The Experience Paradox in Emergency Management

There’s a quiet paradox haunting the workforce, and emergency management is no exception. In fact, it created a barrier to entry: we need experience to get the job… and we need the job to get the experience.

If you’ve ever looked at an emergency management job posting and thought, “I can do that… if someone would just let me in the room where it’s done,” you’re not alone. Here in Arizona (and honestly, everywhere), there’s a real cultural barrier to entry into the emergency management field. Not because people aren’t capable, but because the on-ramp is steep, the expectations are high, and the “experience required” loop can feel like a cruel prank.

That’s exactly why the Arizona Emergency Managers Association (AZEM) Mentorship Program exists: to help aspiring emergency management professionals gain meaningful exposure, education, and connections. without needing to already be a 10-year veteran who can recite the National Incident Management System (NIMS) doctrine in their sleep.

And yes, I’m biased. I’m Carl Melford, Emergency Manager for Gila County, and I’ve been put in charge of this mentorship program. But I’m also the guy who walked into emergency management with absolutely no idea what I was doing. As a matter of fact, I left my first meeting thinking that the person on the podium was speaking some new acronym-based language that was far above my level of understanding, even coming from law enforcement. I’ll admit that I even went as far as calling my previous employer to ask them to hold my position for me because I thought I was in over my head.

Emergency Management Is an Ocean—Mentorship Is the Lifeguard

Joining emergency management can feel a lot like learning to swim by getting pushed off a dock into shark-infested waters with your right hand tied to your left foot. “Congratulations, and welcome to emergency management! Here’s the ocean. Hope you like waves.”

When I transitioned into emergency management from being a police officer, I came prepared with only a handful of good ideas, endless ambition, and a pretty neat flashlight. I didn’t have a mentor assigned. I didn’t have a structured guide. I didn’t have a walkthrough of what this job entails. And I definitely did not have a “10 codes to FEMA acronym thesaurus”. *Patent Pending on my backburner of things to do, of course.*

I learned by leaning on seasoned emergency managers I met through networking. I will forever be grateful for the people who were generous with their time, their experience, and their hard-earned lessons. They helped keep my head above water while I figured out how to swim in an ocean that doesn’t exactly pause for breath.

Emergency management is an ocean. A mentor can be your swim coach and lifeguard.

Why Emergency Management Mentorship Matters

mentorship helps break the “you need experience to get experience” cycle that keeps good people out of the field.

The best time to join the mentorship program is before you need it.

As a mentee, you get more than advice, you get real-world exposure to what emergency management looks like day-to-day and when the pressure hits. You get to see the job on days when the skies are blue, and days where the sky decides to fall. You get context. You get a safe place to ask questions that feel “basic or even dumb” (they aren’t). You get someone who can translate the profession, not just describe it. All of this from someone who has been in the field and performed the job first-hand.

Because reading about emergency management is like reading about swimming.

You can understand the technique.
You can memorize the terms.
But eventually you’ve got to get in the water.

What Mentees Gain from the AzEM Mentorship Program

The mentorship program is built to help mentees:

• Understand the emergency management landscape (local, tribal, state, federal, private, and how it all connects)
• Build professional confidence through practical guidance
• Gain exposure to operations, planning, training, exercises, coordination, and real-world events
• Develop a network. Because in emergency management, relationships are often the difference between “problem” and “solution”.

And maybe most importantly: mentorship helps break the “you need experience to get experience” cycle that keeps good people out of the field.

I am a firm believer that a good emergency managers most valuable tool is their network. This job requires you to be a “Jack of all trades, master of none”. Having an understanding of all of the fields that emergency management crosses over is important, but it’s invaluable to be able to pull the quote from Pawn Stars and say “I recognize what this is, but let me call in my buddy who is an expert.”

And maybe most importantly: mentorship helps break the “you need experience to get experience” cycle that keeps good people out of the field.

“I Don’t Have Time” — A Reality Check for Emergency Managers

I hear this from both sides, aspiring emergency management folks and working emergency managers.

To the aspiring professionals: you’re thinking, “I don’t want to bug someone.”
To the seasoned professionals: you’re thinking, “I’m busy. I can barely mentor my inbox.”

Fair.

But here’s the thing: emergency management has never been a “free time” profession. If we wait until we’re not busy to build the next generation, I can confidently recommend that you don’t hold your breath on that one.

Mentorship isn’t about adding another huge obligation. It’s about investing in the future. It can be as simple as:

• A check-in call
• A walkthrough of how things are structured
• A tour of a facility
• A review of a resume or application
• A conversation after an exercise
• A chance to observe how coordination really works

Small guidance makes a big difference.

Real-World Emergency Operations Experience Through Mentorship

I currently serve as a mentor, and I’ve seen firsthand what practical exposure can do.

In the thick of the 2025 flooding events in Globe-Miami, While managing the Gila County Emergency Operations Center (EOC), I was contacted by one of the student volunteers I met at the AzEM conference the previous day asking if I would be willing to mentor him. When I told him about the floods, he immediately said “I’m so sorry, I can try again another time”. My response: “Nope. This is the best time. Want to come to Globe?” I brought my new mentee into our Emergency Operations Center and into the field for multiple days. Not for a tourist visit. Not for a “look but don’t touch” situation. For the experience.

He was there to see:

• How information comes in and gets validated
• How decisions get made (and how fast things change)
• How coordination happens between agencies and partners
• What an EOC feels like when it’s working at pace
• The real-world impact when disaster strikes

That kind of experience doesn’t come from a textbook. It comes from proximity. It comes from being in the room, watching the gears turn, asking questions, and seeing what “emergency management” actually looks like when it’s not on a training slide.

And here’s the part I love the most: you can almost see the confidence grow when someone realizes, “Oh. This is real, and I can learn to do this.”

Why Experienced Emergency Managers Should Become Mentors

If we want emergency management to remain effective, resilient, and prepared for what comes next, we have to invest in people coming up behind us and alongside us. Mentorship isn’t just a nice program—it’s part of succession planning for the whole field.

Now, let’s talk to my fellow emergency managers for a second.

I know what you’re thinking: “Mentor? I’m the one people call when it hits the fan.”

Exactly. Which is why you should consider it.

Emergency management changes. Constantly. New hazards, new tools, new expectations, new partnerships, new best practices, and changes in the (political) climate. None of us “arrive.” We evolve.

But there’s a bigger point: continuity of the profession.

If we want emergency management to remain effective, resilient, and prepared for what comes next, we have to invest in people coming up behind us and alongside us. Mentorship isn’t just a nice program—it’s part of succession planning for the whole field.

Because someday, someone else is going to be in the chair making the call. Let’s make sure they didn’t get launched into the ocean with no swim coach.

Join the AZEM Mentorship Program

If you’re trying to get a foot in the door of emergency management: become a mentee.
If you’re already in emergency management and want to strengthen the profession: consider being a mentee, a mentor or both.

This program exists to connect people, to share real-world experience, and to reduce that frustrating “barrier on entry” that keeps talented, motivated people stuck outside looking in.

Emergency management is a profession built on planning for what’s next. Mentorship is how we make sure the next generation is ready—not just certified, not just trained, but truly prepared.

And if you’re still nervous?

That’s okay.

The ocean looks big from the dock.

Let’s get you a swim coach.

How to Join the AzEM Mentorship Program

Mentorship helps break the “you need experience to get experience” cycle in emergency management. If you are ready to support this critical program as a mentor or mentee, simply fill out our form and a member from the AzEM Board will contact you for the next steps.