Overview of the Human Resources (HR) Degree Program

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Human Resources, HR, or sometimes referred to as personnel is the operation of keeping balance between the needs of employees and the business’ needs of the organization. The reasoning behind HR is to produce growth, prosperity for both employees and the organization involved.

To put it in a better perspective, human resources handle recruiting, selection and promotions. HR will also oversee the wellness of its employees and their benefit programs. They develop and enforce regulations and compliance policies while providing guidance and disciplinary actions. Human resources also oversee the overall work environment and guides appropriate relationship building between employer and employees. Some companies will also offer career development, training and higher education programs. The list does not stop here. There are also financial components involved within the Human Resources Department.

According to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the outlook for the HR field is expected to grow by 13% from 2012 to 2022 with a median pay for HR manager estimated at $99,720.

What Will I Learn?

With an associate’s degree in human resources, you can expect to learn concepts of organizational design. You will learn behavioral science, legal regulations and compliance components, performance management, employee training and development and benefits.

At the associate’s degree level, you will qualify for entry-level positions in most cases. In many cases, you will have specified duties within the company such as recruiter, clerk or HR assistant. At the bachelor’s degree level, you will be armed with tools to enter a larger variety of HR roles and different types of business settings, such as payroll marketing and information technology.

Master’s degrees will concentrate more on the HR management facets with classes such as strategic human resource management and administrative issues.

Communication, critical thinking, and problem solving are detrimental to the successful operation and growth of an organization. Of course, when starting classes you will first learn the fundamentals of communications. You can expect to receive an introduction to computer applications, ethics, and development and accounting classes.

What Skills Matter?

When working within the HR department of companies, we have found that both inter-personal and intra-personal skills and people skills are a must-have. This is true within the company and outside the company. Depending on which degree you are seeking, the options can be endless.

Recruiting, records, compensation and arbitration are now joined by added areas like performance appraisals, diversity, telecommunication and so on. Large organizations and corporations, hospitals, legal firms and manufacturing plants all use some kind of personnel or HR department.

Lastly, educate yourself when researching schools. Decide whether you would prefer to be in classes’ onsite or study your classes online. Research the different types of titles of human resource employees and see what part of the field might best fit your lifestyle. Schools also have financial assistance programs, so be sure your enrollment representative answers all the questions you have.

This is going to be the beginning of something great for you!