Part VII: Conclusion

After reading through all the Gig Case Studies I learned many people are not happy with their jobs and lives. So many people end up falling into careers they hate.  They continue to do jobs that are just “easy” or make good money. After reading about the prisoner, I knew how important it is to have a passion in life. Nothing in life is easy and at the end of the day, having a career you enjoy matters the most. After reading about all the careers. I know I will always purse a job I enjoy doing. I plan on finishing my prerequisites and enrolling in Physician Assistant School in 2017. If ever I find a career I hate, I will pursue one I enjoy. Right now pursuing a career as a Physician Assistant is my goal. Ive always felt I was a better paramedic then being a firefighter. So here I am going back to school. I love medicine, there is always something to learn and it is always changing. So I found the career of a Physician Assistant. A career with a decent income and a future. As healthcare keeps changing, more people will be required to treat the sick and elderly. The job of a physician assistant requires you to treat those people and many times in rural areas. This key point attracts me the most to being a physician assistant.

Part VI: Interview Strategy

I always tend to try and research everything I can about the company I’m applying to. Find out any programs and the history of the company. While I always read the job description due to the way the economy has been I look at financial information too. I don’t want to end up working for a company going through financial issues or laying people off. It also gives you information on what they are looking for. Next I use Google. You can pretty much find anything on Google. Research the company and find reviews from past employees. While I normally take their information with a grain of salt. It gives you more information about the insides of the company. Lastly I try and find someone who currently works there and try and get some information. The more you know about a company the better it is going into an interview. It shows you are interested in the company and also care about this interview

1.       Tell me about yourself

a.       I grew up in California and lived all my life in Morgan Hill. I come from a big family and spent many months traveling the country with my family. I went to Oklahoma State University after high school. I wasn't not able to finish so I transferred to Mission college. I graduated with a 2 year degree in Fire Technology. I went on to go to paramedic school and have currently been working in EMS for the past 6 years.

2.       Why Should I hire you?

a.       You should I hire me because I am a dedicated hard working person. I and highly motivated every day I wake up. I always try to leave a place better than I arrived.

3.       What is your long-range objective?

a.       My long-range objective is to find a career and job where I can have a nice future. Job stability is key for me in life. I need a job where I can work and afford to live in the Bay Area. I don’t mind have to work a little extra but I would like to find a job with a steady requirement.

4.       How has your education prepared you for your career?

a.       My education have given me a strong background in public safety. I am able to provide top knowledge in emergency medicine, fire protection and many other fields.

5.       Are you a team player?

a.       Being a team player is key to any task in life. Working together as a team allows bigger tasks to be accomplished and keep employee moral high. I’m a big fan of team work and being a team player.

6.       Have you ever had a conflict with a boss or professor? How was it resolved

a.       We are all different people and have different opinions. I feel everyone is allowed to have an opinion and give it. I don’t think it is ever correct to disrespect people. If I feel something is not right. I would try and explain my opinion and understand the other person’s. If we are not able to come to a resolution. I would ask to meet with my bosses’ professor.  Hopefully then we would come to an answer.

7.       What is your greatest weakness?

a.       I believe my greatest weakness was my education. I never took school too serious and believed I would always just do fine. I never applied myself and never learned many key lessons in high school. Now I take my education very seriously and always try to learn something new. I make it a point to take a class or go to a convention once a year and learn something.

8.       If you were to ask your professors (or your boss) to describe you, what would they say?

a.       I believe they would tell you how hard working I am. I always work any shifts that are open. I am a team player and always try to help others in need. I am dedicated to finishing my work on time.

9.       What qualities do you feel a successful manager should have?

a.       I think communication is key. For any team to work and function properly. They need a leader who can communicate. They need to be able to relay the overall message and have the team understand it. They need to be able to communicate during times of stress and during calm times. We have all had people who we were able to work with because we didn’t understand them or they don’t tell us properly what to do.

10.   If you had to live your life over again, what one thing would you change?

a.       The one thing I would change is going to college straight out of high school. I would have figured out what I really wanted to do. I would have become a paramedic sooner and not gotten into debt from school. I also would have taken more classes at a community college and focused on having two degrees.

Part V:Graduate/Transfer

1.      What is your career objective?

a.       My career objective is to work in the field of emergency medicine and public health. I chose the career of a physician assistant.

2.      Which degree(s) do you need to achieve your career objective?  Does your career require a 2-year or 4-year College Degree?

a.       A bachelor of science in is required to even apply for most programs the US. They do offer 2 year programs at many community colleges around the country but are tough to get into and many times unaccredited.

3.      What are the program admission requirements (i.e. graduate exams, prerequisites, etc.)?

a.       A bachelor's degree from a regionally accredited institution is sometimes required. A minimum cumulative GPA of 3.0. A minimum of 16 semester units in biological sciences. A minimum of 8 semester units of chemistry and statistics 

4.      List the typical course work required for the undergraduate program

a.       The typical course work during undergraduate consist of many premed classes. These classes include microbiology, anatomy and physiology. Many hours of community service are also required as they prove dedication to pursuing a career in this field.

