A career as an emergency manager is highly rewarding since you get to save lives and help serve the whole community when a disaster strikes. The demand for this job market is growing too, so don’t let a lack of financing stop you from pursuing this career opportunity. You can make the education for this exciting career more affordable.

Resource: 50 Most Affordable Schools for an Emergency Management Degree 2015

To save money while earning a degree in emergency management, follow one or several of these five helpful tips:

1. Get your degree online

As of 2016, approximately 79 accredited schools will let you get a degree in emergency management online. Taking these courses will save you money on traditional education expenses such as transportation costs and the room-and-board fees as well. Plus, their tuition prices are often cheaper than what you’d pay when physically “going to college.”

2. Buy your textbooks secondhand or simply rent them from Amazon

Amazon’s website has become an ideal place to save money on books for school due to their vast collection of available titles, and now they have a special program for college students called the textbook-rentals store where you can find most popular textbooks by easily typing the book’s ISBN number into the search bar on this section of Amazon’s website. Instead of spending $70 or more on required textbooks such as “Intro to Disaster Management,” you can rent the same book and only pay for shipping! Just send your book back to Amazon before the due date.

3. Enroll in a Federal Work-Study, or “FWS” program at your school

The FWS program lets you work while in school to reduce your tuition costs, and it’s often easier kinds of employment than you’d normally have off campus. Better still, your work schedule can be more flexible since you’re working for the college and they won’t make you work during exams! Currently, about 3,400 colleges offers FWS funds for students, and you’ll receive at least the standard minimum wage according to federal law for your work. Pursuing an emergency-management degree integrates perfectly with FWS programs because the law requires that all schools must especially support students working in community-service jobs, including ” … emergency preparedness and response.”

To qualify for these funds, you need to complete a Free Application for Federal Student Aid, or “FAFSA,” form online.

4. Find cheaper accommodation off campus.

Going in on a rental with several people you trust can save you a fortune on room and board, and it’s best if you can search for other students pursuing the same degree, such as a master’s in public administration or emergency management, because then you can even study together. If you find a place and need to connect with other potential house-mates, many schools will let you post a flyer on the school’s community board. Plus, you could always advertise online and screen potential flatmates accordingly.

Contact the Dean of Students in your college to see a list of off-campus housing properties that you can share with fellow students. Some colleges even maintain these lists on a special segment of their website to make your search more convenient. Local rental agencies in the city where you’re attending school also specialize in finding affordable apartments for students.

5. Try an accelerated program or night school where possible.

Go to a college offering an intensive one-year program or night-school classes. Immersing yourself in an intensive emergency-management master’s degree program can save you money by earning your credentials within one year so that your tuition payments will be lower. However, you’ll need to study more often and probably won’t have much time to hold down a job during such an intensive program.

Also, you can earn your degree through universities offering night-school programs so that you can still work full-time during the day. This way, your income won’t suffer while you earn your degree.

You won’t need to worry about your education costs too much after saving so much money from following the tips we’ve covered above. See these expenses as an important investment for your future because when you have a master’s degree in emergency management, you’ll become a specialist who makes around $60,000 a year! Now it’s up to you to get ready to pursue your dream.

Additional Resource: Top 10 Online Emergency Management Degree Programs 2015