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Emergency Management Directors
Plan and direct disaster response or crisis management activities, provide disaster preparedness training, and prepare emergency plans and procedures for natural (e.g., hurricanes, floods, earthquakes), wartime, or technological (e.g., nuclear power plant emergencies or hazardous materials spills) disasters or hostage situations.
Other titles employers use
911 Communications Manager · Emergency Management Coordinator · Emergency Management Director · Emergency Management System Director (EMS Director) · Emergency Manager · Emergency Planner · Emergency Preparedness Manager · Emergency Services Director
Inside the work
What you would actually do.
6 responsibilities that define the role, before job titles and workplaces change the details.
- Consult with officials of local and area governments, schools, hospitals, and other institutions to determine their needs and capabilities in the event of a natural disaster or other emergency.
- Develop and maintain liaisons with municipalities, county departments, and similar entities to facilitate plan development, response effort coordination, and exchanges of personnel and equipment.
- Coordinate disaster response or crisis management activities, such as ordering evacuations, opening public shelters, and implementing special needs plans and programs.
- Prepare emergency situation status reports that describe response and recovery efforts, needs, and preliminary damage assessments.
- Maintain and update all resource materials associated with emergency preparedness plans.
- Prepare plans that outline operating procedures to be used in response to disasters or emergencies, such as hurricanes, nuclear accidents, and terrorist attacks, and in recovery from these events.
Who it suits
Would this work hold your attention?
This career often appeals to people drawn to persuading, organizing and analytical work.
- Persuading
- Leading, selling, starting projects, or making a case
- Organizing
- Creating order, checking details, and keeping work accurate
- Analytical
- Investigating questions, testing ideas, and solving problems
Skills and strengths
What you would get good at.
Compare the skills the work relies on, the subjects behind it, and the abilities that make it easier to learn.
Core skills
- Service Orientation
- Speaking
- Complex Problem Solving
- Reading Comprehension
- Active Listening
- Writing
Subjects to know
- Public Safety and Security
- Administration and Management
- Law and Government
- Communications and Media
- English Language
Useful strengths
- Oral Comprehension
- Oral Expression
- Deductive Reasoning
- Speech Clarity
- Written Comprehension
Working day
Picture yourself doing it.
These measures show how much of the day involves people, movement, conversation, and hands-on work.
| Measure | Out of 5 | What that means here |
|---|---|---|
| Close to other people | 3.0 | Largely your own space |
| On your feet | 2.7 | Mostly seated |
| Talking face to face | 4.5 | Continuous — the job is conversations |
| Working with your hands | 2.3 | Little of the day |
Preparation
How people prepare for this work.
Employers usually ask for a bachelor's degree. Other routes may also lead into the field.
- A four-year degree 59%
- A master's degree 23%
- A certificate or some college 9%
- High school or less 5%
- A two-year degree 4%
Tools of the work
Technology you may use.
- Geographic information system
- Electronic mail software
- Spreadsheet software
- Office suite software
- Presentation software
- Document management software
- Word processing software
- Data base user interface and query software
Opportunity near you
See where this work is growing.
Choose a state to compare the size of the field, annual openings, and expected hiring change.
- People doing this work
- 980
- Job openings each year
- 70
- Expected hiring change, 2022–2032
- 14.0%
Compare every available state
| State | People doing it | Job openings each year | Expected change |
|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 980 | 70 | 14.0% |
| Florida | 750 | 60 | 10.3% |
| New York | 740 | 10 | 21.3% |
| New Jersey | 530 | 40 | 3.9% |
| Pennsylvania | 420 | 30 | 2.4% |
| Georgia | 410 | 30 | 7.9% |
| North Carolina | 410 | 30 | 10.8% |
| Virginia | 410 | 30 | 5.1% |
| Tennessee | 380 | 30 | 15.2% |
| Indiana | 350 | 20 | 2.9% |
| Oklahoma | 330 | 20 | 6.5% |
| South Carolina | 330 | 20 | 10.0% |
| Ohio | 300 | 20 | — |
| Minnesota | 270 | 20 | 8.0% |
| Michigan | 240 | 20 | — |
| Alabama | 230 | 20 | 4.5% |
| Washington | 220 | 20 | 15.8% |
| Mississippi | 210 | 20 | — |
| Colorado | 190 | 10 | 18.8% |
| Missouri | 190 | 10 | 5.6% |
| Connecticut | 180 | 10 | 5.9% |
| District of Columbia | 180 | 10 | −5.3% |
| Wisconsin | 180 | 10 | — |
| Arizona | 170 | 10 | — |
| Arkansas | 170 | 10 | 6.3% |
| Utah | 150 | 10 | 15.4% |
| Kansas | 140 | 10 | 7.7% |
| New Mexico | 140 | 10 | 7.7% |
| South Dakota | 140 | 10 | — |
| Iowa | 130 | 10 | 8.3% |
| Kentucky | 130 | 10 | 8.3% |
| Oregon | 130 | 10 | 8.3% |
| Idaho | 120 | 10 | 9.1% |
| Maryland | 120 | 10 | — |
| Nebraska | 120 | 10 | 9.1% |
| Puerto Rico | 120 | 10 | 9.1% |
| West Virginia | 110 | 10 | 10.0% |
| Alaska | 100 | 10 | — |
| Maine | 100 | 10 | — |
| Louisiana | 90 | 10 | — |
| Massachusetts | 70 | 10 | 16.7% |
| Nevada | 70 | 10 | — |
| New Hampshire | 70 | 10 | — |
| North Dakota | 70 | 10 | 16.7% |
| Montana | 60 | 0 | 20.0% |
| Wyoming | 50 | 0 | — |
| Rhode Island | 40 | 0 | — |
| Vermont | 40 | 0 | 33.3% |
| Virgin Islands | 10 | 0 | — |
Career to college
Build a path toward this work.
Start with a related major, then compare colleges where students complete that field.
Where to study
Colleges with strong activity in these fields.
Start with program size, admission, and likely cost. Open a college for the full picture.
CUNY John Jay College of Criminal Justice
- Degrees each year
- 1,454
- Admit rate
- 57%
- Annual cost after aid
- $7,000
Sam Houston State University
- Degrees each year
- 922
- Admit rate
- 85%
- Annual cost after aid
- $16,000
Southern New Hampshire University
- Degrees each year
- 895
- Admit rate
- 96%
- Annual cost after aid
- $37,000
George Mason University
- Degrees each year
- 501
- Admit rate
- 89%
- Annual cost after aid
- $15,000
Florida International University
- Degrees each year
- 547
- Admit rate
- 59%
- Annual cost after aid
- $11,000
University at Albany
- Degrees each year
- 394
- Admit rate
- 70%
- Annual cost after aid
- $18,000
Liberty University
- Degrees each year
- 572
- Admit rate
- 99%
- Annual cost after aid
- $27,000
Florida State University
- Degrees each year
- 554
- Admit rate
- 25%
- Annual cost after aid
- $10,000