Professional Prepper

Building My Street Cred

Long time readers know that my job has some responsibilities in emergency management and planning and that I work in my work city's Emergency Operations Center during disasters.  For a couple of years I've been a Certified Emergency Management Assistant through the Viginia Emergency Management Association.  I also subscribe to professional journals and am a member of several EM organizations.  I'm at the stage in my career, where I need to do more.

I recently enrolled in American Military University for their highly regarded Master's of Disaster and Emergency Management program to get a graduate degree.  I'll actually start classes in March, and ought to be done in about three years.  AMU is a fairly new institution, having been started in the early 90s with the intent of giving military personnel the ability to earn degrees no matter where in the world they might be stationed.  It's fully accredited and has developed a pretty good reputation.  I've researched numerous on-line and traditional EM and Homeland Security degrees, and the "Masters of Disasters" from AMU fits my needs the best.

I'm also wrapping up my efforts to become a Certified Emergency Manager through the International Association of Emergency Managers.  The training, background and experience required are pretty extensive, and then I'll have to pass a comprehensive exam.  CEM is the "gold standard" in professional certifications in the EM field, and is the next logical step for me.

These are some pretty big steps for me, but I think now is the time.