Stress
If you're looking for a job with excitement potential, get a load of what emergency management specialists deal with on a day-to-day basis:
- Applying for federal funding
- Monitoring regulatory changes
- Filing reports
- Inspecting facilities and equipment
- Attending meetings
Whew. If reading about those kinds of activities stresses you out, don't go any further. Perhaps being a librarian or yoga instructor is a better fit for you.
It's about to get real.
Although ninety-five percent of your time will be spent handling the boring stuff, there will come a time when a hurricane strikes and you'll be expected to implement those boring plans you've been working on. And you'll have to do it all while people are screaming and running around in circles as livestock are flung through the air. Emergency planning specialists are expected to be levelheaded and calm, no matter how fast things are moving. Major stress levels here.
You might also feel the effects of stress after the event.
It will be no easy task to witness the aftermath of a tornado or hurricane that's leveled a neighborhood, the wreckage from a tanker or factory explosion, the look of despair on the faces of residents whose house and everything they own is under water, or the splatter of zombie goo when you hack down a pack of them. Getting overwhelmed by frustration and feelings of hopelessness will make you less effective at your job, and if you can't shake it, it can also cause problems with the fam when you take these feelings home with you.
This job does seem to call for an odd breed of worker—one who can be content handling paperwork and preparations all day, all week, all month, month after month, yet who is also ready to jump into action and handle a stress spike that goes from zero to sixty in no time.