About once a year Wisconsin faces either flooding or severe storms involving blizzards or tornadoes. That is why the state has departments of emergency management at the federal, state, and local levels that take care of the planning, logistics, coordination, and provision of services when disaster strikes. The most recent declared disaster was in the latter half of June, 2012 when a severe storm system made its way through the state, bringing high winds and heavy rain that knocked out power and caused rivers to top their banks. Local emergency personnel in Superior and Bayfield County joined with their state, tribal, and federal partners to coordinate damage control and cleanup efforts. This particular storm prompted the mayor of Superior to muse that the city hadn’t seen such a level of flooding since the early 1900s.
More damaging and perhaps memorable for the entire state was the severe flooding that occurred in its southwest corner during the third week of August 2007. This event put government officials and their inter-agency collaboration to the test, as they dealt with mudslides, lightning strikes, and electrocutions in addition to the flooding. However those entrusted with Wisconsin emergency management careers pulled their communities through this trying time, successfully providing logistics, medical care, and cleanup that saw cities and towns come out of the storms stronger than they began.
Planning for Careers in the Wisconsin Emergency Management Sector
Emergency management jobs in Wisconsin come in many forms for many types of people with varying levels of skills and education. From concerned citizens who have taken emergency management training courses for certification in Wisconsin to veterans with decades of experience in their fields, when disasters strike anyone can make a difference. While line workers and electricity crews work to restore power, logistics coordinators manage the distribution of vital food, water, and fuel, which in turn is guarded at strategic warehouse locations by security personnel; each person in the chain of emergency management is as important as the next, a chain that includes positions such as:
- Law Enforcement
- IT and Wireless administrators
- Floodplain Analysts
- Logistics Coordinators
- Agency Representatives
- Public Relations and Media Spokespeople
- Operation Managers
Education and the Future
There are many emergency management jobs in Wisconsin that do not require formal education. However, careers in emergency management are often propelled by having some level of higher education, be it an associate, bachelor, master, or even doctorate degree. Those careers also afford many possibilities for advancement and promotion. Pertinent subject fields include:
- Law Enforcement
- Criminal Justice
- Legal Studies
- Homeland Security
- Business Administration
- Forensic Psychology
- Criminal Justice in Terrorism, Mediation, and Peace
- Criminal Justice, Leadership, and Executive Management