Master's in HR with no HR experience? please help... (Kent: home, school)

[jglass11]

Hello all, I have been picking people's brains all over the world on this and cannot get a definitive answer. I have been living and teaching in Japan for five years. I am now married and have a 1 year old and another on the way. My undergrad from Kent State was in general studies. I do not plan on teaching when I return to the US. I am in a situation where getting my master's now would be convenient. Kids are young and I only work 6 hours a day. My wife stays home, so kid(s) well taken care of. I have been accepted to a middle tier 1 university for a master's HR program by distance. It is a NCAA division 1 school, I will leave it at that. I am not here to ask about the validity of online education. Like it or not, it's growing at an exorbitant rate and will very soon have lost any stigma. My question is this: I will have a year of social work and 7 years overseas teaching experience when I get back to the US with my family and presumably a M HR. Is this a good move? I wish to work in a college/university HR or advising dept, private sector HR dept., or government HR dept.. Like I mentioned, the time for me to pursue graduate studies is now, but am I naive to think I can get one of these jobs without the complimenting work experience? Any advice is welcome and appreciated.

[Ron.]

My suggestion would be for you to join LinkedIN........after you've joined LI, join groups related to "HR" professionals. They have message boards. I would pose your question there.

You'll probably get great, targeted answers from those doing what you want to do.

Also, check out these HR forums:

Discussions: HR Human Resources



Have you talked with the career advisers within the University? I'd do that also.



Found this:
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Human-Res...EXPERIENCE.htm

http://mastersinhumanresources.org/t...ces-blogs.html

[jglass11]

Thanks, Ron. Those links were a huge help!

[NeoSoulBrotha]

It's great that you asked this question PRIOR to enrolling. You'd be amazed at how many aspiring HR professionals find themselves in this situation after graduating with a very expensive degree.

The M.S. in HR (or HCM, or organizational development etc.) is useful, especially for mid-level HR practitioners looking to advance to senior management. Unfortunately in your case, practically all entry to mid-level HR positions have an experience requirement and most hiring managers aren't flexible about it. HR is a notoriously difficult field to break into.

SHRM used to allow recent graduates to sit for PHR certification without the two year experience requirement, but I believe they discontinued that policy this year.

I'm assuming that as an experienced professional you're not looking to start in an entry level position. So, that leaves these possibilities:

1. Use your graduate study as an opportunity to get experience, through internship / volunteer experience / taking on new responsibilities at your current job.

2. Focus on landing a HR-related training & development position, using your existing teaching experience.

3. Network your way in, by getting involved in a professional association and/or getting to know mid-to-senior level HR managers.

Check out my article on this topic on LinkedIn: How Aspiring HR Professionals Can Gain Experience Without an HR Job | LinkedIn

Best of luck!

Jonathan

[Meemur]

Another aspect: how many HR employees are actually being hired? Is it full-time? My sense is that a number of HR positions are being eliminated or cut to part-time (no benefits) in order to increase a company's bottom line. You might keep an eye on the industry want ads for the area you hope to live.

Honestly, if I were going back to school, I would get something that relates to the aging boomer population: hearing aid tech, physical therapy, patient advocate (would complement a background in social work or teaching), nursing home administration, senior care social worker. There are jobs in health care that aren't nursing and some might be doable online.

However, keep an eye on the number of open positions. It doesn't matter whether you have experience or a degree if there aren't openings.