FEMA courses (online)

jtpaintball70 said:
I have 100, 200, and 700. I believe 200 was for a dispatcher job I applied for. But get at least 100 and 700. Some of the others are classroom based only.
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The 300 & 400 levels are classroom based only and the test cannot even be taken online. The 300 is intermediate to advanced emergency management and the 400 is pretty much for the brass, e.g. incident commanders and general staff. I have completed the 100, 200, 700 & 800 online and am looking to take the 300 next, but am not sure where the class would even be given. Being that I have an instructional background, I want to max-out on NIMS certs and eventually just teach it.

I am also not sure who knows this little known secret that Fredrick Community College will give credits and can even award an AAS degree in Emergency Management partly based off of FEMA certs, take a look at this link:

http://www.frederick.edu/courses_and_programs/degree_emermgtreq.aspx
 
If you can get into the ODP courses and lectures, colleges will often accept them for credit. I've worked on getting them counted for credit on my Masters degree...Just have to argue that they're applicable enough.
 
The interesting thing about the community college is they have articulation agreements for transfer for BA programs to American Public University (which is a private school, despite the name). There you can get a BA and then go onto an MA in emergency management.


One interesting thing I find about the MA program is there is an optional capstone one can do, which is sort of the gold standard for MA programs.

It's expensive, to be sure, but I am guessing you'd be able to land a government job pretty readily with these credentials.

One sad part- all this focus on emergency management and education, but no parallel track for EMS education. No BA in EMS, no MA in Emergency Medicine for Paramedics. Out of emergency management and EMS, I am betting EMS is more often used.
 
bstone said:
One sad part- all this focus on emergency management and education, but no parallel track for EMS education. No BA in EMS, no MA in Emergency Medicine for Paramedics. Out of emergency management and EMS, I am betting EMS is more often used.
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Agreed, I'd switch in a heartbeat if there were some... Emergency management degrees are still just sort of weird...I looked into them when applying for grad school, but the bottom line is practical field experience is still king. Hell, I'm taking a program now in intelligence ( national security,etc.) it's useful and quite literally fits the description of a Planning section member or chief in ICS, but without the experience, my chances of getting a job with FEMA are pretty limited. So, I want to put time in in the field and work my way up from local. I'll probably pursue a degree from APU at some point.
 
MCERT1 said:
Agreed, I'd switch in a heartbeat if there were some... Emergency management degrees are still just sort of weird...I looked into them when applying for grad school, but the bottom line is practical field experience is still king. Hell, I'm taking a program now in intelligence ( national security,etc.) it's useful and quite literally fits the description of a Planning section member or chief in ICS, but without the experience, my chances of getting a job with FEMA are pretty limited. So, I want to put time in in the field and work my way up from local. I'll probably pursue a degree from APU at some point.
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I hear ya.

Maybe one day Dr Blesdoe will lead the charge for a true MS/MA in Emergency Medicine for paramedics. I imagine it would be sort of like being a PA for prehospital medicine. Anyhow, sorry to hijack the thread. I am off to do IS-200. Appears I only ever did 100 and 700 but not 200.
 
I'm here to hopefully get answers on one thing. I hope someone can help me. I'm the PIO for a County. I was told I'm required to take FEMA online courses 100, 200, 700, 800. I finished the 100 course and before I took the real final test, I went on quizlet.com. Ive taken 17 of the sample tests and failed every time, but, once, lol. I have my Masters and feel stupid. I find the questions confusing and designed to trap you. Does anyone know if the actual test is like that as well? One final note--I just feel that 90% of this is worthless to a PIO. Perhaps I'm wrong. Thanks so much!
 
Just do the actual test. If you fail you can take it again as often as you want.
 
The four core FEMA classes are a basis for how an Incident Command will work. You as PIO will be very heavily involved in all aspects if an incident is declared. Part of your frustration is you don't have a background in the emergency management end of things at a large scale incident. Take your time, and go through those courses, maybe one per day. You would benefit by also taking ISC 300, and IS-29 ( https://training.fema.gov/is/courseoverview.aspx?code=IS-29.a ), G290 Public Information Officer – Basic ( https://training.fema.gov/programs/pio/g290.aspx ), and maybe even work your way through all of the Professional Development Series (PDS) Courses ( https://training.fema.gov/is/searchis.aspx?search=PDS ).
 
planetmike said:
The four core FEMA classes are a basis for how an Incident Command will work. You as PIO will be very heavily involved in all aspects if an incident is declared. Part of your frustration is you don't have a background in the emergency management end of things at a large scale incident. Take your time, and go through those courses, maybe one per day. You would benefit by also taking ISC 300, and IS-29 ( https://training.fema.gov/is/courseoverview.aspx?code=IS-29.a ), G290 Public Information Officer – Basic ( https://training.fema.gov/programs/pio/g290.aspx ), and maybe even work your way through all of the Professional Development Series (PDS) Courses ( https://training.fema.gov/is/searchis.aspx?search=PDS ).
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Thank you. I appreciate it very much. My frustration(and, it's a big one) is the tests seem designed to have very specific verbage--one word leads to an incorrect answer. The courses themselves I'm ok with. It would be nice if the test itself would not try to trip people up. I've sure been involved in many emergency situations( (earthquakes, fires, riots) just as Press Deputy for the LA City Council for 7 years. lol...I just don't think I can take any more classes than those absolutely required. I'm so backed up in day to day work already. I appreciate your kind response to my original post.
 
ClarkR1 said:
I've sure been involved in many emergency situations( (earthquakes, fires, riots) just as Press Deputy for the LA City Council for 7 years. lol...I just don't think I can take any more classes than those absolutely required. I'm so backed up in day to day work already. I appreciate your kind response to my original post.
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once you finish with what @planetmike recommended, I would look at attending Enhanced All-Hazards Incident Management/Unified Command. it's one of the better hands on ICS courses out there

teex.org

Enhanced All-Hazards Incident Management/Unified Command | TEEX.ORG

MGT314 | The Enhanced Incident Management/Unified Command for All Hazards course focuses on incident management skills, staff responsibilities, and the related situational awareness skills using a computer-driven training simulation designed to create a challenging decision-making environment in...
teex.org
 
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