FIVE GOVERNMENT JOBS FOR HOMELAND SECURITY GRADS

Homeland Security Government Jobs

• Border Patrol Agent
• Emergency Management Director
• Analytical Chemist
• Transportation Security Officer
• ybersecurity Specialist

If you're thinking of obtaining a degree in homeland security, it's natural that you'd be interested in finding out about your options for Homeland Security government jobs. While the federal government isn't the only possible employer of homeland security graduates, the government does offer some of the best career opportunities in this line of work. State and local governments also employ homeland security graduates. Let's take a look at five interesting jobs that homeland security graduates could qualify for.

1. Border Patrol Agent

Border patrol agents are on the front lines of responsibility for America's homeland security. They're tasked with securing America's borders from diverse threats. Border patrol agents monitor the flow of traffic through the borders, allowing legitimate traffic to pass through and stopping prohibited traffic from entering. They arrest criminals at the border, and they seize illegal drugs that drug runners are attempting to bring into the country. Without border patrol agents safeguarding the country's entryways, homeland security would be an impossible task.

2. Emergency Management Director

A bachelor's degree would generally qualify you for employment as an emergency management director earning a respectable annual salary. In 2015, the median annual pay for this occupation was $67,330 per year; hourly pay rates were $32.37 per hour.

In this role, you would be responsible for leading citizens in your jurisdiction through emergencies such as natural or man-made disasters. Your job description could vary depending on whether you're employed by the federal government or your local state government. The specifics would also be influenced by your geographic location. For example, if your jurisdiction is an earthquake-prone area, formulating an earthquake response plan is likely to be a significant part of your job description. You might also need to create preparedness plans for guiding the public through incidents of terrorism or similar emergencies.

3. Analytical Chemist

Since terrorists can use an arsenal of chemical weapons to destroy their targets, analytical chemists are an important part of America's homeland security efforts. An analytical chemist needs to be able to work as a team with other homeland security professionals to detect and deter chemical threats such as explosives and toxic gasses. Another important part of the job is understanding and implementing decontamination of a site after exposure to toxic substances.

As of 2015, chemists were earning annual median pay of $67,330 and average hourly pay of $32.37. The highest-paying jobs in this niche are generally federal government jobs. To qualify for this type of job after graduation, it's to your advantage to successfully complete as many chemistry courses as your academic schedule allows.

4. Transportation Security Officer

The federal government employs tens of thousands of transportation security officers. These professionals act as airport screeners, and their objective is to keep America's air transportation infrastructure safe from terrorism and similar disasters. These professionals are responsible for analyzing and assessing threats to airports, planes and other facilities associated with air travel.

5. Cybersecurity Specialist

Cybersecurity specialists work to keep critical data, databases and software safe from the threat of terrorists, criminals and hackers. This is a broad field with a couple of important niches. Some of these professionals work to monitor and protect computer databases and systems. Others devote their expertise to developing the infrastructure and systems necessary to keep data and information networks secure.

This is not a complete list of all the possible career opportunities for homeland security graduates. No matter what your talents, interests, experience level and skill set, it's likely you'd be able to find an interesting job in this field. If you'd like more information about some of the other possible homeland security career opportunities, you may be interested in This PDF on the topic of careers in homeland security. The PDF is made available by the US Bureau of Labor Statistics. It's a fantastic resource for finding more details about a diverse range of homeland security government jobs.

Related resource:

Top 19 Cheap Online Homeland Security Degree Programs