Also called: County Emergency Manager, City Emergency Manager
Plans how a city or county responds to disasters and leads the response when one hits.
Emergency managers write evacuation plans, run tornado and active-shooter drills, and manage the emergency operations center during a crisis, coordinating police, fire, public works, and shelters. On quiet days they apply for grants and teach the public to prepare.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 4 years after high school. Bachelor's in emergency management, public administration, or related field; FEMA courses and CEM certification.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school, Certification. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Emergency Management, Public Administration, Homeland Security, Geography.
Growing about average (about 3% over 10 years). BLS emergency management directors 2024-34.
Low risk for 10 years. AI drafts plans and tracks resources; leading the emergency center in a crisis stays human.
Classes: Government / Civics, Earth science, Speech, Statistics.
Official data: O*NET occupation 11-9161.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.