Adventures in Emergency Management

[Tedium]

I have an interview soon for a job loading rail cars at a chemical plant, which is an entry level job. This is not my field and I have no experience with plant work, so I was trying to think of ways to give my resume a little kick. I'm already CPR/First Aid certified, so that's not an option. Then I remembered the FEMA and NFA classes, and I thought I could knock out the PDS certificate and those three NFA courses pretty quickly. I know they won't all apply to plant work, but some of them do and I thought it would at least make me look more interesting.

So, here's the problem: I'm almost done with the PDS and it turns out I really love the material. I did what any good education junkie would do and started looking up Emergency Management programs. I know this is really horrible timing since TESC decided to stop taking FEMAs for credit, but I was hoping to find a reasonably priced program. Preferably one without an internship requirement. I don't need an AS or AAS, really, just a certificate. I think that coupled with my BA from COSC would be a good mix. I know I want to be active in some local CERT programs, but besides that I'm not sure what I want to do with it. There are a lot of opportunities in Louisiana for EM, so if I snag a job I can always start looking to expand beyond a certificate.

Here's what I have found so far:

Baton Rouge Community College - This is a community college in my state, though not in my town. The certificate is 30 hours and requires 9 hours of gen. ed. courses, which I could show proof of taking already, and 21 hours of EM courses (the internship is an option, but not required). Online tuition would be $444 per 3 credit course. The only problem is that I could not get in touch with anyone before the Easter break and I have no idea if the certificate is 100% online. It's like they went out of their way to make it difficult to contact anyone. I keep getting forwarded to this answering service that isn't even on campus and can't answer any of my questions. It really does not inspire confidence. I'm trying one more time on Monday and then I'm calling it quits. I'm not going to chase someone down to pay them money. Total Cost: ~$3675

Barton Community College - Certificate is 33 hours at $137 per hour online rate. Requires 9 gen. ed. courses (I would have to CLEP Intro. to Computers and hope they take ALEKS for math) and 24 hours of EM courses. Actually seems like a reasonably legit program. Again, nothing fancy, just a certificate. The only obstacle would be them not accepting ALEKS or CLEP. I've sent them an e-mail, so hopefully I will hear back from them on Monday. Total Cost: ~$3368
[URL="http://www.guamcc.edu/Runtime/certemergencymgmt.aspx"]
Guam Community College[/URL] - This program is really interesting because they are copying FCC's model, with the core of the certificate being FEMA courses. I'm not sure how much the conversion cost is, though, so I can't accurately price the program. I'm going to have to dig a little deeper today when I have some time. I am kind of worried about them, though. The e-mail address at the bottom of the page bounced back to me, and the number gave me a recording that said, "Due to issues at the location you are attempting to call, your call can not be completed." Or something similar. I was able to send an information request. I hope there wasn't a zombie outbreak...
[URL="http://www.frederick.edu/download/programs/EmergencyManagementCertificateRequirements.pdf"]
Frederick Community College[/URL] - So, I was initially put off by the internship requirement of the AAS, but after doing some digging I found out that the internship was not a requirement if you were just pursuing the Certificate. It's a 27 hour program with 3 gen. ed. hours and 24 FEMA hours. Now, it does cost $79 dollars per credit to convert the FEMA, but that still makes this the least expensive option by far. I can show proof of my Eng. 101, and the FEMAs count toward a residency, so there is really not a lot to dislike about this program. They break the certificate into modules, which is 4 FEMA courses, and once I'm done with a module I take a comprehensive test on the material covered. Each test is $25. Total Cost: ~$2000

So, that's where I am in my research thus far. What do you guys think? Are there any cheaper certificates out there? Are there some negative issues I might have missed with any of these? I know there are things like the AAEM certs out there, and I plan on pursuing them, but I would really like something from a college as well.

Thoughts or suggestions?