Human Resource Managers play an imperative role in businesses of all shapes and sizes. While some of the day to day tasks such as new employee recruitment and training may be similar regardless of the organization, a human resources manager's job assignments and pay can vary greatly based on a variety of factors including the size of the business, the location of the company, and the number of staff being managed. Most human resources management positions generally require a minimum of a bachelor's degree or extensive on the job experience. Human resources management positions are on the rise, and in response, many universities are now offering bachelor's and master's degrees in this field. There are also opportunities to earn certificates in HR management as well. In most cases, a bachelor's degree is required for consideration of even entry-level positions within the human resources field. There are many high quality and conveniently formatted online master's degrees in human resource management available to professionals who are wishing to advance their degree or change fields within their industry.
Within human resources, the company's size and notoriety can play a big role in how well they are able to compensate their HR associates. According to Payscale.com Aramark offers one of the highest salaries with their Human Resources representatives earning between $64,000 and $107,000 on average. The next highest is Target, with a range of $55,000 to $80,000, and the US Army boasts salaries that range from $48,000 to $78,000 for their human resources specialists.
Another aspect that can affect the salary of human resource managers is the area of specialization chosen. Human resources managers have an advanced skill set that can be utilized in a variety of fields. General human resources managers meeting the basic requirements and with zero to five years of experience earn average early career salaries of $53,000 per year. Mid-level compensation for those in the field with five to ten years of experience is $65,000 per year, and those who stay within the industry for 20 years or greater typically earn up to $70,000 annually. However, HR management is a very diverse field, and because of this, the differences in pay between specialty areas can be quite drastic. A few of the top paying specialty areas include compensation and benefits managers which have an average career salary of $88,924, training and development managers with median salaries of $72,797, and executive recruiters which average $62,597 per year.
Location can also play a big role in the expected pay of human resource managers. The average pay for HR management positions in the United States is $64,701. HR managers in San Francisco earn an impressive 32% above national average and those in Washington can earn 21% above average. Additionally, human resources managers in Miami currently earn 4% less than average compared to others in their industry. Human resources management is an in-demand field that receives considerable compensation regardless of the area of specialty or locale. Human resources management degrees are also accessible in both on campus and online formats, making this degree a great option for anyone with excellent communication skills and the desire to help build companies one step at a time.