Just yesterday I was asked by Karen Fishler, Program Coordinator for the Master in Strategic Planning for Critical Infrastructures at the University of Washington to comment on where I see the future of jobs for the emergency management and homeland security professions going. This was specifically for people completing graduate degrees from the university.
I thought I'd share an edited portion of what I wrote back to her here in this blog posting:
If you have not seen two articles that I authored and are related to careers in emergency managementâ"see below:
Emergency Management Jobs
Cultivating Emergency Managers
I guess one of my thoughts is that "once there is an attack" against critical infrastructure in the United States, the graduates will be in high demand. Until then, I think the biggest asset is the planning degree. Planning continues to be an area of emphasis in both emergency management and homeland security. That piece is not going away anytime soon.
Events definitely drive needs. Following Katrina for instance it was all about special needs populations and evacuation planning. A year before that there was nothing on those two topics. I keep waiting for mitigation planning to be the hot topic. It could still happenâ"depends on what Craig Fugate has an emphasis during his tenure. Growth management planning and building codes are two areas that directly impact critical infrastructure. I think having a course on climate adaptation would be good for positioning graduates for the future.
I do think that it appears to be that graduates from the existing program seem to have been more mid-career people. I think that those types have a better chance of getting on with government programs at the state and local levels because the people come not only with a degree, but also some work/life experienceâ"less of a risk to the hiring entity.
Younger graduates would probably be better off trying to break into the private sector with a consulting firm. Being willing to relocate to D.C. would be ideal since many of the larger consulting firms are located there and do work for the federal government.
Craig Fugate, FEMA Director noted that many of the FEMA staff are nearing retirement. So if you project out five years then the market could open up even more. If of course they can afford to retire.
The other issue might be some downsizing of government programs, especially at the state level due to budget constraints. There could be "shrinkage" in the size of emergency management staffs, especially in those states that don't have many disasters and are experiencing severe budget issues, of which there are a number that fit that bill.
Lastly, I have been surprised at how long the funding has been sustained from the surge that followed the 9/11 Attacks. Every year I expect to see more drastic reductions and still nothing yet. I suppose that like defense, legislators are worried about being seen as the one who cut funding to homeland security and then there is another attack on the USA. Yet, I see the federal deficit continuing to grow significantly and when will it all end?
I hope some of my ramblings above are helpful.
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I thought I'd share an edited portion of what I wrote back to her here in this blog posting:
If you have not seen two articles that I authored and are related to careers in emergency managementâ"see below:
Emergency Management Jobs
Cultivating Emergency Managers
I guess one of my thoughts is that "once there is an attack" against critical infrastructure in the United States, the graduates will be in high demand. Until then, I think the biggest asset is the planning degree. Planning continues to be an area of emphasis in both emergency management and homeland security. That piece is not going away anytime soon.
Events definitely drive needs. Following Katrina for instance it was all about special needs populations and evacuation planning. A year before that there was nothing on those two topics. I keep waiting for mitigation planning to be the hot topic. It could still happenâ"depends on what Craig Fugate has an emphasis during his tenure. Growth management planning and building codes are two areas that directly impact critical infrastructure. I think having a course on climate adaptation would be good for positioning graduates for the future.
I do think that it appears to be that graduates from the existing program seem to have been more mid-career people. I think that those types have a better chance of getting on with government programs at the state and local levels because the people come not only with a degree, but also some work/life experienceâ"less of a risk to the hiring entity.
Younger graduates would probably be better off trying to break into the private sector with a consulting firm. Being willing to relocate to D.C. would be ideal since many of the larger consulting firms are located there and do work for the federal government.
Craig Fugate, FEMA Director noted that many of the FEMA staff are nearing retirement. So if you project out five years then the market could open up even more. If of course they can afford to retire.
The other issue might be some downsizing of government programs, especially at the state level due to budget constraints. There could be "shrinkage" in the size of emergency management staffs, especially in those states that don't have many disasters and are experiencing severe budget issues, of which there are a number that fit that bill.
Lastly, I have been surprised at how long the funding has been sustained from the surge that followed the 9/11 Attacks. Every year I expect to see more drastic reductions and still nothing yet. I suppose that like defense, legislators are worried about being seen as the one who cut funding to homeland security and then there is another attack on the USA. Yet, I see the federal deficit continuing to grow significantly and when will it all end?
I hope some of my ramblings above are helpful.
