Multiple times a week I get an email with some version of the question: How do I do what you do?
I love this question because we really need more people to do disaster work. I also hate this question because I don’t know! I basically tripped and fell into disaster research.
I explain how I’ve ended up studying disasters in pretty significant detail in my book Disasterology: Dispatches From The Frontlines of The Climate Crisis but that’s just my personal experience. What I’ve come to learn is that there is no one clear path into disaster work. It really is a ‘choose your own adventure’. Seriously -- everyone’s path is unique.
Depending on your preferred job, where you live, your skillset and interests, and your resources and other responsibilities, the path will differ. There is no right or wrong path. Below I’ve worked through some generic advice about emergency management undergrad, master, and doctoral programs because this is what I’m most frequently asked about.
Before you do anything else, try and narrow down what your end-goal, dream job actually is -- do you want to be a professor? Do you want to write disaster policy? Do you want to be an emergency manager? Do you want to be a firefighter? Do you want to run a disaster nonprofit? Do you want to work at a consulting firm? These jobs all touch emergency management in important ways but they also represent very different career paths.
Overwhelmed with options? It is okay if you don’t know! Many, if not most, of the people who I talk to about a career in disaster work do not know exactly what job they want. (A secret is that I still don’t either!)
Even just figuring out what job options there are can be tricky. Many of the jobs that fall within the spectrum of “disaster work” are relatively obscure and you may not have ever encountered them before. Oh, also… the job you should have may not even exist yet! So, yeah… it’s totally normal to feel lost. It’s really overwhelming to know that you’re in the right field but not really see how you fit in.
When my students come to my office in a panic over this I make them answer Three Key Questions and we go from there:
Which phase of emergency management (mitigation, preparedness, response, or recovery) do you want to work in/ are most interested in?
Which sector do you want to work in (business, nonprofit, government)?
Is there a particular hazard/ location you want to work in (earthquakes, hurricanes/ the pacific northwest, the gulf coast)?
Someone who tells me they’re interested in mitigation has enjoyed working with nonprofits in the past, and has had a fascination with earthquakes since they were a kid isn’t going to be going after the same job as someone who is interested in federal cybersecurity policy.
When you want to get into disaster work it can be tempting to want to leave all doors open but because the field is so broad I’ve found that this approach can be ineffective. You’ve got to throw up some guardrails so you don’t overwhelm yourself. Answering these questions will help narrow down the pathways you have to choose from.
The majority of what I want to focus on here though is education and how that fits into your career.
The first thing you need to know is that training and education are different. On the first day of Introduction to Emergency Management, I tell my students that I’m not going to teach them how to lift a building off of someone, but I am going to teach them why people need to be rescued and how to prevent it. Learning how to conduct search and rescue is training, not education. If they decide to specialize in search and rescue then there are any number of trainings available.
To be a good emergency manager you need BOTH training and education. One without the other is a recipe for disaster. (Experience is critical too but that comes with time.)
There are hundreds of emergency management degree programs in the United States so figuring out which one is right for you can be tricky. The best resource for finding a program is FEMA’s “college list”. You can sort programs by degree type, state, and discipline which is useful. (This list isn’t always up to date but it is a really good starting point.)
Bachelor’s Degree
I’ve taught in three different emergency management undergraduate programs across the U.S. and I gotta tell you that I’ve only met a handful of “traditional” college students (i.e., 18 year old straight out of college) who picked the school because it had an emergency management program. The majority of my students have no idea what emergency management is when they show up. (Which is totally fine! That’s why you’re there!). Yes, some of these programs are better than others (as is true in any discipline) but tuition cost and location are really what most people are considering when selecting a program.
On the other hand, “non-traditional” students (i.e., have been working and are coming back to get a degree) have almost always picked the school because of the emergency management program. They also usually have first-hand experience in emergency management and are clear on their future career path. Both of these entry points into an undergrad emergency management degree are totally normal. One is not better than the other.
Master’s Degree
There are also a fair number of master’s programs on the FEMA College list for you to sort through. I see three primary reasons to get a master’s degree in emergency management.
Your Bachelor’s degree was in something completely unrelated but you now find yourself working in emergency management and you have no idea what’s going on.
You need a master’s degree to get promoted or qualify for a specific position.
You intend to or are considering getting a doctoral degree.
Doctoral Degree
If you want to teach emergency management or do research then you’ll need a doctoral degree. There are very few emergency management doctoral programs in the United States so, in that way, this is actually an easier choice. Your options are essentially North Dakota State University, University of Delaware, Oklahoma State University, and Jacksonville State University. There are pros and cons to each of these programs. It’s really about finding the one that fits best with you. If it helps, I talked more about my experience at NDSU here.
If you’re interested in one of these programs I recommend doing the following:
Read their website. Seriously. Read the whole thing. Click on the links too.
Research the professors who teach in the program. Are they doing research you’re interested in? If not, move on.
Do some internet sleuthing and find out what the alumni of the program are doing now. Reach out to them! Ask them about their experience.
E-mail the program director with specific questions based on doing steps 1-3.
I really cannot emphasize enough that I’ve really just brushed the surface here but hopefully, it’s helpful in demystifying some of this process.
