I need some advice pls...is HR a good career? HR vs psych vs poli sci majors?

Parents Forum
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<p>Human Resources dev. vs psychology vs political science majors</p>

<p>-Admins...please don't move this thread thanks :)</p>

<p>Hi Parents! :) I'm posting this here because I know you guys give great advice....
I'm first semester sophomore, and I'm at crossroads trying to decide on a a major...and possible careers. Last year I was an econ major, but I was struggling with that and I don't like the subject anymore :/ I hope you guys can help steer in in some direction...</p>

<p>My dream job would be to work in D.C. for the state dept or anywhere else that would allow me to become a diplomat or ambassador. I did my research and found that becoming a foreign service officer is a long , tedious and competitive process....and it's pretty unlikely I'd get the job unless I'm really set on it lol...but as much as I'd be interested in it, that's off the table now. Going to law school is off the table for me (debt + bad job market is a huge turnoff), but I might reconsider that again.</p>

<p>So for now I have 3 careers in mind:</p>

<ol>
<li>Government/Diplomacy</li>
<li>Human Resources </li>
<li>Counseling</li>
</ol>

<p>Human Resources (HR)
I'm still not 100% sure about Human Resources...but Ive heard that the market for it is hot and I might be a good for it. I'm just worried that I might find it boring or that I might not have thick enough skin to fire people if my position involves that kind of work. I'm also a type B personality soooo Im also not sure if HR is more suited towards high strung type A's. I have excellent communication & people skills so I hope this will work towards my advantage? I'm also creative.</p>

<p>Are HR people really over glorified babysitters for grown men? lmao.</p>

<p>However, I think going into HR is a good plan B option for landing a job after graduation?</p>

<p>*Counseling *</p>

<p>I've considered becoming a counselor/therapist and getting a master's in Licensed Professional Counseling (LPC) ---> (you get a masters for an LPC) . It's pretty much a notch down from a psychologist because you can't do testing and evaluations, but I think you can always go back to school to earn the credits to become a psychologist. However, I have my reservations about this career because I heard therapy is a lonely profession and emotionally draining. don't have thick skin so I feel like a job like that may negatively affect me, but I can't be sure because I barely know what it's like. I wouldnt mind being a high school guidance counselor but I don't think there are too many job openings (?)</p>

<h2>If I majored in psychology I could still do counseling and maybe HR. But with psych it's hard to find a job with only a BA. But if I majored in HR Dev. it's too specific and I feel like I won't have as many options. Is a degree in HR a waste?</h2>

<p>my school also offers marketing but I'm not that interested in it....but I am creative + think outside of the box?</p>

<p>I wanna apologize for being all over the place...i have many interests but for as long as I could remember I always leaned towards government work/ foreign policy. But I'm afraid of majoring in Poli Sci ... help please?!? </p>

<ul>
<li>I will make to sure do the proper networking + internships....I heard a degree is what you make of it but I scared that not working? I might have have easier time netoworking in the govt field because I have family who worked/works in that area?!</li>
<li>My school offers a minor in management through its business school and I think I might be able to minor in Arabic or middle eastern studies if i wanted to...</li>
</ul>

<p>All in all , like everyone else I would like job/career that pays modestly and something I can enjoy :)
Any thoughts, comments or input would be highly appreciated...Thank You!!!</p>

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<p>Demand for HR should follow similar cycles as employment in general. More people employed => more HR people to deal with them. Fewer people employed => fewer HR people to deal with them.</p>

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<p>Why not double major in HR and psych? Usually, a psych double major is fairly double within four years as long as the other major isn’t engineering, chemistry, or physics.</p>

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<p>I have worked in HR for over 30 years. I don’t think an undergraduate degree in HR is going to help you a lot one way or another. Undergraduate business degrees are relatively worthless, unless you are able to secure internships lead you to jobs in the field. </p>

<p>The foot in the door in HR is a clerical or operations position in the industry. Even though I had an MBA in HR, my entre to the field was an operations job in retail management. When a job came open in HR/Training, with the real world experience in the company, I was poised to apply for the job and get it.</p>

<p>Many companies are very skeptical of new graduates from any business program who have not had real world experience. They tend to be very arrogant and unrealistic. </p>

<p>What you major in is not as important as learning to think, make decisions and write well.</p>

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<p>HR is a good field but you can get an entry level HR position with a minor as well, most places anyway. They mainly want experience with payroll systems to get your foot in the door. </p>

<p>If you want to get into the diplomatic core, I would suggest getting a degree or minor in international relations though, maybe combined with the psychology degree. </p>

<p>Are you going to school in DC? If not, start making friends with your state senators, volunteer in their offices, etc. If you are in DC, make friends with as many senators as possible :D.</p>

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<p>Also a long term HR person here weighing in- go onto the website of SHRM (Society for Human Resources Management) to get an idea of the types of careers. Some- Labor Relations, Comp and Benefits- are highly quantitative- good options for someone with strong skills in math and analysis. Others- employee relations, training, succession planning- require more of what people tend to think of (interpersonal skills, outgoing types.) But there are dozens of paths to take in HR and the roles are very, very different.</p>

