Emergency Management Directors

What Emergency Management Directors Do

Plan and direct disaster response or crisis management activities, provide disaster preparedness training, and prepare emergency plans and procedures for natural (e.g., hurricanes, floods, earthquakes), wartime, or technological (e.g., nuclear power plant emergencies or hazardous materials spills) disasters or hostage situations.

Career Outlook

National employment outlook, 2024–2034.

Related work experience

5 years or more

On-the-job training

None

Self-employed

Not available

Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.

Key Knowledge Areas

Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.

• Public Safety and Securityimportance 4.7/5
• Administration and Managementimportance 4.2/5
• Law and Governmentimportance 4.2/5
• Communications and Mediaimportance 4.0/5
• English Languageimportance 4.0/5
• Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 3.9/5
• Telecommunicationsimportance 3.9/5
• Education and Trainingimportance 3.9/5

Work Environment

What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.

• E-Mail4.9/5
• Telephone Conversations4.8/5
• Face-to-Face Discussions with Individuals and Within Teams4.5/5
• Contact With Others4.4/5
• Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team4.4/5
• Freedom to Make Decisions4.4/5

Related Careers

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• Medical and Health Services Managers
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• Forest Fire Inspectors and Prevention Specialists
• Occupational Health and Safety Specialists

Careers With Similar Skills

Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.

• Chiropractors97% skill match
• Fire Inspectors and Investigators97% skill match
• Interior Designers97% skill match
• Obstetricians and Gynecologists96% skill match
• Pharmacists96% skill match
• Social and Community Service Managers96% skill match
• Archivists96% skill match
• Recreational Therapists96% skill match

Transferable Skills

Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.

• Service Orientationimportance 4.3/5
• Complex Problem Solvingimportance 4.1/5
• Social Perceptivenessimportance 4.0/5
• Coordinationimportance 4.0/5
• Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 4.0/5
• Instructingimportance 3.8/5
• Time Managementimportance 3.8/5
• Persuasionimportance 3.6/5

Software & Technologies

Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.

Work Style

Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.

• Stress Tolerance
• Dependability
• Integrity
• Adaptability
• Leadership Orientation
• Self-Control
• Attention to Detail

Career Interests

This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.

• EnterprisingHigh
• ConventionalMedium
• InvestigativeMedium
• SocialMedium
• RealisticMedium
• ArtisticLow

Where This Career Is Most Concentrated

Metro areas where emergency management directors make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).

1. 1Jefferson City, MO7.79× national avg
2. 2Jackson, MS4.22× national avg
3. 3Anchorage, AK4.10× national avg
4. 4Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA3.73× national avg
5. 5Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY3.18× national avg

Related Education Programs

Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.