Emergency management is a highly important profession to the state of Georgia. As the home of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), Georgia is a global leader in health care services for victims of epidemics, emerging pathogens, and bio-terrorism. The CDC attracts the world’s leading experts in virology, bio-weapons, and environmental health who provide advice to healthcare providers, public policy makers and emergency responders throughout the country and the world.
Qualifications for Emergency Management Jobs in Georgia
Education and Background – One of the most important providers of emergency management careers in Georgia is the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. In a recent job posting for an emergency management specialist position, the salary provided was between $49,581 and $77,981 per year. The minimum requirements for this job included:
- U.S. citizenship
- Ability to pass a comprehensive background investigation
- Willingness to be on call 24 hours a day
- Possession of a master’s, J.D. or LLB
- At least one year of experience in the preparation of public health facilities, coordination of incident management support and organizing training exercises
- One year probationary period
- Willingness to travel
Emergency Management Certification – For many of these emergency management jobs, it is often critical to demonstrate proficiency with incident response systems. This is most easily accomplished through the acquisition of certifications. Among the most prestigious of certification programs is the one offered through the Emergency Management Institute (EMI). The EMI offers emergency management classes in a wide variety of topics including
- Recovery and mitigation
- Hazards public information officer
- Operations based exercise development
- Hurricane focus
- Mass casualty focus
- Earthquake focus
- Incident management
- Hazards finance and administration
Private and Public Employers of Emergency Management Professionals
In addition to the CDC, there are several public and private organizations that provide preparedness and responses to a variety of natural and man-made emergencies. The head organization in the state is the Georgia Emergency Management Agency (GEMA). GEMA fulfills a variety of public awareness, homeland security and disaster response functions through various units:
- Hazard Mitigation Division—responds to any long term risk to human life or property
- Statewide Training & Exercises Office—provides training to many of the emergency personnel including fire, police and emergency medical personnel
- Homeland Security Division—uses state and federal funding to protect the public from radiological, chemical, biological and explosive threats
- State Operations Center—is a 24 hour nerve center that coordinates local, state and federal responses to disasters
- Planning Section—develops and implements the State of Georgia Emergency Operations Plan
- Public Assistance Division—assists residents in receiving aid from public agencies following a disaster
In addition to these organizations, many Georgia companies employ emergency management professionals to help them prepare for disruptions or losses from natural and human-generated incidents. Among the most important of these companies are utilities, especially electrical power companies. The Southern Company is a major producer and distributor of power, which is generated using fossil fuels as well as nuclear sources.