So you’re looking for a new career that has a fairly good promise of longevity. At the same time you are quite concerned about terrorism and the severe and dangerous effects it can have on our nation. How about fighting terrorism? Sounds great, but w
There is much to know. Besides learning about basic to advanced intelligence, threat analysis and bioterrorism, major topics such as destroying active weapons and decoding cyberspace threats are among others. The United States has created the Department of Homeland Security. But what is our government doing to develop this agency?
Its efforts have been poor in preparing real career and recruitment programs in the areas of intelligence and national security, which is quite appalling.
And there is great potential for a terrorist strike in Queens. Though seemingly quite small geographically, this area is quite significant. Queens maintains a major international airport, a prominent domestic airport, a Major League baseball stadium, large shopping malls and connections to major bridges and tunnels, among other various key locations.
If ever an area qualified for extensive coverage and monitoring, it is Queens. There are training areas that offer post-graduate degrees in national security and public safety, such as those at the University of New Haven in Connecticut and its partnered location of the Sandia National Laboratories in Livermore, Calif. But another question rises in this unique field.
Will people be concerned that government involvement could politicize an academic environment? It’s quite different when the government, with required security, is running a campus. For example, in Sandia you can feel quite restricted when you realize you are in an isolated government institution. But many colleges can be made quite ready for this program.
If we are going to have a strong Department of Homeland Security, we had better get started. A slow to inactive homeland security agency is equivalent to those who boast about the burglar alarm in their house that has yet to be hooked up.
So how’s a business career in homeland security? Unfortunately it’s a field that looks to be here for quite some time, but fortunately it has career and job potential extended into the foreseeable future.
Joe Palumbo is the fund manager of The Palco Group Inc., an investment company, and can be reached at palcogroup@aol.com or 718-461-8317.
