Job title Security director, International SOS

Companies that hire them: International SOS, iJet, MEDEX, and other providers of international risk management and emergency rescue services

How to find out about openings: Through specialized security recruiters like SSR Personnel or CSO, the Resource for Security Executives; employee referrals are also key.

How much you might earn: $100,000 to $350,000. The bigger the company, the more you make.

Useful skills: A high tolerance for risk, standing in harm's way, and last-minute travel help. So does previous military or law enforcement experience. College degrees are good, but aren't often required.

Number of jobs in the U.S.: No one tracks the exact number of security directors in the country. However, there are about 25 companies in the niche-travel and medical-assistance industry, each with between one and four security directors.

Richard Culver has had a bag packed for four years. Being prepared has come in handy on a number of occasions, including when he had to catch a last-minute flight to Saudi Arabia in 2003 to rescue 100 businesspeople from a terrorist bombing in Riyadh, or when he figuratively parachuted into Mauritania in 2003 to counsel corporate clients threatened during a coup "It's not a job, but a way of life," says Culver, one of four security directors for International SOS, a provider of emergency health care, risk consulting, and crisis management to multinational conglomerates as well as vacation travelers. In addition to designing security plans for clients and training SOS security-program staff, Culver makes sure SOS' international alarm centers are on alert, running smoothly and ready to respond anywhere in the world.

That's no small task. SOS caters to 6,500 clients, including Microsoft, Exxon, and Coca-Cola. Of course, billion-dollar multinational corporations aren't the only ones seeking safety. Recreational travelers are increasingly hiring Culver and his company to handle everything from emergency dentist appointments abroad to mortal repatriations, the process of returning an individual's remains to their home country. Such consumer services cost $100 for a 10-day trip, or $350 for year-long coverage. The costs for corporate clients are considerably more, anywhere from tens of thousands to hundreds of thousands of dollars. "But you can't quantify how it makes you feel when you get people from danger to safety," says Culver, who supervised the evacuation of 350 people from Beirut during the summer of 2006.

Unfortunately, you can't save everyone. In May 2003, Culver joined a "priority operation" in Riyadh, where an al Qaeda-affiliated terrorist group attacked the residential compound of a North American tech company, overwhelmed its guards and drove an explosives-laden car into the compound. The attack killed more than 50 people. Culver's job: mortal repatriations, arranging for air ambulances for the wounded, and shuttling some 100 survivors to the airport's V.I.P. lounge, where one of Osama bin Laden's brothers and his entourage were spotted.

It won't be all action forever, says Culver, a native Australian who spent 12 years in that country's army. Now with a wife and two daughters -- three years and three months old -- Culver is based in SOS' Philadelphia headquarters and is debating a more desk-oriented role. "I have a very, very understanding wife, and long may that last," he says.

Typical Day

5:30 to 6:30 a.m. Woken up by three-year-old daughter.

6:30 to 7:30 a.m. Checks BlackBerry, showers, and eats breakfast. Concurrently scans TV news for anything that might cause client activity—terrorist attacks, coups, and so on.

7:30 to 8:00 a.m. Heads to office, grabbing a take-out coffee on the way.

8:00 to 9:30 a.m. Calls team in Middle East for project updates and prepares for client meeting.

9:30 to 10 a.m. Answers emails from colleagues still at work throughout the Eastern hemisphere while also scanning the news.

10:00 a.m. to 1 p.m. Meets with a client and a kidnap-and-ransom consultant to discuss how Culver's and SOS might assist in the event an employee is kidnapped.

1:00 to 2:00 p.m. Has lunch at his desk.

2:00 to 3:00 p.m. Sits in on a conference call to discuss and debrief on recent SOS evacuations from Kazakhstan.

3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Approves invoices to be released to clients for consulting assignments and evacuation support.

5:00 to 6:30 p.m. Preps a presentation to be delived the following day to industry managers.

6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Home for dinner; tries to spend some time with the girls before they go to bed.

8:30 to 10:00 p.m. Clears emails on BlackBerry and packs for the next day's business trip to the West Coast. Sits in on any late conference calls before calling it a night.

11:00 p.m.-ish Bed.

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