Could use some advise on a degree to pursue

[defscarlett]

Hey All,

I'm looking for some advice on my career aspirations and educational goals. Let me first give you a synopsis of my professional experience. I've been in the public safety industry for close to 10 years. I started out as a contract security officer for the world's largest contract security company, working my way up to a site supervisor of an armed account with 24 direct reports. I was then again promoted to work in the office of this company where I stayed until I joined the military. In the military I am in one of only 2 WMD/HazMat teams in the country deployed to respond to mass casualty disasters. Following active duty military service time, I again went back to contract security where I held supervisory roles until I got a position at a local college police department as a civilian employee. There I was responsible for all OSHA accountability & Safety, Emergency Preparedness, Security systems (card access, cameras, burglar) and police dispatch. From there I went back into contract security as an Operations Manager/part owner of a contract security company (left this due to moving out of state) and am currently a security manager for another contract security account.

My heart truly lies with Emergency Management but have been unable to find any sort of position. I think this may be a lost cause as many friends of mine with upwards of Masters Degrees in the area still cannot find work in that field. If I can't find anything in Emergency Management I think I would like to oversee physical security at a corporation, as long as I'm out of the contract security realm (I have no idea what I was thinking when I left proprietary security lol).

I am currently pursuing my CPP and PSP as well as my AEM.

My true question is I'm a little lost as to what degree I should get. I originally started off going for a HSEP and then moved to Criminal Justice... but now looking at degree evals I'm kind of stuck. I only need 4 classes to get my HSEP, but they would all be TESC courses (maybe less if I can convince them to move some of my Area Elective credits into my Area of Study). On the other hand I need 10 CJ courses with all but two being taken at Penn Foster. Those aren't including the Gen Ed's that I still need for both degrees.

I already have all the credits needed for my AAS ESST degree so I might as well get it. What I was kind of thinking about doing is get my BS HSEP with a 2nd BSBA in CIS (since much of physical security requires knowledge of computer science-y things) and possibly a 2nd AAS in Criminal Justice just so I can have a CJ degree on my resume...

I could really use some guidance....

ETA* just realized I misspelled the title... and I can't change it Sorry!

[clep3705]

Have as few well chosen degrees as possible. Don't be a Benjamin Bolger Benjamin Bolger - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia or that guy with 10+ associate's degrees. Think utility, not quantity, of degrees.

[sanantone]

As someone who has been searching for emergency management jobs for a couple of years, I don't think I've seen one that asks for an emergency management degree. Honestly, I haven't seen many emergency management openings in my region. You also don't need an emergency management degree to become an AEM or CEM. On the other hand, not having a CJ bachelor's degree can shut you out of a lot of jobs. You might not be looking at these types of positions, but you cannot get a CJ job on the social service end with a homeland security degree. Many corporate security jobs ask for CJ and business administration degrees. While a related degree and experience can get you in, you still don't want to risk being weeded out by HR software combing your resume and/or application for a bachelor's in those specific fields. I've also seen investigator, crime analyst, and polygraph examiner openings that ask for a CJ or related social science degree. I don't know which state you live in, but a CJ degree waives the experience requirement for the private investigator and chemical dependency counselor intern licenses. I'm not a huge fan of CJ degrees, but I'm even less of a fan of homeland security degrees. A homeland security degree probably won't get you what a CJ degree can't.

[defscarlett]

We moved to San Antonio, TX a few months ago so I'm still feeling out the area and don't have many contacts in the region like I did back in my hometown. You think I should do the extra work and get the CJ degree instead of the HSEP? What are your opinions on the secondary degrees?

[sanantone]

I'm in San Antonio. Good luck trying to find an emergency management job here. University Hospital has been looking for an emergency manager for years; I don't know what they're being so picky about. BCFS occasionally has some emergency management-type stuff. That's all I've seen. We do have a lot of safety jobs.

[defscarlett]

We're willing to relocate out of the SAT area as long as we stay in Texas, I've seen a few pop up in Austin in the short time that I've been here, I'm just trying to get my degree out of the way before I start applying again.

[ironheadjack]

This is just an idea that popped into my head, IDK how it works but...

Could you do some kind of custom degree plan? Like a learner designated area of study, mixing CJ and computer science into something more useful then two separate degrees?

[defscarlett]

I've considered that before, but the thought was also that with a BSBA - CIS I would kind of get 2 out of it, I could present it as a BSBA or CIS or both depending on the job.

[rebel100]

I vote for business, it should work fine for most of the EM jobs out there, the skills directly translate to other industries as well should your hope of EM employment not pan out.

I think the AEM/CEM makes a lot of sense, after the "bachelors degree required" the one thing I seem to see most often is a desire for the CEM. Of course the CEM requires a BS/BA I believe.

I went with an AS in EMS
General Ed COSC BS with concentrations in Organizational Leadership/Health Care
Almost done with the WGU MBA

.....all that recorded on my resume and applications and I am starting to get more return calls and action on my inquiries for employment. I think your experience will help a lot when coupled with "any" BS/BA. I would pick up the TESC AAS in ESST if your picking TESC anyway. I would then reset and finish the Gen Business if it were me.

[defscarlett]

Here are my current courses that I have

Community College (Quarter Hours)
CIT-102B Pc Apps 2 - Ms Excel (1) - C
CIT-121 PC Operating Systems (3) - A
SSCI-104 World Econ Geography (5) - B
CIT-101 PC Applications I (3) -A
BMGT-245 INTRO TO NON-PROFIT (5) -A
MKTG-111 MARKETING PRINCIPLES (5) - B

American Public University (Semester Hours)
HLSS213 - Weapons of Mass Destruction Incident Command
This course is a study of the Incident Command System (ICS) as it applies to a WMD response. Students will be provided with knowledge of the ICS and case scenarios of its use in a variety of settings. The course includes a scenario-driven exercise in which students must “respond” through the ICS command and staffing process to a national event.

HLSS215 - Regulatory Issues in Weapons of Mass Destruction
This course focuses on the legal and regulatory issues associated with WMD response. Its topics include: associated public law, reporting authorities, jurisdictional and functional issues that govern organizational, technical, medical, scientific, moral/ethical issues, and, other aspects of response.

EDMG340 - Consequence Management
This course addresses the potential results from nuclear, biological, and chemical incidents or uses. Topics include public health consequences of such incidents, emergency planning and response measures in place among U.S. agencies, and emerging detection and management technologies. Existing vulnerabilities to these types of incidents and attacks will also be discussed. Objectives of the course include identification of the historical development and use of chemical and biological weapons; definition of the types of chemical and biological weapons and their impacts; analysis of case studies related to the development and use of chemical and biological weapons, and research on chemical and biological warfare.

CLEP
Analyzing & Interpreting Lit
English Comp Modular

DSST
Intro to Computing

Straighterline
Intro to Criminal Justice
English 102
Business Ethics

AARTS
First Aid 1.00
Military Science 2.00
Marksmanship 2.00
Hazardous Materials 2.00
Cultural Diversity 1.00
Radiological Monitoring 3.00
Radiological Response 3.00

TESC
The Science of Disasters 3.00
Research Methods in Social Sciences 3.00

Aleks
Intermediate Algebra


Also all FEMA courses available for credit