary paid to emergency management specialists, it’s worth noting that FEMA’s adjusters and appraisers typically have fewer responsibilities and work far less overtime than their counterparts on the ground immediately after the event has taken place.
Two Great Ways to Join FEMA and Earn a Living Wage
Whether it’s as a claims adjuster or as one of FEMA’s crucial emergency management specialists, these two main careers within the agency both pay a salary higher than the median American wage. That bodes well for the creation of future wealth no matter which position an applicant wishes to take on.
Related Resource: What Types of Jobs are Available with FEMA?