Employment Prospects at the Department of Homeland Security

Amongst young individuals contemplating their career aspirations, those who consider a career in government service are hardly a majority. However, government service covers a broad range of employment opportunities. These opportunities find use of almost any discipline or degree imaginable. The Department of Homeland Security is no exception. Despite being the youngest of the U. S government’s federal agencies, the DHS is one of its largest, concerned with coordinating efforts with other agencies and private industry to obtain and enhance the security of the American homeland.(Jones, 2006) As such, the Department of Homeland Security is also the fastest growing and most occupationally diverse of the federal agencies. Despite the economic recession, the employment opportunities within the federal sector have continued to grow since 2001, particularly in areas of civil employment within the executive branch. (Riechmann, 2009) This job growth is credited largely to the emergence of the DHS, which created a demand for a broad range of individuals with a diverse set of skills and talents pertinent to its duties.Furthermore, it is interesting to note that the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act that the Obama administration has recently signed calls for increased funding to create job opportunities. A majority of this is in the private sector, but a substantial amount (about 3 billion U. S. dollars) is directed towards jobs in the DHS as well (DHS, 2009) The Bureau of Labor and Statistics projects job growth in the entirety of the homeland security sector to be about 42% (Stone, 2009b) The DHS emerged as a result of the Homeland Security Act of 2002, which was passed as a response to the successful attacks known as 9/11.Kyle Stone, editor of the civilian government employee community resource GovCentral notes that in effect, the DHS represents the â€Å"centralization of hundreds of smaller U. S. government industries,† and college graduates can rea sonably conclude that the DHS is less a specialized branch with specific functions, but an organization with broad range in spite of the specificity of its goals. The DHS oversees the U. S. infrastructure, technology, transportation, borders and a diverse array of research projects and scenario planning initiatives in the interest of promoting and developing homeland security.(Stone, 2009; Stone, 2009a; Gressle, 2004) Hutton and Mydlarz (2004) mirror Stone’s observation, noting that the DHS is a coordination of various skill sets. As such, they note in their guide to careers in homeland security that opportunities exist for almost any field imaginable. Number-crunchers and pattern specialists face prospects in the area of information analysis, while science majors can, with further study, find themselves in the area of radiological, biochemical, radiological and nuclear defense.Furthermore, security needs are highly specific in the areas of aviation and transportation infrast ructure. As such, the DHS is a large pool of employment opportunity to be tapped by fresh graduates. Still, there are many who consider the Department of Homeland Security no better than any other area of government service, and as such regard it with the similarly dim view accorded to other federal branches. Riechmann (2009) notes that in the face of recession, federal jobs have remained stable with regards to insurance and health care benefits as well as employment security.As such, the popular assumption that the private sector is a more lucrative area has been destabilized by recession, making federal jobs fare better to those who feel uncertain about their financial and employment welfare. Between the rapid growth of the homeland security sector in years recent and yet to come, the number of jobs present to a diverse set of educational disciplines and the stability of benefits and security of employment, the Department of Homeland Security proves to be full of opportunity, maki ng it an ideal start for college graduates uncertain as to where to find a promising career.REFERENCES Jones, E. (2006) â€Å"Careers in homeland security: Many jobs, one mission. † Occupational Outlook Quarterly. Riechmann, D. (2009, February 2) â€Å"As unemployment rises, Uncle Sam has jobs. † Associated Press. Retrieved online on July 22, 2009 from: http://www. foxnews. com/wires/2009Feb02/0,4670,FedsPaddingPayrolls,00. html Department of Homeland Security. â€Å"The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. † DHS. Gov Gressle, S. S. (2004, January 14) â€Å"Department of Homeland Security: Organization Chart. † Congressional Research Service. Retrieved online on July 22, 2009 from: http://www.ndu. edu/library/docs/crs/crs_rs21366_14jan04. pdf Stone, K. (2009a). â€Å"Growing Federal Jobs: Homeland Security. † GovCentral. Retrieved online on July 22, 2009 from: http://www. govcentral. com/benefits/articles/2055-growing-federal-jobs-homela nd-security Stone, K. (2009b) â€Å"The 9 Fastest Growing Gov’t Industries. † GovCentral. Retrieved online on July 22, 2009 from: http://www. govcentral. com/benefits/articles/2047-the-9-fastest-growing-govt-industries Hutton, D. B. & Mydlarz, A. (2003) Guide to Homeland Security Careers. Barron’s Educational Series: Hauppage, New York.