Also called: Director of Emergency Management (State)
Leads a state's preparation for and response to hurricanes, floods, wildfires, and other disasters.
State EM directors run the emergency operations center during disasters, brief the governor, request federal help, and coordinate the National Guard, police, and relief groups. Between disasters they plan, train, and manage federal grants.
Approximate: anchored on Bureau of Labor Statistics data for a broader job group.
Bachelor's degree (4-year), about 15 years after high school. Bachelor's in emergency management, public administration, or related field; FEMA courses and CEM certification. Usually 15+ years of experience.
Ways in: 4-year college, Graduate school, Certification. Training cost: $15k – $60k.
Majors to look at: Emergency Management, Public Administration, Homeland Security.
Growing about average (about 3% over 10 years). BLS emergency management directors (approx.).
Low risk for 10 years. AI forecasts and dashboards inform; briefing the governor and directing a statewide response stay 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.