How To Become An Emergency Management Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is an emergency management specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted Expert

Laura Siebeneck Ph.D.

Emergency management specialists mitigate crisis situations caused by natural disasters, war catastrophes, technological debacles, and the like. They coordinate measures and actions to normalize the region and carry out trainings to prepare for emergencies.

As an emergency management specialist, you need to excel in strategic thinking. You will be responsbile for securing every immediate need of the affected population, including coordinating resources and arranging shelters for the community. You will supervise trainings for emergency teams to ensure that they can respond quickly and carry out the necessary courses of action.

Remaining level-headed in crises is your most valuable asset. You also need to be organized and detail-oriented to foresee connections and consequential results between possible response measures.

What general advice would you give to an Emergency Management Specialist?

Laura Siebeneck Ph.D.

Professor and Chair, University of North Texas

Acquiring a solid academic foundation in emergency management and developing strong analytical, written, communication, and problem-solving skills is important for success in this field. And more and more, I am noticing that employers are looking for individuals that work well in a team-setting and possess project management skills. The hazards and disasters emergency managers encounter are becoming increasingly complex and being able to collaborate and think creatively to solve these problems is important.

ScoreEmergency Management SpecialistUS Average

Salary

4.9

Avg. Salary $63,164

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

9.1

Growth Rate 3%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.3

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 1.49%

Asian 3.79%

Black or African American 11.70%

Hispanic or Latino 12.04%

Unknown 4.97%

White 66.02%

Gender

female 31.31%

male 68.69%

Age - 47

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 47

Stress Level

9.1

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.6

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

4.1

Work Life balance is poor

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become an emergency management specialist

Explore emergency management specialist education requirements

Most common emergency management specialist degrees

Bachelor's

57.3 %

Associate

19.6 %

Master's

13.7 %

Start to develop specific emergency management specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Emergency Management	7.88%
DHS	7.70%
Emergency Response	6.49%
Emergency Preparedness	6.38%
Incident Management	4.88%

Complete relevant emergency management specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New emergency management specialists learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as an emergency management specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real emergency management specialist resumes.

Research emergency management specialist duties and responsibilities

Identify facilities and personnel resources within the state to achieve rapid effective dispensing of SNS.
Provide hazardous materials (HAZMAT) response capability for unknown or suspect incidents.
Receive inbound calls and dispatch roadside assistance for AAA customers who need help.
Assist FEMA and coordinate disaster response and recovery activities to include damage assessments, and individual assessments.

Prepare your emergency management specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your emergency management specialist resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on an emergency management specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Emergency Management Specialist Resume templates

Build a professional Emergency Management Specialist resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Emergency Management Specialist resume.

Apply for emergency management specialist jobs

Now it's time to start searching for an emergency management specialist job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

Average emergency management specialist salary

The average Emergency Management Specialist salary in the United States is $63,164 per year or $30 per hour. Emergency management specialist salaries range between $32,000 and $122,000 per year.

Average Emergency Management Specialist Salary

$63,164 Yearly

$30.37 hourly

How do emergency management specialists rate their job?

-/5

5 Stars

4 Stars

3 Stars

2 Stars

1 Star

Emergency Management Specialist reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Mar 2020

Cons

Sometimes you do not get top cover. Political leadership may not be interested in engaging in preparedness and only wants to act once an incident becomes high profile. And, if an operation goes south, you may find yourself standing alone to face criticism resulting from poor political decisions.

Pros

50 years of challenging, rewarding and evolving experiences with every kind of threat that one could imagine. Made great friends and lasting relationships. Can see and reflect upon real change and influence on the practice area.