<p>DO NOT MAJOR IN HR. I’ve hired, managed, worked with hundreds of HR people over the last 25 years. Can’t recall a single one who learned anything of relevance or value in a classroom. Only exception is if you want to be an employment lawyer- which means law school, of course.</p>

<p>Psych is great; Poli Sci is great; I’ve worked with and for tremendously talented people who started in Government Affairs for a large corporation (working on lobbying, legislation, etc.) who migrated over into HR. Many of the issues (immigration reform, minimum wage, health care reform, environmental legislation just to name a few) that HR people deal with start at the legislative level in DC or in the state capital and then migrate outward. So poli sci is terrific.</p>

<p>So is English, Renaissance Studies, History, Urban Planning. Lots of routes and lots of paths.</p>

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<p>Just advice, that’s all - If you major in psychology, do NOT stop at a BS. You need a Masters AT LEAST.</p>

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<p>Imo, good prep for the larger govt responsibilities abroad is public policy and/or some specialty focus (trade, health, agriculture, IB, maybe intl law, etc. ) For some, this comes from years of on-the-ground experience; for others, it’s advanced studies. (In addn to internships and paying your dues.) Most embassy support is low level, not diplomat.</p>

<p>If you could be satisfied working toward a mid-level career in DC, so many people do find that interesting- DC is internationally multi-cultural, always something going on, lots of bright people. A decent govt career can more than pay the rent and if things work out, offer job security. There are many entry-level opps for young folks. Depending on how you develop, many move to work for consultants or large specialty organizations. But, it’s not just your major, per se, that matters. It’s how you acquire perspective and the expertise to do those jobs. Not much different than what other posters have said.</p>

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<p>Mom of two recent liberal arts grads-one with a job ( private equity/English major) and one without ( philosophy major/higher GPA). I applaud you for thinking clearly about what career paths are actually hiring and what is the best way to get there. Perhaps this sounds obvious, but I would spend some time looking at the entry level jobs available in some content areas-consulting, HR, writing, counseling, etc and see what the major job boards have posted ( and where). The trajectory of the economy is going to squeeze ( IMO) certain providers from their networks-I would talk with some LPC’s and see what their contractual relationships are like these days. Based upon our collective experience, solid internships in the summers can be critical in getting job offers and serving as a platform for connecting to possible other job options. Regardless of what path you choose, IMO, take several IT courses. Perhaps that sounds odd, but knowledge of IT is increasingly important across the employment spectrum. Finally, regardless of which college you are attending , visit other schools major’s site programs and see what they believe is the future job picture for grads in different fields.</p>

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<p>I agree that a degree in HR is questionable in value. Most people I know in that field worked in a company and was in position to jump on an opening that occurred. It’s also a very wide field that includes things like consulting that can me executive compensation and company goal setting which can be prestigious and require a lot of analytical skill sets. It can be a positon in recruiting where sales and markets is essential. It can be in payroll management services where accounting skills are essential. It can also be a “babysitting” type of job. It covers a lot of area.</p>

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<p>And let us not forget in this day and age HRIS…</p>

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<p>I think the general consensus here is that an undergrad degree in HR is useless (BS/BA in HR programs are rare to begin with). But how about a Masters in HR?</p>

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<p>Based on DD’s experience-- she was a double major psych/creative writing. She graduated in May and had a job lined up before graduating. The main reason she got the job is that she worked as an intern as part of her psych major. Her school required 10 hrs/week for one semester and helped the students line up the internships. She got credit, but it was unpaid. She continued the next semester as a volunteer with the same organization.</p>

<p>Point is-- there are jobs available with a BA in psych, but I think having experience is important. You might check with your psych dept and see what internship opportunities are available.</p>

<p>Long term she does want to go back to school, but plans to work a few years first to decide exactly what type of degree she wants</p>

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<p>@idahomom Was that an HR internship?</p>

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<p>When I started working in large companies 30 years ago, there was one HR person to about 100-150 employees. Right now, there’s one HR person for several thousand employees. This is for support services, not hiring and other HR functions.</p>

<p>A lot of functions today are automated - you go to a website to get services instead of walking over to HR or calling them on the phone.</p>

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<p>It was a psych internship-- sorry to not be clear. The OP had asked about psych as well. In brief-- she worked for a non-profit that had classes/pre-school for kids of parents with drug related problems and also with the parents themselves. Goal was to try to keep the families together.</p>

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<p>I have not read the thread but I will take a stab at the counseling portion of what you asked.</p>

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</p>

<p>Some of us, though, just like to counsel and have no compelling interest in doing testing and evaluations. What about you?</p>

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</p>

<p>It doesn’t have to be lonely. You can work in a larger organization or even a small practice group and have colleagues. You can get involved in professional organizations and have a lot of contact with other practitioners.</p>

<p>Emotionally draining? Well, that depends. I listen on a crisis/suicide hotline. I have certainly had some draining experiences there. However, training, self-care, and experience help one maintain balance and equanimity. </p>

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</p>

<p>What attracts you to it at all? What sounds appealing? Maybe you could look into it a little.</p>

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<p>I would discourage you from going into any field that you wouldn’t mind. I would hope for you to find something that creates at least something of a spark in you. What is it about guidance counseling that might appeal to you?</p>