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Education
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Hello everyone,
I have a question regarding education for breaking into the HR field. I am currently employed as a Reference/Information Professional at a law firm. Prior to this, I was a Referenc
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Forums » Topic Forums » HR Career Forum » Education
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Education
posted at 3/27/2009 11:58 AM EDT
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Posts: 2
First: 3/27/2009 Last: 3/30/2009 |
Hello everyone,
I have a question regarding education for breaking into the HR field. I am currently employed as a Reference/Information Professional at a law firm. Prior to this, I was a Reference Librarian in public libraries for five years. I'd like to make a career change into HR. At the public library, I handled interviewing and hiring for shelving staff. In my current position, I handle the attorney's continuing education requirements. I have a BA in English and a Master's in Library Science. I realize that I'll need additional education to break into this field. Unfortunately, I'm not in a position to pursue another degree due to finances. Our local cummunity college offers a certificate in Human Resources Managementat at a pretty low cost. Is this worth getting? Do you think it would help me break into the field? Thanks in advance for all your help! |
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Education
posted at 3/27/2009 12:34 PM EDT
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Posts: 3870
First: 2/12/2002 Last: 11/2/2009 |
There are a lot of things to consider with a decision like this. Perhaps most important is why you want to make the career change (getting away from lawyers might be a good reason, but perhaps not the best). If you haven't already done so, you should do some research into what's involved in various HR careers. Also spend some time trying to figure out where you want to go with an HR career - find some senior HR people to talk to about it. The key to making a decision like this is making an informed decision.
You should also know that many people going into HR start at a clerical level and it takes several years to move into a more professional role. Without education, it's difficult to advance beyond that second level. I don't know much about what research professionals do at a law firm or how they're paid, but I suspect that you'll be taking a step backwards in both career progression and pay for some time. It's a very competitive field - a lot of people find HR appealing for a lot of reasons (many of which are wrong). Your competition for entry level positions will most certainly include people with experience and/or specific HR education. If you are serious about making a change, I think you need to look far beyond a certificate from a community college. What you invest in a solid educational background in HR now will probably be repaid several times over during your HR career. You have a degree already - I would suggest that you research MBA programs with an HR concentration or a master's degree in HR with one of the top schools (USC, Univ of W. Virginia, Michigan State, Cornell, Univ of South Carolina would be good choices here). If you go a non-HR MBA route, you can get a certification from the Society for Human Resources Management ( www.shrm.org ) to supplement a conventional MBA. (Truth in Posting Official Disclaimer: I work for a major midwestern MBA program so I may be biased) I understand money is a possible issue, but there are student loans available. If there is a local university with an MBA program, it might well be worth your time to visit with them and explore the options. Under no circumstances visit a "for profit" university such as University of Phoenix - you'll only get a sales pitch for an expensive unaccredited MBA which is not highly regarded. Another option might be an online MBA. There are more and more traditional accredited brick and mortar universities offering online MBA's - some which come to mind are Colorado State University, Tulane University, and Indiana University (Tulane is a top 50 MBA program and Indiana is a top 10 MBA program). Good luck! |
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