Hurricane Katrina and Homeland Security Majors

Now that the Hurricane Katrina story has shifted to matters of emergency management and homeland security, it seems to me that this spotlights the need for more, highly-trained emergency and disaster managers. With that in mind, do you think schools, whether DL or B&M, will experience increased interest in their Homeland Security programs? I personally think there would be, in fact, I might even consider it for my BS. I also think there might be a corresponding increase in jobs available in the market for trained people who can handle emergency situations. While many of those jobs are government jobs, I think various corporations and companies also draw up their own emergency plans and have a need for such trained personnel. Thoughts?

 

To be honest I always thought that a degree in Homeland Security was just a passing fad...however if you were to include disaster management and not just terror related stuff, then yes I could see this becoming a viable discipline.

That said, I believe that a Business degree with an emphasis in HS such as NCU for things like continuity of business would be a marketable degree.

A Criminal Justice degree with an emphasis in Homeland Security would also be a viable option since you would be ideally working with city infrastructure and possibly on a planning commission or team.

As for a degree in Homeland Security in of itself, I believe (read: my opinion) is that it is akin to putting all your eggs in one basket. The next President may dissolve or rename or reconfigure Homeland Security, thus changing what the general understanding of what Homeland Security actually means. Whereas Criminal Justice and Business are both solidly established disciplines in of themselves.

 

Those are some good points. Well, how about programs such as these, recommended by FEMA:

http://www.training.fema.gov/emiweb/cgi-shl/college/display_by_degree.cfm?degree=9

These are mainly disaster and emergency preparedness degrees. Many of them are available online. Some of them look very interesting, and they don't concentrate on terrorism at all. A lot of the programs seem to cover man-made and natural disasters.

 

Michigan State has a certificate program that you can take as an undergraduate or graduate student. It is only 9 semester hours and might be a good way to sample the subject matter without committing to a degree program. The credits would likely transfer easily if you decided to pursue the degree later at another school.

http://homelandsecurity.msu.edu/

 

Those are certainly good degree programs but they give the graduate a specific set of skills with a narrow scope of focus. For instance, imagine a BA in Emergency Management, not being able to get a government job due to a handicap, bad credit, criminal history, unstable work history, they don't like your hair, etc. How would you take a degree like that and transition to private sector. As for a Criminal Justice degree, that's not just about being a cop, but also working corrections, social work, government work, private security, etc.

Something to consider...how flexible is the degree?

A certification with an undergrad in something else is probably more appropriate.

As a side note, if you want to work in Federal Law Enforcement a degree in accounting will serve you better than a CJ degree or a HS degree would.

 

I know a man who currently makes a very ggod living as a consultant to corporations related to issues of data retrieval/retention in situations of disaster (natural or manmade). For many companies, saving the data is the difference between being up and running and being dead forever.
I believe that I'm safe in saying that many of the largest companies already have people on hire performing this function.
What is the title of this position? Damned if I know. It probably changes from company to company but I do know that people are doing this job now.
Jack

 

I think a degree in Homeland Security or Emergency Management is an excellent career choice, but only if you are really interested in one of these subjects.

I may also add that a background in fire service, law enforcement or EMS would be a good start for you. Specifically, a certification as an EMT (Emergency Medical Technician) would be a good starter. Most states require 120 hours of training. I have an EMT from PA (actually working on re-certifying right now). I took classes twice a week for 6 months, however there was an intensive 3 weeks program too.

If you decide to pursue an Emergency Management degree from TESC, you may want to look at the online FEMA EMI courses. Apparently, TESC will accept many of these courses for 1 credit each (one or two of the courses will land you 2 credits). For more information, search this forum for messages from a user named "Hille". Also, just search for FEMA AND TESC.


Good luck!
- Tom

 

Jacksonville State in Alabama offers a nice online B.S. in Emergency Management.


http://iep.jsu.edu/

 

Well, as I said before, this degree would not just apply to government jobs, but corporate jobs as well. A quick search on Monster.com turned up more than one thousand different emergency management jobs at various companies. I don't have any interest in criminal justice, at all. Just not my thing.

I was in the Navy for five years and was sent to war zones, but I don't ever remember them checking my credit history (mine stinks by the way, due to wife's medical bills). Maybe that's something they reserve for civilian workers. I do find these degrees very interesting. I think the suggestion to take a certificate first is a good one.

