Those with a degree in emergency management work as officials in the public service sector.  This includes police and fire chiefs, as well as some of the higher ranking officials.  With an undergraduate degree, you start out at entry level and work your way up, quickly if you show you have what it takes to do more.  There is only so far you can go without furthering your education though, meaning if you wish to progress past a certain point, you will need to pursue a graduate degree.  Those with a master's in the field may be more highly compensated than those with a bachelor's, but with a doctorate in emergency management doors open up in the teaching field as well.

This is ideal for someone who is weary of the daily grind and wants a change of pace without getting out of emergency management all together.  Besides the personal fulfillment of further your education within your field, obtaining a doctorate in emergency management will allow you to teach at the university level.  It may also give you more credibility if you desire to publish written works on the subject, and it can open up better access to the highest tier of civilian jobs in the field. 

Emergency management requires a unique combination of skills that are generally learned at the undergraduate level.  These include public speaking and technical writing, as well as an understanding of statistics, social services, and humanities.  The coursework required to obtain a doctorate in emergency management will expand on these skills and require them to be exercised and stretched to their maximum capacity.  Key qualities of emergency management officials include stress management and organizational skills, as well as skills in multitasking, planning, and problem solving.   The doctorate program will require demonstration of mastery of these skills.  Typically this is done in the culmination of a thesis presenting a solution to a real world problem.

Those who wish to pursue a doctorate in emergency management should have already been in the field at least in an educational sense, as it is necessary to have a bachelor's and a master's before pursuing a doctorate.  However, there are certain people skills required in the profession that cannot be learned.  Sometimes it is the case that someone gets in the field and realizes that this is not the place for them.  This person does not have to change careers.  A doctorate can prepare not only to teach, but to write for text books and other publications in the field.

Whatever your reasons for pursuing a doctorate in emergency management, it will take some time to complete.  While some doctorate programs can be completed in as little as two years, many are work at your own pace type programs to a certain extent.  Though not strictly scheduled, most have limits of 7 to 10 years for completion.  The extended time is generally to allow for a complete and thorough thesis to be written.  Once the thesis is completed and has been defended successfully, the degree is granted.