Maryland Emergency Management Careers

In recent years, Maryland has been the target of major hurricanes Sandy and Isabel.  Sandy caused widespread flooding in the eastern part of the state, while also contributing to major snowfall in the west.  This led to almost 365,000 residents without power and 11 fatalities.  Isabel struck Maryland in 2003, causing eight-foot storm surges.  Almost 1.4 million residents lost power, while one person was killed and over 200 injured. The wind and water damage contributed to almost $530 million in damages.


Emergency Management Jobs in Maryland

Due to Maryland’s importance as a heavily populated state with a large number of enterprises, many of Maryland’s private companies have employed emergency management (EM) personnel.  One of the largest companies in the state is Lockheed Martin Corporation, which recently posted the following requirements for a career as a Crisis Management/Emergency Preparedness Analyst:

  • Must be team oriented
  • Have experience in preparing and training EM personnel
  • Design and testing of crisis management plans
  • Assisting businesses in security and emergency preparedness around the world
  • Must be self-driven and capable of working on multiple tasks
  • Competencies in risk management in uncertain global environments
  • Ability to pass federal security screening and work with classified materials
  • Superior written and oral communication skills
  • Leadership skills during training and emergency response operations
  • Prior experience in global operations centers, GIS technology applications and principles, and social media tools for emergencies
  • Must possess a bachelor’s degree in one of the following
    • Emergency management
    • Crisis and disaster management
    • Homeland security
  • Knowledge of
    • National Incident Management System
    • National Response Framework
    • Incident Command System
    • Knowledge of common computer applications

The majority of Maryland emergency management professionals seek professional certification through nearby federal agencies.  The Emergency Management Institute offers emergency management classes in Maryland in nine areas:

  • Incident management
  • Continuity programs
  • Hazard mitigation
  • Emergency communications
  • Public disaster communications
  • Operational planning
  • Integrated preparedness
  • Disaster logistics
  • Service to disaster victims

Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA)

Maryland Emergency Management Agency (MEMA) is a close partner to local governments as well as federal agencies like FEMA.  MEMA coordinates responses to natural and terrorist incidents through its State Emergency Operations Center (SEOC).  SEOC is the command and control center for emergency operations throughout the state, as well maintaining open lines of communication with federal agencies.

MEMA also designs and implements the Maryland Emergency Preparedness Program.  This program provides oversight in four areas:

  • Prevention and protection
  • Mitigation
  • Response
  • Recovery

Training in Emergency Management in Maryland

The Maryland Emergency Management Agency has adopted federal standards and models to help train personnel in state and local agencies.  The National Incident Management System (NIMS) is a paradigm published by the federal government to help coordinate state resources.  The NIMS system is used to help train new EM personnel, develop training programs and conduct integrated training exercises using multi-agency personnel.

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