Key takeaways
- HR degree jobs are projected to grow by 6% by 2032, offering promising career prospects.
- A human resources bachelor’s degree focuses on crucial skills like communication, problem-solving, and data management.
- There are diverse options for specializations which vary from college to college. these offer a good variety of career paths.
- Specializations within HR include Training & Development, Recruitment, and Employee Relations.
- Additionally, to successfully study human resources, you need strong ethical principles to navigate labor laws and company policies effectively.
- Human resources degree provides a wide range of job roles from HR Generalist to Chief Human Resources Officer across various industries.
- Pros of a human resources career include career variety and growth.
- Meanwhile, the cons of a human resources career may involve entry-level roles with administrative tasks and evolving job functions.
As Malcolm X said, “Education is the passport to the future, for tomorrow belongs to those who prepare for it today.” For your tomorrow, you must make some preparations today. Choosing an undergraduate human resources bachelor degree that guarantees a bright, successful, and fulfilling career is a step in the right direction.
As per the Bureau of Labor Statistics, or BLS, there is likely to be a 6% growth in HR degree jobs by 2032. According to U.S. News, the median salary for HR Specialists is over $63,000 per year. Some great employment trends easily encourage young students to consider enrolling in a human resources bachelor degree program.
However, this decision is not easy, and it must be given a lot of thought. An HR degree will most likely shape the next 10 to 15 years of life, both professionally and personally. The degree is meant to instill and polish some important skills like communication and people management.
Not only that, but an HR degree also lets you expand your qualifications further by opting for master’s and doctoral programs. Further degrees such as a master’s can be proved to be really important game-changers for your careers.
In any case, an HR degree is suitable for someone who is a problem-solver, helps people, likes to engage with colleagues, and is data-driven. Having many questions about HR is very common, and you must get all the answers before starting the degree.
Therefore, to help you determine whether or not a human resources bachelor degree is the right pick for you, here are 5 reasons you need to find in yourself.
Who should pursue a human resources bachelor degree?
Anyone having the following qualities should pursue a human resources degree.
You are good at talking and engaging with people
HR degree jobs involve a lot of people dealing and managing. Most of your human resources bachelor degree courses will be focused on teaching you strategies on how to deal with people from diverse backgrounds.
Any HR job will require you to build a reputation amongst your existing employees and be welcoming enough when trying to get new employees on board. Moreover, a lot of HR degree jobs require you to not only hire but also retain existing employees. At that point, it is curricula for you to have the skill set needed to engage employees and keep them motivated.
Human resources professionals will also often find themselves as the connecting link between employees and employers. Therefore, good communication is an important skill for them to possess.
While being good at talking and engaging people is a great skill to have to pursue a human resources career, the flip side to it is being a good listener. For you to fully engage your employees meaningfully, you must have an ear to listen. If you are a good listener, and often find yourself engaging in meaningful conversations with people, you might want to consider getting a human resources bachelor.
You like resolving problems for others
An HR professional is all about others. They must care for and look after the employees and the company’s interests. Therefore, a big part of people management is having a helpful nature that is eager to resolve conflicts among other people.
If you have a knack for resolving issues for others, then a human resources college degree could be the right path for you. Some of the areas of specialization require problem-solving and conflict resolution. These areas include Employee Relations, Employee Experience, and Organizational Development. As we all know, HR jobs require you to bridge the gap between employees and employers.
So, you must mediate and intervene in conflicts and roadblocks between employees and their management. Sometimes, these are not conflicts, but mere challenges that they could be facing together.
For example, a manager might not have enough team members to delegate tasks to, so they could be unintentionally burdening one employee with work. In such matters, HR can step in, and help the manager streamline their workflow by devising a plan for recruiting additional team members.
You are looking for variety in your career
A human resources degree offers the best variety of career paths and job prospects. With its range of specializations and areas of concentration, it is very easy to achieve variance in your career options.
Some of the most common specializations in human resources include the following:
- Training and Development
- Recruitment
- Organizational Development
- Leadership Development
- Payroll Management
- Employee Relations
- Compensation and Benefits
Each specialization helps you develop different skills and expertise. However, HRM degrees usually set your foundations for all the specializations and areas of HR. Thankfully, this could help you achieve variety, as well as decide more carefully which specialization works best for you.
Therefore, if you are looking for a degree that can help you develop skills in multiple areas and apply your learnings on the job, you must consider getting a degree in human resources.
You wish to lead a good culture at Work
Certainly, eerybody has a vision of how they see themselves in their professional career. You will have some aspirations, goals, and an ideal role at work that you wish to achieve. If your career goal is to bring a positive change in an organization, and foster a healthier culture at a workplace, start your human resources degree right away.
A major function of HR in any organization is ensuring a healthy work culture, fostering inclusivity, and diversity, and creating a safe space for the employees. An HR professional can strategically plan, implement, and monitor changes in the workplace. Thus, they may achieve this change and maintain a desired work culture by increasing employee engagement, holding out employee feedback sessions, training the management, and ensuring opportunities for deserving candidates.
Organizational Development, Labor Relations, and Recruitment are three specializations in HR that can allow you to achieve your goal of bringing changes in workplaces. So, if you have the drive and the motivation to be a changemaker or trendsetter in your career, then a human resources bachelor degree is the best match.
