By the term of homeland security we name security efforts undertaken by various departments to protect the United States against terrorist attacks. This idea of homeland security arose after the September 11 2001 attacks on the World Trade Center (WTC) from New York City. Getting a job in homeland security might be a dream come true for the patriotic Americans who consider that working in this field will mean providing a great service for the country, but being a successful candidate implies a lot of knowledge, skills and talents in various fields.
Career Opportunities in the Department of Homeland Security
In the department of homeland security there are a lot of career opportunities for students, veterans or experienced professionals, in branches like counter terrorism, border security, immigration, cybersecurity, mission support, law enforcement, travel security and prevention. People can opt for management, program analyst, general attorney, transportation security officer, security specialist, paralegal specialist, senior marine inspector training coordinator, enforcement analysis specialist, legal instruments examiner, supervisory contract specialist, technological hazard program specialist, document analyst, supervisory fire programs specialist, staff assistant, lead program analyst, immigration law analyst, geospatial information officer, program analyst, correspondence analyst, investigative support assistant, operations research analyst, immigration service assistant, human resources specialist, IT specialist and emergency management specialist in the field of homeland security.
Job Duties and Responsibilities in the Department of Homeland Security
The duties and responsibilities for someone that has one of the many homeland security jobs differ from field to field. However, we can indicate some general responsibilities for a homeland security employee as follows: helping secure the United States borders, seaports, airports, water ways and water gates; responding to natural disasters; developing and researching the latest security technologies; responding to terrorist assaults; analyzing intelligence reports and other related activities. If we consider the case of a geospatial information officer, the person filling up this position inside the department of homeland security is responsible for providing advice on geospatial technology approaches and information with the purpose of supporting initiatives, missions and priorities; for performing advanced analyses as a means to formulate new GIS (geospatial information) process solutions; for providing leadership to Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in cases of natural disaster and other related duties and responsibilities.
Key Requirements for Homeland Security Jobs
In order to get a job in the department of homeland security, one has to fulfill some key requirements, apart from the specific requirements and qualifications each type of job in this field requires. First key requirement states that a candidate should be a citizen of the United States. Secondly, the person interested in a homeland security job is required to serve a probationary period, of at least one year. The next key requirement in line refers to a top secret background check- of course, if you have something to hide, then you better give up the idea of applying for a job at the department of homeland security, as they check everything. The next two indicate that direct deposit is mandatory and that the candidate might have to travel abroad occasionally.