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Recruiting & employee relations
HR Specialist
Caught between what employees need and what the company will approve.
Typical pay
$50k-$90k
How you get in
Bachelor's or experience plus SHRM/HRCI certification
Outlook
Steady
HR specialists handle hiring, onboarding, benefits, compliance and employee relations. The work is people-facing and policy-bound, and the hardest parts are the conversations nobody else wants to have.
A day in the life
- 8:30aScreen resumes and schedule interviews
- 10:00aOnboard a new hire — paperwork and systems
- 11:30aBenefits question from an employee
- 1:00pInvestigate a workplace complaint
- 3:00pUpdate a policy for a compliance change
- 4:30pReport on time-to-hire for leadership
How to get in
Degree into an HR role
Duration
4 years
Cost
$40,000-$150,000
Credential
BS in HR, business or psychology
- Complete a bachelor's in HR management, business or psychology
- Intern in an HR department
- Enter as an HR coordinator or recruiting coordinator
- Add SHRM-CP within a few years
Administrative into HR
Duration
1-3 years
Cost
$0-$2,000
Credential
None, then SHRM-CP
- Start as an office manager, executive assistant or recruiting coordinator
- Absorb HR tasks — onboarding, benefits questions, scheduling
- Get SHRM-CP or PHR to formalize what you already do
- Move into a specialist title
Certification-led pivot
Duration
3-9 months
Cost
$1,000-$3,000
Credential
SHRM-CP or PHR
- Confirm you meet the experience requirement for the exam
- Study and pass SHRM-CP or PHR
- Use it to move into HR from an adjacent function
- Pairs best with existing management or operations experience
What people love
- · Every company needs HR
- · Broad exposure to how a business runs
- · Clear path to HR manager and director
- · Remote-friendly for many functions
What wears people down
- · Trusted by neither employees nor leadership fully
- · Terminations and investigations are on you
- · Compliance mistakes are expensive
- · Often under-resourced