MajorsMajor
Human resources management: what you'd study and do
From public data · Every number cited
The short answer
Human resources (HR) management is the study of how a business finds, pays, trains and looks after its people, and follows the laws about work. Students take business basics plus hiring (staffing), pay and benefits, training, employment law and how people behave at work. It leads to jobs like HR specialist, recruiter and training specialist, and, after years of experience, HR manager.
Try the job first
These lessons let you do a real task from the work. Those marked “Asks if you liked it” let you say so afterwards, and your answers collect in one place.
- Hiring: from the job post to the offer13 minFreeAsks if you liked it
- What a worker really costs14 min(members-only)(included in your membership)Asks if you liked it
- The rules at work14 min(members-only)(included in your membership)Asks if you liked it
- What does a person really cost?14 min(members-only)(included in your membership)
- Your first hires13 min(members-only)(included in your membership)
See what you've answered so far in Your major match.
What you'd study
Every college's program is a little different. These are the kinds of classes most of them have.
Business basics
Every college differs, but most HR programs start with the same business classes: economics, statistics, accounting and finance, business law, information systems, marketing and management. Many add public speaking.
The HR classes
Then come the HR classes: staffing (finding and choosing people), pay and benefits, training and development, employment and labor law, how people behave at work (organizational behavior), and HR strategy. The US government's description of the major lists recruitment and selection, pay systems, employee testing, job training, labor relations, civil rights and the laws about work.
Learning by doing
Some programs require an internship, so you work in a real HR office before you graduate.
Jobs it leads to
Median pay means half the people in the job earn more and half earn less. Pay also changes with the place, the employer and experience.
Human resources specialists
A day at work
You help a company hire and look after its people. You read applications, interview, check references and do the hiring paperwork; explain the rules and benefits to workers; and help when someone has a complaint, such as harassment. Recruiters find, screen and interview applicants. The US Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) expects about 73,700 openings a year
. - Median pay
- $75,940
/year - Expected job growth
- 6%
The usual start
Usually a bachelor's degree in human resources, business, communications or a related field. BLS says some positions also ask for related work experience.
Numbers from bls.gov ·2025
Training and development specialists
A day at work
You teach a company's people new skills. You find out what they need, build the course and the handouts, run sessions in person or online with role plays and practice, and check whether it worked. BLS expects about 46,000 openings a year
, and growth of 11% from 2025 to 2035, which it calls much faster than average. - Median pay
- $69,280
/year - Expected job growth
- 11%
The usual start
A bachelor's degree, often in a business field such as human resources, or in education, psychology, social science or communications. BLS lists some related work experience, less than 5 years
. Numbers from bls.gov ·2025
Compensation, benefits, and job analysis specialists
A day at work
You work out what each job pays and what comes with it. You write job descriptions and pay ranges, decide whether a job gets overtime, run the health, retirement and savings plans with insurers, and make sure the company files what the law requires. BLS says it takes basic finance and accounting. It's a small field: about 9,000 openings a year
. - Median pay
- $78,210
/year - Expected job growth
- 6%
The usual start
A bachelor's degree, in fields such as business, social science, psychology or communications, plus some related work experience.
Numbers from bls.gov ·2025
Human resources managers
A day at work
You lead the HR team and are the link between a company's leaders and its workers. You set pay and benefit policies, handle the hardest staffing calls, including disputes and firing, advise managers on fair-treatment rules, and may negotiate with a union. BLS lists 5 years
or more of related experience first; some start as HR specialists, so the pay reflects years of experience, not just a degree. BLS expects about 16,800 openings a year . - Median pay
- $149,280
/year - Expected job growth
- 6%
The usual start
A bachelor's degree in human resources or another field such as business, communications or psychology, plus years of experience. Some jobs ask for a master's degree.
Numbers from bls.gov ·2025
How to read the growth numbers
BLS expects all US jobs together to grow 3.5%
The pay on each card is the median: half of the workers earn more and half earn less. Pay changes a lot by place, company and experience.
Pay isn't everything
It's a people job, all day. Among HR specialists who answered the work survey of O*NET, the US Labor Department's database of jobs, 79%
People who tend to enjoy it like listening, judging fairly and connecting with all kinds of people. BLS lists communication, decision-making, attention to detail and interpersonal skills among the qualities that matter.
Most HR specialists work regular business hours, BLS says; recruiters travel to job fairs and colleges to meet applicants.
No license is needed. Certifications are usually voluntary, though BLS says some employers prefer or require one.
After graduating
The College Scorecard, from the US Department of Education, shows what graduates of each college's programs earned a few years later. Read it with its own warnings: it counts only students who got federal grants or loans, it leaves out graduates who didn't work that year or went back to school, and pay soon after college may not show pay later on. Results also vary a lot from college to college.
The Scorecard groups human resources with related programs such as labor relations and organizational behavior, so what you see there covers them all. The New York Fed's national table of majors has no row for human resources, and we don't know of an official national pay figure for this major alone, so we don't show one. You can look up any college at collegescorecard.ed.gov.
You don't need this major to work here
Many people in HR majored in something else. BLS lists business and communications for HR specialists, psychology for managers, and education, psychology and social science for training specialists. A degree is usual, though: BLS lists a bachelor's degree as the typical start for all four of these jobs.
Related majors
Also related: Business administration or management, Psychology, Communications, Labor and industrial relations.
Common questions
- Is HR just hiring and firing?
No. It's also pay and benefits, training, fair-treatment rules, and helping workers with problems at work. Those are all among the tasks O*NET lists for HR specialists and managers.
- Do I need to like people?
Mostly, yes. HR specialists who answered O*NET's survey said they're in contact with others nearly all the time. It also takes careful paperwork and knowing the rules.
- Is HR on the company's side or the worker's?
HR works for the company, and part of that job is making sure the company treats workers fairly and follows the laws that protect them. O*NET describes HR managers as the link between a company's leaders and its workers.
- Do I need a certification?
Not to start. BLS says HR certifications are usually voluntary, though some employers prefer or require one. People usually earn them later, once they're working.
- Which college is best for HR?
We don't rank colleges. The College Scorecard lets you look up any college; its earnings figures group human resources with related programs.
- What do these jobs pay?
BLS's median was $75,940
/year bls.gov ·2025 for HR specialists and $69,280 /year bls.gov ·2025 for training and development specialists in May 2025. Half earn more and half earn less, and pay changes a lot by place, company and experience. Pay is one thing to weigh; how the work feels day to day is another.