You have strong ethics and principles
Labor laws — including state-level laws and company policies — are essential in any workplace. State-level laws apply to both private and public institutions, and violating these employment or labor laws can be a huge problem for the company.
This is where a human resources bachelor degree really helps all HR professionals. Even if you are specialized in Recruitment, or Compensation and Benefits, you will find your knowledge of these laws come in handy.
However, only staunch and stringent individuals can play the role of ensuring compliance. HR degree jobs are the most suitable for people with strict principles and true care for ethical considerations in life and work.
Studying, comprehending, and then following labor laws is something that takes work for everyone. However, if you love rules, have a disciplined personality, and think you can ensure compliance in other people as well, then choose a human resources degree.
You are good at collecting, managing, and reading data
In your HR degree jobs, you will be dealing with lots of data of different sorts to reach different types of decisions. So, this is why a human resources bachelor degree emphasizes data management skills and a knack for working with data.
For example, if you are shortlisting candidates for the final round of interviews, you will go through multiple amounts and types of data such as their resumes, aptitude tests, and screening notes. Managing this data, sorting it, and then analyzing it will be crucial for this process.
Additionally, the HR landscape is rapidly evolving thanks to generative AI and digital advancement. To manage such humongous amounts of data, companies are now integrating AI powers. So, HRM degrees prepare students to become agile, and flexible, and learn the basics of all technologies that are now being used in HR processes.
If this type of versatility, adaptability, and data-driven career is your goal, then you must enroll yourself in a human resources college degree.
How to decide which degree is best for me?
An undergraduate human resources degree is at least a 4-year program that demands a long-term commitment. It involves spending a lot of time on campus, sometimes away from home, hard work on assignments and projects, and is a full-time commitment.
However, the right degree will also offer you the most scalable skills and knowledge. It will enrich you with competencies that you can use in your high-paying and reputable jobs. Most importantly, it opens gates for you to reach prestigious jobs and then utilize your learnings to the fullest.
Therefore, choosing a degree that is best for you can be a tricky, overwhelming, and critical decision. We have discussed some important traits that make any individual suitable for a human resources degree.
To decide whether it’s the right degree for you, or you need to find another career path, here is what you can do:
Take a personality test
First of all, consider taking this personality test to see what your persona is like and what career recommendations suit you the best.
Don’t oversee your passions
Secondly, if you are passionate about something, try looking for an undergraduate degree that aligns with it. For example, your passion to be a changemaker at a workplace aligns with a human resources bachelor degree.
Research career options
Thirdly, don’t settle for the first career option you see. Explore and do some thorough research.
Speak to experts
Use platforms like LinkedIn, Forbes, Bloomberg, and Unleash blogs.
Find a career coach
Fourth, if nothing seems to be working, and you hit a dead end, you perhaps need a career coach. Career coaches are available online easily, you can also look for a freelance career coach from platforms like Fiverr and Guru.
Explore the most accessible colleges and their programs
Since a lot of your academic journey depends on the kind of college you are going to, start looking at that. Pick out your top 5 colleges, see the programs they offer, and pick any you think is the best for your career goals.
What are the pros and cons of getting a human resources bachelor degree?
With so much to consider, one cannot deny that there are definitely drawbacks or “cons” to pursuing a human resources bachelor degree. However, that’s true for any field of study or career path.
A human resources bachelor degree is great for people who are people-minded. It can help develop important life skills like problem-solving and conflict resolution. There are definitely signs that tell you that you should pursue a HR degree. However, it has some limitations too, such as low-paying entry-level jobs that mostly entail administrative tasks more than hands-on experience.
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What can you do with a human resources bachelor degree?
There are many job roles that you can land with a human resources bachelor degree. The degree is great for all jobs that require dealing with people. Therefore, some HR-specific jobs that you can land with a degree in HR include:
- Chief human resources officer
- Compensation and benefits analyst
- Employee relations specialist
- HR analyst
- HR business partner
- HR consultant
- HR director
- HR generalist
- HR representative
- HR vice president
- HRIS specialist/HR systems analyst
- Payroll executive/manager
- Performance manager
- Recruitment specialist
- Recruitment specialist/recruiter
- Staffing manager
- Talent acquisition manager
- Training and development specialist
There are various industries in which HR degree jobs are available, including:
- Manufacturing
- Telecommunications
- Retail
- Banking & finance
- Digital media and advertising
- Restaurant and food business
- Recruitment and consultancy
- Information technology
- Hotel and accommodation
- Hospitality & tourism
- Healthcare (both public and private)
- Finance and insurance
- Energy, mining & resources
- Education institutes
- Consulting & professional services
- Building & construction
- Arts and media production
- Apparel Retail
Discover the right undergraduate degree for yourself
In summary, if you have all, or some, of the important qualities that all point towards an HR degree, don’t wait. Start exploring and researching for the best colleges for human resources bachelor degrees, and enroll! HR degree jobs are full of variety, and multiple functions, and never make you bored.
You can explore HR colleges in the following states:
You do need skills such as communication, good principles, and a solution-minded attitude to be successful in HRM degrees. Once you graduate, you will find a range of opportunities and a satisfactory human resources career outlook.