Paging Michael Gates...Emergency Management question.

Michael, I didn't want to clutter up one of your resouceful threads with a question so here it goes.

Do you have a list specifically of Emergency Management certifications similar to the ones you posted for MEMS? I know you have a list of courses but I'm more interested in the memberships to organizations as well. MEMS is my first one I'm joining and it appears that it carries a little weight in the Emergency Management community. Do you know of any other ones that have some usefullness in the HLS/EM communities?

Thanks again for all that you do here!

 

Emergency Management Certifications

SGAUS MEMS
www.sgaus.org/MEMS.html

Alabama Association of Emergency Managers
http://www.aaem.us/aaem-online/
http://www.acca-online.org/aff_groups/aaem/aaem.html

International Association of Emergency Managers
http://www.iaem.com/

FEMA > Professional Development Series (PDS)
http://training.fema.gov/IS/searchIS.asp?keywords=PDS

FEMA > Advanced Professional Series (APS)
http://training.fema.gov/emiweb/aps/


Here's a start.

Will look at this again later, have to leave right now and go somewhere.

 

National Emergency Management Association

National Emergency Management Association (NEMA)

http://www.nemaweb.org/

NEMA Membership is open to all who play a role in emergency management from local, state and federal government, the private sector and the academic community.

 

Oregon Emergency Management Association

Oregon Emergency Management Association

http://www.oregonemergency.com/index.php

http://www.oregonemergency.com/prof_dev-orcems.php

 

Colorado Emergency Management Association

Colorado Emergency Management Association (CEMA)

http://www.cemacolorado.com/index.shtml

 

Virginia Emergency Management Association

Virginia Emergency Management Association

http://www.vemaweb.org/content/certification/

 

Louisiana Emergency Preparedness Association Certification

http://www.lepa.org/Certification/certification2.htm


Found this one!

 

Join the IAEM and your state association of emergency managers.

 

I have found the IAEM far too expensive. I don't see paying $450 to verify what I have already done. The money gets me no new courses and there are other certifications. I do monitor their free email mailing list. I usually just look at their list of accepted certification courses and go out and do them apart from IAEM.

IAEM Excel file: http://www.iaem.com/certification/GeneralInfo/documents/IAEMTRAININGALLOCATIONTABLE2007.xls


Some state associations like mine do not like to take in people who are not county EMA directors and do not have a certification available to those not in the inner circle. So you look elsewhere.

 

I'm going to have to research this as well. Other than my FEMA courses I have hundreds of hours of training in other EM subjects. I've also worked several hurricanes which should account for experience toward the requirements. How else do you get your foot into the door if they expect you to have prior experience? It's just like jobs that want you to have prior experience but you can't get experience without having the job. You are essentially stuck unless someone gives you a chance.

 

Really? Do you think you need any more courses? . At some point in time, to get into the field a person will need to be able to demonstrate advancement in the field and that cannot be done through courses alone. I do not know you or have any idea of your professional accomplishments. I appreciate the listings of course you have posted on this forum. As someone who works and teaches in the field of EM, I am going to respectfully disagree with your assertion that there is no value to the CEM and IAEM membership.

I have gotten several faculty jobs in EM just for having the CEM next to my name in addition to my education/training. I have talked to numerous people in the hiring end for EM jobs and they all have noted the CEM is the single best thing thing next to a degree in the field to get a foot in the door. CEM takes all of the training and experience and puts it together in a recognizable package. The number of EM/HS degree programs popping up in the last several years have put tons of graduates out there looking for a position. Someone trying to get into the field needs to distinguish him/herself from those in the same position.

Before I got my CEM I had the same questions in my mind - why spend the time and energy to document things I have already done? I received the same answer from several people -the CEM demonstrates follow-through and committment to advancing professionally in the field. Yes, it is just a hoop to jump through, but it is a hoop nontheless that is considered as the standard by those in the field. Many professional fields have similar credential that may or may not provided added value to the holder in terms of new knowledge, but serves as a gateway into the higher levels of the field. In my mind, having everything done for the CEM but not having the actual credential could be viewed as a negative.

The $450 is for the CEM, not membership in the IAEM. A student membership is $30/year. True, there are other orgs. and certs. out there, but if someone is looking to break into or expand their options in the field of EM, there is no better recognized org. to be a member of. The networking opportunities alone are worth the fee for someone looking to land in the profession.

 

I have no use for IAEM membership and as I said I see it as too expensive at $450 for me to get so little in return. I can network for free on the IAEM email list (and others lists) without membership and the spending of money. I have yet to see the first person in any of the emergency management organizations I belong or deal with to bother with the IAEM certification. Maybe they are keeping it secrect. In my mind, having everything done for the CEM and then paying so much for the actual credential could be viewed as a negative, and not very conservative with money. You could get a state certification and membership to a state EMA association in Alabama for $30. For even $300 you could get a life membership in SGAUS and every level of the MEMS certification after completing training. MEMS is the hot certification around me right now, though I think it needs improvement.

I will never stop taking training that offer some type of credential. It keeps me on top of new things and fresh on old things. I also train in many different fields, complete many courses each week and always under disclose how many I have completed overall. Training is more of a journey me, than an end goal.

 

Cool - to each his own. Thanks for your reply Michael. I was actually gearing the comments towards Soupbone's original post since he is trying to get into the field and you seem to be already established.

I have always been a little confused as to why someone would spend thousands of hours and dollars getting a degree in EM and then not spend the $450 to get the most recognized credential in the field? You and I must run in different EM circles as the CEM is the recognized in the ones I am aware of in Washington State and FEMA Region 10.

Membership in the IAEM is only $30 for a student - the CEM process is where you spend the $450. I have paid for my CEM one hundred times over in the last year from faculty opportunities I have recieved that I would not have without the CEM.

I was just kidding you about needing any more courses - I am in the same boat as you taking courses every chance I get.

Thanks for the dialogue.

 

I also want to thank you guys for the replies. I am going to start with my state EM agency by putting together a training and experience portfolio like they require for the certification. After that I will focus on the MEMS cert and then lastly the CEM from IAEM. I might need some guidance as to how I should go about documenting my experience as it relates to the four hurricanes I've worked through and also how my patrol days might also be documented.

I hope I'm not wrong to assume that since patrol deputies are first responders I have EM experience from this as well. I've obviously responded to several emergency situations. I know it's not the same field as EM/HS but it sure doesn't hurt either. Thanks again!