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Question

I graduated about a year ago with a bachelor's degree in marketing. After working for a year in marketing, I've become familiar with the field of human resources and decided that this is where my passion lies. Is it easy to make the transition to work in human resources? Should I go back and get a graduate certificate in human resources to get me started?

Answer

There are three issues regarding a transfer to human resources, so let me cover them and then make a suggestion for how you might proceed.
  1. The ability to make this kind of transition depends partly on what type of organization you are with now. A larger organization tends to have more rigid departmental requirements, while a smaller organization might allow talent to move around more fluidly.
  2. Beyond transitioning within your organization, you would probably benefit from having your career be more portable to other organizations, in which case a degree in human resources would be helpful.
  3. There is a highly specialized knowledge base associated with human resources, involving employment regulation and case law, among other things. Therefore, if you expect your career in human resources to progress very far, you may need some additional training at some point.
My suggestion is that you pursue a rather than just a graduate certificate. This should not only get you the human resources background you need, but it should give you a much more marketable educational credential. If you can get an entry-level job in human resources while pursuing the master's part time, so much the better. In any case, just be sure this is the field you want to commit to long-term--you don't want to keep changing tracks.