I just wanted to know because I am considering taking a course in this subject.
*What is the maximum I can get paid
*How high can I get in the field
*How important is the area to a company?
*What divisions and differences are there?
*What are the perks?
*What happens if I am really good at the job?
*What are the downsides to the job?
from what i can see, it is a growth field. i can’t give any specifics, but they seem to be more important as employment law seems to be growing. i had 2 friends in hr, and one of them got on the fast track in the college where she worked. the other one seemed to be headed that way. he also had job security. as he pointed out, “if the college closes, i’ll be the one to turn out the lights”.
On the down side, everyone thinks you’re a wiener. I mean, HR people get zero respect.
Also, you may have to fire people, or at least be the goon who escorts them to their cubicle just after they’ve been turfed, and watch them gathering their personal things before showing them the door.
You may want to be careful going into HR, since there’s usually no crossover in the field, meaning that you can only be an HR goon; the rest of the company is effectively closed off to you.
Well, HR is kind of a broad field – it’s almost like saying “I’m thinking of becoming an engineer.”
Within HR, you have a bunch of functions like: hiring, training/continuing education, employee relations, benefits, compensation, etc. Depending on the size of the company and the HR department, you could end up doing one, some, or all of these.
Maximum pay Well, there are better paying jobs. But how high you can go depends on the type of job, size of the company, and the market where you are located. I would say mid- to high-twenties for a starting HR administrator/analyst type, and in the six digits for VP of HR at a large corporation.
Advancement opportunity Again, depends on the company. My last job was with a benefits outsourcing firm, and I suppose if I had stayed long enough and bled enough for my job, I could have eventually become a partner. Most big corporations have a Vice President or another high executive in charge of all HR functions, and often each function listed above will have a high ranking executive or manager in charge. Again, a company of only 50 people will have one HR person doing everything; a company of 50,000 will have a huge department.
How important is HR to a company There are two sides to the coin. On the one hand, a company has to do basic HR functions, and the better it does them, the happier the employees are. Happy employees are more productive. On the other hand, HR is not revenue-generating, they are pure overhead. So when costs have to be cut, HR will often be trimmed to the bare bones. Also, these factors often make HR outsourcing attractive to big companies.
What divisions are there I think I’ve covered this.
Perks Well, it varies. Depending on your level, you often become aware of things before anyone else (changes to the 401(k), new employee policies, staffing changes, cutbacks, etc.). Some positions may involve travelling; most will not. On big advantage I’ve found to working in benefits is that I actually understand all my benefits, from our pension calculation formula to our short term disibility policy and continuing education programs. Most employees have only a vague idea about how all these work until it actually has an impact on them.
As far as downsides, I’ve already mentioned the danger of being a non-revenue-generating department. Of course, if you work for an outsourcing firm (like I did), you become revenue-generating and may not be subject to the same level of cost-cutting.
Another benefit I just thought of is that the HR field has a very high ration of women to men. I found that enjoyable when I was a bachelor.
– Skammer
Skammer, did you by chance work for Hewitt? I’m still there - a 12 year veteran.