Online Degrees in Human Resources
Last week, I decided to start researching online degrees in human resources. I serve on our Human Resource committee for a local non-profit animal shelter, and we recently had to terminate a member of our staff. Admittedly, while I have no formal human resource training, my past job experience required me to deal with a great amount of human resource related responsibilities. These included new-employee orientation, reviewing health and job benefits, and completing sexual harassment training for managers. I’ve also had to put employees on action plans, and draw up paperwork for terminations. I found that I enjoyed work in “HR”, and online degrees in human resources can probably help me find a new and exciting career, and would help to improve my performance on our shelter’s HR committee.
Every organization needs a knowledgeable Human Resources representative. The person that a company hires that has this knowledge can work in an actual Human Resources department, or as a manager or supervisor in smaller companies that don’t necessarily require a specific human resources employee. In order to hone one’s skills as a successful human resources expert, online degrees in human resources may be in order.
In most cases, online degrees in Human Resources contain the following courses of study:
- organizational structure
- public administration
- compensation
- recruitment
- training and development
- management principles
- psychology
Human Resource employees who hold a bachelors degree in human resource management can expect to earn between $40,000/year and $85,000/year depending on experience and the company offering the position. However, those who earn a masters or a PhD with a specialization in Human Resources can expect to earn more as a department head or even as a Vice-President of Human Resources.
Companies rely on the expertise of a human resource representative, and in many cases, are willing to pay for that expertise. Students who have graduated from the human resource degree program at the undergraduate level can pursue a graduate degree as well, allowing more opportunities within HR to be available to them.
Those who complete online degrees in human resources can look into both entry level and managerial positions within a company, as human resource management degree holders don’t necessarily have to work in human resources. This particular degree is unique in that the tools that are gained by studying human resource management program can be utilized in a variety of fields.
Not only that, since these online degrees in human resources are a form of distance learning, you are able to earn your degree outside of the classroom. In many cases, on-campus attendance is rarely required if at all. Many students choose to study at home through their home computer and a working modem connection. For those who have wifi capabilities or have some sort of mobile connection for their personal laptops will find the world is their classroom, enabling them to study just about anywhere they can get a signal. Many major cities are going completely wireless, so you can gain access to your coursework on the train, in the coffee shop, local library, or your favorite cafe restaurant.