High School
Emergency management directors must be top-notch communicators, so it’s a good idea to take as many English, writing, and speech classes as possible in order to develop your presentation, report-writing, and general communication skills. Learning a foreign language—such as Spanish—will be useful if you need to communicate with people who do not speak English fluently. Other recommended classes include business management, accounting, mathematics, statistics, computer science, and social studies.
Postsecondary Education
You will need a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in emergency management, crisis and disaster management, emergency management and homeland security, public administration, or a related field and a minimum of five years of emergency management–related experience and/or training to qualify for a position as an emergency management director. Students typically participate in an internship or other cooperative education experience at a government agency or other employer of EMDs as part of their training. Some EMDs have master’s degrees or doctorates in one of the aforementioned fields.
Certification
The International Association of Emergency Managers (IAEM) offers a core-level certificate in global emergency management to new and experienced directors who complete a two-day class and a case study short answer and multiple choice evaluation. Class topics include Fundamentals of Emergency Management; Prevention, Protection, and Mitigation; and Emergency Planning. The IAEM also offers the 1-Day IAEM PDTC Symposium for Emergency Management Leaders and Executives. Those who attend the symposium will receive a certificate of completion. Visit https://www.iaem.org/resources/PDTC for more information.
Certificates in emergency management, cybersecurity, homeland security, and related fields are available from colleges, universities, and other providers.
Other Education or Training
Professional associations; for-profit, online learning platforms, and colleges and universities offer a variety of courses that will be useful to emergency management directors. For example, the National Emergency Management Association offers webinars such as How Technology Supports Preparation, Response, and Recovery for Extreme Weather Events and Flooding. The Association of Continuity Professionals, Business Continuity Institute, Disaster Recovery Institute International, International Association of Emergency Managers, and associations at the state and local levels also provide webinars and in-person classes (often at their annual conferences).
The Federal Emergency Management Agency provides continuing education opportunities via its Emergency Management Institute. Recent classes included:
- Understanding EMAC
- Integrated Public Alert and Warning System (IPAWS) for Alerting Administrators
- Preparing for Federal Disaster Operations: FEMA
- Voluntary Agency Coordination in Disasters
- Airport Security Personnel
- Ambassadors
- Aviation Safety Inspectors
- Bail Bondsmen
- Bailiffs
- Bank Examiners
- Bodyguards
- Border Patrol Agents
- Bounty Hunters
- Campaign Workers
- City Managers
- Civil Engineers
- Congressional Aides
- Construction Inspectors
- Corrections Officers
- Crime Analysts
- Cryptographic Technicians
- Customs Officials
- Demographers
- Deputy U.S. Marshals
- Detectives
- Directors of Security
- Economists
- Emergency Medical Technicians
- Emergency Services Dispatchers
- EPA Special Agents
- FBI Agents
- Federal and State Officials
- Fire Inspectors
- Fire Investigators
- Fire Protection Engineers
- Fire Safety Directors
- Fire Safety Technicians
- Firefighters
- Fish and Game Wardens
- Foreign Service Officers
- Forensic Experts
- Forest Fire Prevention Specialists
- Fraud Examiners, Investigators, and Analysts
- Futurists
- Genetic Genealogists
- Health and Regulatory Inspectors
- Intelligence Officers
- Interpreters
- Land Trust or Preserve Managers
- Lobbyists
- Military Recruiters
- Military Workers, Enlisted
- National Park Service Employees
- Occupational Safety and Health Workers
- Park Rangers
- Parole Officers
- Police Officers
- Policy Analysts
- Political Consultants
- Political Scientists
- Polygraph Examiners
- Press Secretaries
- Recycling Coordinators
- Regional and Local Officials
- Secret Service Special Agents
- Security Consultants
- Security Guards
- Traffic Engineers
- Translators
- Transportation Planners
- Urban and Regional Planners
- Wildland Firefighters