On a side note: Here is another FEMA manager in hot water, simply because he got his degree from CALIFORNIA COAST UNIVERSITY.

http://www.gazettetimes.com/articles/2005/09/11/news/the_west/sunwes02.txt

 

At least they now acknowledge that CCU has made a lot of changes and is now accredited.

As for the degree mentioned above, now that I think about it, every major corporation should have a person of this type.

It sounds like a solid choice.

 

I think I'll start off by taking the free FEMA courses online. It will give me an idea of what the studies are like, they're free, and if I decide to go further with it down the road I can get credit for them. Disaster preparedness and emergency business continuity seem like good skills to have these days, anyway.

Maybe it's just me, but I think there will be an increasing demand in this field for years to come, and not just as a result of Hurricane Katrina.

 

"Correspondence School"

Does the term "Correspondence" apply to any school anymore? Would Indiana or Brigham Young be called a correspondence school because they offer extrernal degrees? Would my USNY degree be considered correspondence?

I'm wondering about my future as I put down degrees on a resume. Will they twist my USNY degree into "Sent a fee in for a diploma"?

So many cases to consider for people looking at non accredited schools. DON'T. We read a number of articles these days on the topic. It just won't pay. Somewhere, sometime, someone will be looking over your shoulder at your resume.

 

Homeland Security in a growing field right now.

Check out these schools.

http://www.training.fema.gov/emiweb/cgi-shl/college/display_by_degree.cfm?degree=28

 

bing...I think the term "correspondence school" will either not be used or used specifically in a derogatory sense in the future. Distance learning is getting a boost from (oddly enough) hurricane Katrina displacing over 100,000 college students who will have to do at least one semester online to continue with their studies.

This means 100,000 graduates going into the workforce with at least some distance learning under their belt. Overall, this will be a boon to DL as an acceptable form of learning.

 

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, emergency management specialist will be one of the nation's fastest-growing jobs through 2012. Hiring of emergency management specialists is expected to grow about 30 percent during that time. The median salary is about $47k. Hawaii pays their emergency management specialists the most. Puerto Rico, the least. Louisiana ranks in the middle. The BLS said the main source of training is through a "related occupation", probably EMT, firefighter, etc.

 

Sally Welch:

Then why did they accredit it?

 

Obviously, CC made changes and is up to DETC standards now. The article pointed out that the guy received his diploma in the unaccredited days. So, he has an unaccredited degree.

Let's focus on some conversations that had been happening on this forum, and even on other DE forums. People who had attended unaccredited schools were very delighted to have their schools finally become accredited. Some had even mentioned that their degree will now be seen as accredited(because no one really checks right?). This article is an excellent example of killing that fantasy. This guy here is called into question because of an unaccredited degree eventhough his school is now accredited.

What is one to do with an unaccredited degree? Here are some suggestions. Don't ever put it on a resume. Don't ever take a job that might put you in a spotlight. Don't take a government job. Try not to excel in life if you actually put it on your resume. Hmmm. What else? If you don't do these things it could end up embarrassing you, and may cost you your job.

 

Here is an update to the story I posted earlier:

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/240457_katrinapennington13.html

 

Martin plans new FCC homeland-security bureau
By Heather Forsgren Weaver
Sep 15, 2005
WASHINGTON-FCC Chairman Kevin Martin said Thursday that he intends to create a new Homeland Security and Public Safety Bureau that will include many of the issues, including 911, public-safety communications and other priority emergency communications, currently being handled by the FCC's Wireless Telecommunications Bureau.
"The bureau will coordinate public safety, national security and disaster management activities within the FCC," Martin said at a special FCC open meeting held in Atlanta and aired over the Internet.

continued below
RCR Wireless News first reported Martin's goal of creating a homeland-security bureau in July.

Martin did not say what would happen to the rest of the wireless bureau's portfolio, but recent changes in the front office of the wireless bureau continue to point to a significantly decreased policy role for the bureau.

Peter Tenhula and Scott Delacourt, both deputy chiefs of the wireless bureau, recently were reassigned to other jobs at the FCC. Both Tenhula and Delacourt had oversight of wireless policy and regulation.

 

FEMA Independent Study Courses

Thomas Edison / FEMA / Credit Banking
http://forums.degreeinfo.com/showthread.php?s=&threadid=18705

FEMA Independent Study Courses
http://www.training.fema.gov/

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