Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness

Homeland Security & Emergency Preparedness Overview & Employers

VCU’s program is designed to prepare students them for the following: 1) private or public sector employment in the expanding area of homeland security as it relates specifically to international and domestic security as well as emergency preparedness for both security and non-security related incidents and/or 2) further study in government, international affairs, law enforcement, policy planning, or law.

Career Paths  Energy o Dominion: www.dom.com  Environmental (ie: E.coli scare with lettuce, salmonella scare with tomatoes)  Disaster Relief o Red Cross: http://www.redcross.org/ o Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA): http://www.fema.gov/ o National Association of Emergency Management: http://www.nemaweb.org/ o International Association of Emergency Management: http://www.iaem.com/ o Emergency Management Assistance Compact: http://www.emacweb.org/ o Disaster Science Meta-Library: http://www.richmond.edu/%7Ewgreen/benchmark.htm  Americorps: http://www.americorps.org  Federal Government o ATF: http://www.atf.treas.gov/ o CIA*: https://www.cia.gov/ o FBI*: http://www.fbi.gov/ o Federal Law Enforcement Training Center (FLETC): http://www.fletc.gov/student-information/college-intern-program o U.S. Customs and Border Protection: http://www.cbp.gov/ o U.S. Coast Guard: http://www.uscg.mil/ o U.S. Dept. of Defense: http://www.go-defense.com/ o U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security: http://www.dhs.gov/index.shtm o U.S. Immigration: http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis o U.S. Immigration & Custom Enforcement: http://www.ice.gov/sevis/students/index.htm o U.S. Secret Service: http://www.ustreas.gov/usss/opportunities.shtml o Dept. of State: http://www.state.gov/ o Court Services & Offender Supervision Agency (CSOSA): http://www.csosa.gov/  Detention Centers  Jails  Police Departments o Hanover & Henrico – you must go through basic training (13 months) and work two years as a police officer first (the 13 months counts; so really 11 months extra) o Then you can go into: Narcotics, Animal Protection Unit, Recruiting or K9 Unit o The only non-civilian jobs they are Reception and 911 Operators (which can make up to $60,000/year)  Asset Protection (ie: Wal-Mart, Target)  Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond: http://www.richmondfed.org/

*Must first get law enforcement experience for 2-3 years, then apply

Federal Government  Expecting a big retirement in 2011  Gave us the “Call To Serve Toolkit” which emphasizes civilian involvement  DoD is over everything (usajobs.gov, studentjobs.gov, godefense.com, intelligence.gov, US Energy, etc.)  Knowing someone can REALLY help  Going to the career fair can help because then you do the interview first and the paperwork 2nd

Student Clubs  Eta Lambda Sigma (Professional Homeland Security Fraternity) https://secureapp.netclubmgr.com/ICS/CM/V2/Student/Club.aspx?uid=vcuniv&ClubId=5649 They have a Career Fair each March.  Check out other student organizations: http://www.usca.vcu.edu/studentorgs/

Co-ops/Internships/Volunteer Experiences  Some police stations will let you conduct intake and do fingerprints; send a letter to the Chief to participate in a ride-along (highly recommended to get a feel for things)  Boys & Girls Clubs: http://www.bgca.org/  St. Joseph’s Villa: http://www.neverstopbelieving.org/  United Methodist Family Services: http://www.umfs.org/  Intercept Youth: http://www.interceptyouth.com/  Virginia Dept. of Juvenile Justice: http://www.djj.state.va.us/  Americorps: http://www.americorps.org  Dominion: http://www.dom.com/  The Council of State Governments: http://www.csg.org/about/default.aspx  U.S. Secret Service Internship: http://www.secretservice.gov/opportunities_interns.shtml  More Federal Government: o http://www.usajobs.gov o http://studentjobs.gov -- look for STEP and SCEP opportunities!** o http://www.godefense.com/  Wilder School’s website: http://www.pubapps.vcu.edu/gov/academics/default.asp?ID=89  Look at state and national associations for opportunities (ie: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP); National Youth Gang Center)

** WHAT IS THE STUDENT EDUCATIONAL EMPLOYMENT PROGRAM? The Student Educational Employment Program has two components; student temporary employment and student career experience. It is available to all levels of students: high school, vocational and technical, associate degree, baccalaureate degree, graduate degree, and professional degree students.

1. Student Career Employment Program (SCEP): Provides work experience which is directly related to the student's academic program and career goals. Students in the SCEP may be noncompetitively converted to term, career or career-conditional appointments following completion of their academic and work experience requirements.

2. Student Temporary Employment Program (STEP): The STEP provides maximum flexibility to both students and managers because the nature of the work does not have to be related to the student's academic or career goals.

ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS You are eligible under the Student Educational Employment Program if you are:

 A student enrolled or accepted for enrollment as a degree-seeking student (diploma, certificate, etc.)  At least the minimum age required by Federal, state or local laws and standards governing the employment of minors,  Taking at least half-time academic or vocational and technical course load in an accredited high school, technical or vocational school, 2-year or 4-year college or university, graduate or professional school, and a U.S. citizen or a national (resident of American Samoa or Swains Island). Non-citizens may be eligible for employment if: 1. permitted by a Federal agency's appropriation act, and 2. eligible to work under U.S. immigration laws. U.S. citizenship is required for conversion to permanent employment under the Student Career Experience Component. http://www.opm.gov/employ/students/intro.asp Note: Funding isn’t guaranteed so they have to have someone in mind and the person must be a go- getter.

Completing Applications  Most agencies will NOT forgive a DUI  No drug experimentation within the past 5 years  Read their FAQs on their website (ie: If you don’t, the FBI will tell you to look at their website)  If your roommate does drugs, then you have to be away from him or her for 2-3 years  You must list any job that had a W-2  They will do polygraphs every 5 years (even if they ask the same question over and over with a lie detector, be honest … they’re not trying to trick you or get you to answer differently)  They can see that you have sealed records (cannot see what is in them), so they want you to tell them openly what is in them  Write, “Fired, but would like to explain” if necessary  Put something like “cannot remember” rather than guessing or leaving it blank; guessing that is inaccurate can look like lying and will not be tolerated  Background checks for the FBI and CIA cost $10,000-15,000 o so they will not do anything random o you should hear from them within 30-60 days before they do one

Educational Programs  AMC Fellows Program http://www.amc.army.mil/pa/amccareers.asp

It’s a 5 year program – you get your MBA at Texas A&M for 2 years and you get a salary ($30,000-40,000), then you agree to work for the government for 3 years. After that, you get merit raises. So you can reach a GS-13 ($60,000 -70,000) pay scale within 5 years as opposed to 15.

 JET Program: http://www.us.emb-japan.go.jp/JETProgram/homepage.html (Teaching English in Japan)

 George Washington University’s (GWU) Homeland Security Policy Institute http://homelandsecurity.gwu.edu/home.htm

 Wilder School of Government & Public Affairs http://www.pubapps.vcu.edu/gov/academics/default.asp?ID=102