With the rise in acts of terrorism, natural disasters and major public health scares, there has been an increse in jobs in crisis management with an emergency management degree. Businesses along with a high number of government agencies, regardless if they are local, state or federal need to hire a number of highly trained and experienced professionals who will design business and organizational continuity plans, emergency preparedness strategies and other key plans that will help businesses and agencies prepare for the worse, according to the National Center for Crisis Management. If you find this possible career route interesting, here is an overview of how to land a job in crisis management.
What Type of Degree Do You Need in Order To Land a Job in Crisis Management?
Crisis management is a relatively new area of concentration and is usually offered as a set of courses within an emergency management degree. There are a number of college and universities, both online and brick-and-mortar that offer bachelor’s, master’s and Ph.Ds in emergency management with an emphasis in crisis management. For those entering a bachelor’s degree program, you will spend at least the first two years of your degree program taking general education coursework. This includes classes such as English composition, college algebra, communications, foreign languages, physical sciences, biological sciences and history. It is usually not until the third year of college that students will have the ability to take coursework related to crisis management.
What are Some Things You Will Learn in a Crisis Management Program?
Students will typically learn a variety of issues centered on topics such as:
- Communication during crisis situations
- Planning before emergencies occur
- Emergency preparedness and response
- Handing hazardous materials
- Technology for emergency situations
What are Some of the Courses Within a Crisis Management Concentration?
In a crisis management concentration, students will typically take courses such as:
- Crisis Communications in Law Enforcement
- Business Continuity Plan Design
- Homeland Security
- Public Health Emergency Preparedness
Coursework will vary from college to college.
What is the Outlook For Jobs in the Crisis Management Field?
Well, salary and outlook widely depends on where you would end up working, level of education, years of experience along with geographic location. Most people with a background in crisis management end up working for city-wide, county-wide, state and federal agencies in different scopes and sizes as program managers and directors for emergency and disaster preparedness initiatives. Generally speaking, this is a mid-level career and according to the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics, law enforcement officials working in a program coordination capacity typically made around $50,000 in 2010. Salaries will be higher in larger metropolitan regions such as New York City, Chicago, Los Angeles and Philadelphia. Also, those with master’s degrees and PhDs will typically see higher salaries and will easily be able to ascend into director and vice president-level positions within any major organization, agency or corporation.
If you have ever considered a career working in emergency prepared, crisis management is definitely a worthwhile concentration. Conduct thorough due diligence when shopping around for a good degree program. There are plentiful jobs in crisis management with an emergency management degree.