HR career questions (consulting, degrees, alternatives, interviews)
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I lost my job at the beginning of August and have not been able to get so much as interviews, much less a job offer. But this cloud may have a silver lining.
I have a master's degree in urban planning. After I first got my degree, I couldn't find any work as an urban planner, and accidentally fell into recruitment at the Department of Health in my county. I did this for two years until I found a job as a project manager in a healthcare facility management organization. The pay was low and I soon discovered that I hated the work. I did this work for 12 years until I was let go in August due to downsizing.
I am 40 yo and realize that this is my opportunity to find work that I like and that pays well. Since I enjoyed recruiting so much, I would like to work in Human Resources (HR). However, as I mentioned above, I have applied to 200 recruitment/HR jobs since the beginning of August and have not heard anything.
It's becoming clear that I need to get new training in order to make myself a viable candidate for high-paying HR positions. My goal is to make a salary of 110-150K within a few years after graduating, and more later on. The best way I can think of to do this is to enroll in an MBA program.
I have done some research on HR concentrations and I'm not sure what working in those areas entails, so I don't know if they are fields I might enjoy.
So this is where I need advice from those familiar with the HR industry.
1. Do you think it's necessary for me to get an MBA to more quickly achieve my goal? If not, what are the alternatives?
2. What is Compensation & Benefits managerial/executive work like? Is it mostly accounting and math? Do you have to interact with lots of people, or is it mostly just crunching numbers by yourself?
3. What is Labor Relations work like? What skills do you need to succeed at this?
4. What kind of HR work would a concentration in Marketing get me?
5. What's working in International HR like? Do you need to be fluent in a foreign language?
6. What's the work of a consultant like?
7. What industry has the best opportunities and salaries for HR work?
Please feel free to chime in with whatever other information you think would be helpful.
Last edited by Abetterday; 10-20-2011 at 08:36 PM..
The HR people I know have degrees in HR. I think that if you want to get into HR, a HR degree will get you there faster than an MBA. Actually, I doubt if an MBA will do you any good at all. You wouldn't even be familiar with basic HR curriculum/concepts.
I know 1 person with an MBA, but his concentration is in HR.
I know some people that work in HR just have their SPHR certificates, you could look into that. But that seems to be for more general HR, such as comps. and benefits, etc.
1. I think depending on where you live a salary of between 110-150k within a few years is a little ambitious (unless of course you are in Cali or NYC).
The HR people I know have degrees in HR. I think that if you want to get into HR, a HR degree will get you there faster than an MBA. Actually, I doubt if an MBA will do you any good at all. You wouldn't even be familiar with basic HR curriculum/concepts.
I'm not thinking of getting an MBA with a general business concentration. As I mentioned above, I would do an HR concentration. You don't think an MBA with a concentration in HR as much about HR as a master's in HR Management?
I was thinking the MBA would be more useful in propelling me to the executive level faster than another type of degree. No?
I think depending on where you live a salary of between 110-150k within a few years is a little ambitious (unless of course you are in Cali or NYC).
I live in NYC now, and plan to stay here.
The starting salaries graduates from the good business schools are between 90-105K. I'm hoping I'll be lucky enough to fall in that category, or close.
Last edited by Abetterday; 10-21-2011 at 05:55 PM..
Anyone with a business degree (or really most other degrees) should be able to get an HR job. Human resources isn't rocket science.
Of course nowadays the big hurdle is having experience. Most employers in ANY field won't give you a second glance unless you have 2-5 years of experience.
Of course nowadays the big hurdle is having experience. Most employers in ANY field won't give you a second glance unless you have 2-5 years of experience.
As I mentioned above, I do have two years experience in recruiting, although that was over 12 yrs ago. So I'm not sure how much of an advantage that is.
That's why I'm thinking that the MBA would be the biggest factor to getting me in the door to the types of jobs I want. And even though my experience in project management is unrelated, it's still professional experience. I'm hoping the combination of the degree, the recruiting experience, and proj management experience will work in my favor.
Where are you supposed to get experience from if you're switching careers? Isn't the entire point that you want to do something different, i.e., no experience?
In my area, employers seem to always ask for an MBA or a master's in HR for HR positions. An MBA is the more flexible degree if you ever want to venture outside of HR. Industrial/organizational psychology is also applicable to HR. I/O psychologists with PhDs and working in consulting make a lot of money.
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