How To Get a Job in Emergency Management: 5 Steps

When a natural disaster, cyberattack, or public health crisis disrupts daily life, emergency management professionals help turn chaos into an organized response. They coordinate people, plans, and resources so organizations and communities can prepare, respond, and recover.

But how do you get a job in emergency management? There is no single path into the field, but most employers look for a mix of relevant education, hands-on experience, role-specific skills, and continued training. This guide breaks that preparation into five practical steps.

Key takeaways 

• Emergency management jobs span government, healthcare, higher education, nonprofits, consulting, utilities, and private companies. 
• Education and experience requirements vary by role; director positions typically require a bachelor’s degree and years of related experience. 
• Applied experience can come from internships, co-ops, local agency work, public safety, nonprofit service, exercises, or FEMA hiring pathways. 
• Training and professional credentials can strengthen a candidate’s profile, but they should match the intended role and do not replace employer requirements.

What is emergency management?

Emergency management is the coordinated work of preparing for, responding to, recovering from, and mitigating emergencies and disasters. Professionals assess risk, build plans, coordinate people and resources, communicate during crises, and support recovery. FEMA organizes this work across five national preparedness mission areas: prevention, protection, mitigation, response, and recovery. Disaster preparedness connects those phases by helping organizations identify risks and plan before an emergency occurs.

According to Ann Lesperance, director of programs for Northeastern University’s College of Social Sciences and Humanities, emergency management is about “how we respond and how we follow incident command structure.” That coordination is central to effective preparedness, response, and recovery.

How to get a job in emergency management

Requirements vary across emergency management roles and employers, but most career paths combine relevant education, hands-on experience, role-specific skills, and continued training. Use these five steps for guidance in building your preparation:

1. Choose a target role and work setting.

Start with the kind of work you want to do and where you want to do it. Emergency management roles exist in government, healthcare, higher education, utilities, consulting, nonprofits, and private companies, with responsibilities ranging from planning and continuity to response coordination and recovery.

2. Review current postings to identify recurring qualifications.

Start with the kind of work you want to do and where you want to do it. Emergency management roles exist in government, healthcare, higher education, utilities, consulting, nonprofits, and private companies, with responsibilities ranging from planning and continuity to response coordination and recovery.

3. Build the relevant education, training, and foundational knowledge.

Earning the right degree is a crucial step to becoming an emergency management professional. No matter what career path in emergency management you choose, a bachelor’s degree is often a minimum requirement to obtain employment. 

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics also reports that directors typically need many years of related experience in emergency response, disaster planning, or public administration. Coordinator, specialist, planner, continuity, and other roles may use different combinations of education, training, and experience.

Depending on the intended role, relevant fields of study may include emergency management, public administration, public health, homeland security, business, communications, environmental science, or another aligned discipline. Graduate study may be useful for leadership or specialized resilience work when the curriculum, applied-learning opportunities, cost, and career outcomes fit your goals.

“These programs are a little different because they make you think about how to bring these kinds of societal and critical infrastructure pieces together,” Lesperance says.

4. Gain relevant experience and role-specific skills.

Relevant experience can come from more places than a formal emergency management job. Employers may value internships, co-ops, capstone projects, military or public-safety service, healthcare preparedness, nonprofit disaster response, exercises, local planning, or business-continuity work.

FEMA also lists career paths for students and recent graduates, Reservists, Cadre of On-Call Response/Recovery employees (CORE), local hires, and permanent full-time applicants. Each path has its own eligibility and application requirements.

Experiential learning can be especially useful for students and career changers because it provides concrete examples to discuss in applications and interviews.

Skills  employers look for

The exact mix will depend on the job, but employers commonly look for skills such as:

• Management

• Leadership and decision-making

• Communications

• Emergency Response

• Planning and coordination

• Operations and continuity
  

5. Tailor each application and pursue professional credentials when they add value.

Tailor your resume and cover letter to the responsibilities and language in each posting. Use specific examples to show how you have planned, coordinated, communicated, or responded under pressure, and pursue professional credentials only when they strengthen your fit for the target role.

Why you should work in emergency management

Working in emergency management can be an incredibly rewarding field for those who want to help others. Beyond the rewarding experience, professionals in this field benefit from a financially rewarding salary and a positive career outlook.

Salary potential

There are a number of careers in emergency management, so it’s challenging to pinpoint a median salary for all industry professionals. A clearly defined occupation can provide a useful benchmark, but it should not be treated as representative of every emergency management role.
For context, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that emergency management directors earned a median annual wage of $86,130 in May 2024. That figure applies specifically to directors; compare current postings for the exact title and location you are considering.

Job growth/outlook

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects employment of emergency management directors to grow 3 percent from 2024 to 2034, about as fast as the average for all occupations. About 1,000 openings are projected each year on average, largely because workers will transfer to other occupations or leave the labor force.

Where do emergency management professionals work?

Emergency management professionals work across local and state government, hospitals, colleges and universities, nonprofits, consulting firms, utilities, and private companies. Job titles and employers vary, so it’s encouraged to search across multiple role families and sectors, rather than relying on one employer ranking.  

“It’s an exciting area because there’s a lot of opportunity, not only for students, but also after,” Lesperance says. “You can get jobs that allow you to really bring new and innovative thinking into some of these organizations.”

Frequently Asked Questions 

Do you need a degree to work in emergency management? 

Not every role has the same requirement. Emergency management directors typically need a bachelor’s degree and substantial related experience, while coordinator, specialist, planner, and continuity roles may use different combinations of education, training, and experience. Use the individual job posting as the final authority. 

How can you get emergency management experience? 

Build relevant experience through internships, co-ops, capstone projects, public safety or military work, local emergency planning, healthcare preparedness, nonprofit service, exercises, or business-continuity projects. FEMA also offers pathways for students, recent graduates, Reservists, local hires, CORE employees, and permanent full-time applicants, subject to current eligibility requirements. 

What training or certifications can help? 

FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute offers self-paced training on topics such as the Incident Command System, planning, communications, and exercises. The International Association of Emergency Managers offers the AEM and CEM credentials; the CEM has additional documented work-history requirements, so review the current criteria before applying.

Moving forward with a career in emergency management

Start by comparing current job postings for the role and sector you want, then identify whether your biggest gap is education, hands-on experience, training, or a professional credential. Choose the next step that closes that gap rather than treating one qualification as universal. 

If graduate study aligns with your goals, explore Northeastern’s Master of Science in Resilience Studies. The program combines technical and policy perspectives with applied-learning opportunities such as collaborative research and Experiential Network projects.

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in February, 2024. It has since been updated for relevance and accuracy.