5.      What Colleges offer your program in California?  Be specific.

a.       Football Community college, Charles R Drew University of Medicine and Science, Western University of Health Sciences, Loma Linda University, Riverside Community College, Samuel Merritt University, San Joaquin Valley College-Visalia, University of Southern California, Toro University and Moreno Valley College

Part IV: Find a JOB!

 Emergency mangers are located around the country. They work mostly for government agencies.  FEMA or the “Federal Emergency Management Agency” hires many Emergency Managers for positions around the country. FEMA was established in 1979. They are employed in different zones that have been established by FEMA.  Within these zones are EOC’s or Emergency Operations Centers. These are located in major cities around the country. FEMA places new employees in open positions. You necessarily wouldn’t have your choice of job location. Beside emergency mangers they offer a wide variety of careers from safety, medicine, training and other public safety jobs. While on-the-ground support of disaster recovery efforts is a major part of FEMA's charter, the agency provides state and local governments with experts in specialized fields and funding for rebuilding efforts.

Part III: YouTube Video (embed)

The first video I watched involves the office of Emergency Management and what it takes to be an “Emergency Management Specialist”. It shows how the office mitigates, prepares and responds to public emergency.  It shows the EOC or Emergency Operations Center of Fairfax, Va. It goes through and discusses how the EOC involves many people with different specialties. While you might be in charge of one division. You need the ability to switch and move into a different specialty. The video goes on to discuss how EOC and Emergency Management plans and trains daily. The training part I did not know much about by watching the video I was able to discover the training involves everyone and a rigorous training schedule.  The also mention how they rely on the public also. They train for the public but need the public to be involved as much as possible.  A liaison or “Community Liaison” is key to emergency Management. This person recruits and helps get the message of the EOC out to the public.  I think this video is good for anyone interested in become an Emergency Manager.

Profile on the Office of Emergency Management

            The second video I wanted involves stating what an Emergency Manager actually does. They show how valuable an Emergency Manager is. While small emergencies able to be managed by our local public safety. The bigger emergencies need Emergency Managers. The video takes a look on how Emergency mangers prove their value to elected officials and other public officials. Emergency Managers need to be able to communicate and work in the public. This is a good video because people need to be good in communication and public speaking. A communication degree would be highly valuable in the career. You need to be able to get a clear message to everyone in an emergency. A communication degree would also get you the tools needed to work collectively with a large number of people. I think this is a good video as it discusses the key traits necessary to become an Emergency Manager.

The Essential Emergency Manager

Part I: Class Reflection

Part I: Class Reflection

So far my experiences in this class have been quite interesting. I have been able to discover other careers and possible back up careers. While I've known for quite an awhile about which career I wished to pursue.   My current career does not offer the job safety like most. By taking some of the tests, it has helped me discover that I need to go back to school and I also need to look into diversity my education. While two weeks might look like not a lot of time. It has given some time to think about my current life and discover other passions I have forgotten.  I have really enjoyed taking the assessment tests and talking with other students. Finding out about everyone and their current career’s and motivations has been great. It is nice to see and read about other people pursing their careers. It is also nice to see people have a passion about life.  While I took this class to fulfill a requirement for transfer. I would highly recommend it to new students and high school students. Many people do not know what they wish to do once they graduate high school. Some spend so much time in community colleges trying to discover what career they wish to purse. If they took this class early on they would able to narrow down their options and find a career that suits their goals and personality.

Managing my time in this class has been quite easy. As long as you pace yourself and do the required material early on. There shouldn't be any problem doing the work. I tend to try and schedule a couple of the assignments at a time. This week has been quite interesting because there was multiple items due on Thursday. If you didn't do a little at a time, you probably wouldn't be able to finish everything on time. I mainly took this class because it is online and you can move at your own pace.  I wouldn't recommend this class for everyone if you don’t have some down time due to family or work. It requires typing and moving at a face college pace.  I am currently taking this class and another class during winter break.  They both require at least 2.5 hours of work a day between the reading and then assignments. If you’re not a procrastinator I would highly recommend this class.

           

Part II:Choose a Major

                        Part II: Choose a Major 

The career I decided to choose was an “Emergency Manager” Emergency managers are needed everywhere and are involved in just about everything. They are needed by fortune 500 companies to local government.  They plan for the best but also the worst. The reason I picked this career is because I can use the experience I’ve already acquired in life but also purse a formal degree in this field.  The job summary states Emergency Mangers:

“Consult with government, school, and hospital officials to make plans for handling disasters and emergency situations. They direct emergency activities, such as ordering evacuations, sending response units to sites, opening shelters, and setting up command centers.”

You are the first person people come to when issues arise. You need the ability to lead and also make decisions regarding everyone’s lives. Sometimes this decisions are life changing and sometimes they could lead to a person’s death. Not many people can handle these types of situations. With the growing threat of terrorism and hostage situations. The job growth for Emergency Mangers is steady. The entry level salary starts at 6k to 10k a month. The salary for these jobs is also dependent on education and experience. Emergency mangers have careers that cross into law enforcement and public safety. Related educations programs involve Criminal Justice, Economics, Fire control and Public safety. These are all programs which are offered locally and throughout the country. Many colleges offer these programs online.