From firefighters to cybersecurity analysts,
professionals in some of the more atypical careers explain
how education helped them.
by Emily Wengert
A man overboard in the waters of Lake Tahoe in the spring
only has a short time before hypothermia sets in and he'll
drown. So, when a man ended up in the water on May 16th in
10-foot swells, he was lucky the fire department was
experienced in jet-ski rescues.
Mike Schwartz, the fire captain in one of most versatile
fire companies in the country, has been on the rescue side
of this situation many times, helping those trapped on
cliffs, stuck in the icy waters of Lake Tahoe, and caught in
sudden snowfall or landslides. Of course, as a firefighter,
he fights fires, too. The dangers around the beaTech Schoolful Lake
Tahoe region mean his crew has to be ready for all kinds of
accidents.
But as much as he loves the work, the 45-year-old's career
goals extend beyond training his crew and leading responses.
In order to become a battalion chief, he must have a
bachelor's degree. With an associate degree in fire science
and a paramedic certificate already under his belt, he has
returned to school, adding the -
University College's online fire science program to his list
of pursuits. The degree educates Mike on disaster planning,
personnel management, and arson investigation, skills he'll
need to supervise fire captains as battalion chief.
Already, the education has changed the way Mike looks at his
community. When he was working on a paper about the risk of
propane and natural gas alternatives, he noticed a local
truck advertising its use of natural gas as it drove by his
window.
"Every class I've taken has had some direct applicability to
my job," he says. "That's been really exciting." Lori Stoney,
the first and only female firefighter working at her station
in Homewood, AL, has found education the key to her own
career advancement as well. Now a lieutenant, she is working
toward an online bachelor's in emergency management services
from Empire State College in order to be competitive for the
captain's position, for which she's third in.
"We're looking at a major shift in moving from the 'good ol'
boy network' where if you worked here long enough you'd move
up the ladder," says Lori. Emergency management is becoming
more and more pertinent for her field, from knowing about
the different kinds of terrorism that firefighters might
have to prevent to safely dismantling meth labs. "We're the
first line of defense if anything goes wrong."
Stopping Crime With Smarts
You don't have to be a first responder for your work to be a
little out of the ordinary. Consider Steven DiNoto, an
administrative officer for the San Jose Police Department.
He leads one of the largest crime analysis units in
California. (Think the TV show Numbers, though "not quite as
dramatic," Steven explains.)
Though a large portion of his work takes place behind a
desk, his keen use of data can be critical for breaking
cases or discovering trends. In fact, information from pawn
shops, absences from high school, and burglary dates can
often be crime-stopping information.
Steven says his bachelor's and master's degrees in criminal
justice from University of Massachusetts at Lowell gave him
the theoretical framework to do his job well.
"Graduate school was where I was challenged the most," says
Steven. "You get the academic rigors of the curriculum, but
you also have to apply critical writing, critical thought,
and critical speaking skills."
For Judy Carlson-Mattedi, such critical thinking about
numbers is just that - critical - since the public's safety
depends on her analysis. . As a fingerprint examiner for the
Colorado Bureau of Investigation, she carefully scrTech Schoolnizes
how many similarity points she needs to make a definitive
match.
Having already completed a crime scene technician
certificate online with Kaplan University, she's now working
on an online associate degree in criminal justice.
"I don't want my mind to go stagnant. I went back to school
after 30 years," Judy says. "I'm hoping to eventually get
into the more crime scene part of [my field]." Her education
is teaching her how to lift fingerprints, conduct a grid
search, decipher blood splatter, and find bullets. Above
all, she looks for anything that seems out of place, because
that can suggest someone tried to hide evidence.
Undercover Operations in Cybersecurity
Developing a keen eye for things that seem out of place in
the cyber world is something that associate professor Markus
Jakobsson tries to instill in his students. As the associate
director at the Center for Applied Cybersecurity Research at
Indiana University (IU), Markus says it's his competitive
drive that keeps him working long hours to find
vulnerabilities in computer programs and systems. As a
result, he's unraveled potential identity theft
opportunities.
"It's a cat and mouse game," Markus explains of his foray
into cybersecurity. "It's exciting to outsmart others."
Because of the nature of cyber crimes - the number of
counted vulnerabilities to computer security systems
increased nearly 280 percent from 2000 to 2002, according to
a 2003 report by the federal government called "National
Strategy to Secure Cyberspace" - Markus has plenty of
cyber-sleuthing opportunities to keep him busy.
Among those he and his colleagues have recently outsmarted:
eBay users, both buyers and sellers, 50 percent of whom gave
him their eBay passwords. Of course, Markus informed the
chief security officer at eBay about the flaw, explaining
how it could help them avoid a real attack in the future.
Sharatkumar Kuppahally, one of Markus' master's students who
assisted in the eBay project, says a master's degree is the
minimum expected to deal with complex cybersecurity issues.
He intends to continue on for his Ph.D.
"I didn't expect to do so many different things in one
school year," Sharatkumar explains, adding that he's
currently working on a project involving phishing - a scam
where people are duped into believing a phony site is
legitimate so they'll reveal personal information.
"You've got to have a passion for cybersecurity because it's
constantly changing," advises Sharatkumar. "You have to keep
learning new things. If you don't, the bad guys are still
going to learn."
Serving the Public
Randy Saucedo had the unfortunate experience of learning
about domestic violence first-hand. Having witnessed the
murder of his own mother in a domestic dispute, Randy chose
a career close to his heart, and to date has had more than
10 years experience as an advocate for victims of domestic
violence. But in order to remain in his line of work for
non-profit organizations, he needed a higher degree,
something to train him in more administrative tasks like
budgets, fundraising, policy, and organizational management.
Thanks to a master's in public affairs program in domestic
violence at the University of Colorado, Denver, earned
through a combination online/classroom program, he has
become the advocacy director for the nonprofit Colorado
Coalition Against Domestic Violence.
"It's a very unique, very needed program for people who want
to remain in this field," Randy says. Courses cover diverse
topics like economics, leadership, ethics, the legal system
and nonprofit management. "It's very difficult, no doubt
about that, but you can definitely see the payoff."
Political Prowess
Daron Jamison is a public servant of a different sort. He
works as district representative to U.S. Representative
Jerry Moran (R-KS), meaning he's "the eyes and ears" for the
congressman in Kansas. He says his bachelor's degree in
business management and organizational leadership from Fort
Hays State University helped him get the job he has.
Daron admits to some regret that he graduated before the
advent of the political management at Fort Hays, created a
year ago. Programs like this and many others emerge all the
time to help even the more unique and extreme careers get a
jumpstart.
In fact, what's becoming all the more popular are programs
specifically customized to growing facets of particular
industries - master's degrees in enrollment management for
educational leaders interested in propelling their
admissions careers; MBAs in leadership and business ethics
for those who aspire to an corporate watchdogs; or forensic
nursing, programs, which allow current RNs to specialize in
an exciting, growing field.
Next time you're considering a new career, just watch the
evening news and you'll see why there is a growing demand in
such extreme fields that make our world just a little bit
safer.
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