The Perks of a Human Resources Career

By Wendy Croix
Learning & Life Columnist

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Human resources managers are a bit like Donald Trump in the boardroom of "The Apprentice." Ultimately, they decide who's fired and who's hired. Like Trump and company, they need to be insightful judges of human potential, but HR people have the whole arsenal of testing, training, and labor management techniques at their fingertips to help them find, hire, train, and evaluate talent for their companies.

That makes human resources a powerful position with some terrific perks.

Interdisciplinary Study

Human resources managers need a broad knowledge base, so while others focus narrowly on a single specialization, you'll be well prepared if your college years include a little of a lot of courses: sociology, psychology, business, tech, communications, labor law, and of course, human resources. In your job, you're the big-picture person.

Job Variety

You might have a planning meeting, interview prospective workers, do some testing, follow the testing with a training session, and go on to a meeting with company execs all in one day.

People, People, and More People

You'll work one-on-one and in teams. You'll be busy, social, and the hub of corporate interactions.

You'll Be Important

As the company peacemaker, your HR skills are central to employee satisfaction and corporate profit. Why? Turnover costs big money, and it's your job to keep turnover to a minimum. You may even become part of the executive team. Because of the bottom-line nature of HR, human resources managers are working ever-more-closely with top corporate executives--so much so that some industry-watchers predict a blending of human resources with CFO positions.

Your university degree in human resources, business, or liberal arts can get you started, but you may decide to go back to school to get a master's degree in labor relations or a similar program. With experience and education, you're looking at well-paying jobs, like benefits manager (median income of $66,530), training manager (median income of $67,460), or human resources manager (median income of $81,810).

All together, the salary and perks are definitely attractive.

Sources

"Business Partners," by Steve Bates. HR Magazine 48.9 (Sep 2003).
"Critical Issues in HR Drive 2006 Priorities: #1 Is Talent." HR Focus 83.1 (Jan 2006).
Exploring Careers. JIST Publishing, Inc. 2003.
"Human Resources, Training, and Labor Relations Managers and Specialists."

About the Author
Wendy Croix, Ph.D. is a freelance writer, cultural critic and university professor. In her twenty years as a professional educator, Wendy has guided hundreds of students toward the careers of their dreams.

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