Competitive degreesRight degree helps grads compete in DHS hiring boom
Even amid the economic downturn, students who graduate with degrees in homeland security can breathe a bit easier knowing that they are more likely to find jobs than their fellow graduates; the agency’s hiring boom is expected to continue over the next several years as more and more baby boomers in their 50s begin to retire
Even amid the economic downturn, students who graduate with degrees in homeland security can breathe a bit easier knowing that they are more likely to find jobs than their fellow graduates.
In recent years, DHS and other national security agencies have been on a hiring spree for individuals with cybersecurity expertise, counterterrorism know how, emergency management skills, and other homeland security related skills.
In particular, recent graduates with degrees in law enforcement, criminal justice, and cybersecurity have been well-poised in the job market.
For instance in 2009, DHS’ National Cybersecurity Division nearly tripled its workforce. Meanwhile a 2009 report by the Partnership for Public Service foundthat DHS was planning on hiring more than 65,000 employees over the next three years including 34,500 transportation security officers and 9,800 border patrol agents.
At a recent conference focusing on homeland security education in Fredericksburg, Virginia, Robert Zitz, a former deputy undersecretary of DHS, saidthe agency’s hiring boom will continue to grow in the next several years as more and more baby boomers in their 50s begin to retire.
As evidence, Zitz pointed to USAjobs.org, an official website that lists government jobs which had more than 500 pages of Homeland Security job openings.
Stressing the importance of having the right skills, Zitz said, “They are hiring, but it’s important you have the skills.”
Zitz said individuals looking to enter the homeland security industry can make themselves better candidates for the department by taking classes or receiving a certification.
J. Eric Dietz, the director of Purdue’s Homeland Security Institute, considersthe university’s program a “differentiator” for students and a “a way to sell yourself in a tough job environment.”
Steve Riedel, a graduate student at Purdue, said, “What my resume looked like two years ago to what it looks like now — there is no comparison.”
Riedel, an eleven year veteran of the Navy, said Purdue’s Homeland Security Institute has recruited dozens of veterans to return to school. Riedel has completed three domestic security courses and is in the midst of completing his thesis. He hopes to finish and find a job in agricultural security.
“The demand is phenomenal,” he said
Some institutions like Germanna’s Center for Workforce & Community Education look to make classroom lessons directly applicable to the real world.
David A. Sam, the president of Germanna Community College, said the school is constantly working to match its homeland security oriented curriculum to match existing job openings.
“We know that because of the ‘skills gap,’ millions of jobs are going unfilled because people lack the training to do them,” Sam said.
