Ba in Human Resource Management, is it worth it

Ryanc154

Hi

Just looking for opinions of people who might work in this field

Im considering doing a part time HRM course in GMIT Castlebar... now first of all I know nothing about HR, what the job prospects are like and dont know anyone who works in it to offer me advice

I have an interest in business and HR sounds interesting... its also conveniant as its one of the only part time business courses near me, I need a part time course as I work full time.

Whats scaring me is the fee.. €3000 a year... it will be a huge huge stretch for me and will be struggling, so I am just wondering what is everyones opinion on this degree, is it worth having?.. is it valuable in looking for jobs?

I have seen old posts on here saying HR is extremely hard to get into but these posts were over 10 years old, is the situation still the same?

And if I did struggle to find work in HR is this degree able to get my foot in the door in other areas of business.

Im nervous because I know there are a lot of useless degrees out there so I do not want to pit my self in poverty for the next few years paying fees if its not valuable to my career.

Thanks in advance anyone who can help

Ryan

brynne

I'm not an HR practitioner, but I worked in an HR team with the NHS in the UK for a few years. Observing my colleagues' experience, I would say that a degree in HRM is probably only worth it, if you are prepared to start on the bottom rung, once you qualify. It's the sort of specialist degree that has a limited shelf life, if you don't immediately find an entry HR position and start gaining real world experience.

That said, a lot of my former colleagues have now left HR and used their experience to good advantage to set up their own business consultancies in things like training, facilitation and professional development. But an HR degree on its own, I'm not sure how transferable that would be without the experience that goes with an HR career?

Yes - HR is still a competitive area.

The universities and colleges churn out HR grads and relatively few companies want to and/or can afford to employ someone full time.

You not knowing anyone in HR is a symptom that there aren't many jobs in it.