questions on career

[milk dud]

im a 23 year student. i am about to finish my undergrad. i majored in political science, and a minor is a program called buisness and liberal arts( its a program bridging buisness with liberal arts, clases like accounting, buisness writing, oral communication in buisness etc). im considering going for my mba but am a little scared. ive never taken a finance class in my life and the microeco clases i took i dropped cause of a crazy teacher+ my poor work ethic at the time. if i go for an mba will it be difficult due to my liberal arts background

[mike]

Yes. It will be difficult, but not impossible.

There are plenty of Poli-Sci and other Liberal Arts majors in MBA programs that do just fine. It's a steeper learning curve getting through the numbers courses, but it's definitely manageable. On the other hand, you're going to have a serious advantage in the courses that require extensive reading and analysis- such as marketing, OB, operations, HR, International Business, MIS, etc...

I did Political Science in my undergrad too, and while Finance was challenging, I was able to do it.

When it comes time to do your MBA in 5 or 6 years, I think the challenge that you find so daunting right now will be something you're very motivated to take on.

[cemj99]

I agree with Mike. It's not a big deal. Once you get work experience under your belt, your course study will be relevant. My undergraduate degree was in psychology but I did better in my finance and economics courses than some individuals with undergraduate business degrees.

[milk dud]

im looking into a career in hr but i hear that unless your female or a great looking man, you will not get anywhere in the field.

[mike]

I'm sorry- I really don't think that's an accurate view of HR professionals.

The role of HR is dichotomous in some ways. To the management, you represent the employees, and to the employess you represent the managment. While there is traditionally a somewhat contentious role between the two, HR tries to ensure a cooporative environment is fosterred.

That being said- the traits that HR staff to do well is extremely well honed relationship skills, diplomacy skills and crisis management skills, as well as great sales skills for recruitment. Perhaps your observation that woman and good looking men excel in this role is because some studies have shown that (please excuse the gender generalization) that women tend to be more relationship oriented- and particularly cooperative as oposed to competitive.

It's certainly an interesting academic exercise to speculate about the accuracy of your statement, but rest assured, in practice- you neither have to be great looking, nor a female. Somethings qualities that will be necesary to be a good HR professional is the ability to make others feel at ease immediately. The ability to instill trust quickly. The ability to build strong relationships quickly. The ability to keep a clear head when others are extremely distressed, but very strong empathy. Diplomacy skills are paramount, and finally- the ability to understand contracts and legal implications of actions in the workplace as it pretains to employment.

Good luck with your career!

[milk dud]

Is the profession going to see good growth in the future. also is hr a lucrative paying field assuming you have the requisite degrees?

[cemj99]

For the record, they layed off the few pretty women in the HR department after my company merged.

[Icemastr]

I don't think HR is going anywhere down but I don't see it as a career field that is expanding greatly. The HR people that work for our company all have a 4 year degree and a a few years experience in the field and make about mid range salary for our company. The area where are corporate offices is located is in a low income area so the income may seem low but our last 3 HR managers started around $30,000 with a few years experience. I don't know what the pay is like in the big corporate world but if its what you enjoy you should be able to earn enough to be happy with your career and compensation.

[sarat]

Maybe you should also evaluate if you are better suited for a law degree based on your undergrad. If you are planning to push paper in HR, it seems a law degree may be better. As lot of "issues" of HR are dealt with by lawyers and not by MBA's. As far as carrer in HR is concerned following is my observation and I would recommend you talk to people who have worked in the Industry for a while to understand what are some of the choices out there.

Small companies - HR has limited role/growth. Lot of the small companies are outsourcing that function. We currently hire a recruiter(when we need to hire someone) and one temporary benefits person to come in once a week to handle benefits, cut payroll, handle 401 issues etc. It works out great as we do not need anyone fulltime and the person has 2 small kids and she wants to work part-time.

Large companies - Never interfaced with HR so cannot tell however, never seen an "important" HR person. General Counsel who led some of the HR divisions were lawyers. Lot of back office operations outsourced to countries like India. (GE, Amex, etc)

In Consulting Companies - Lots of people (esp. women) who got tired of travelling and on-site work and who got married tried to get into non-billable roles and HR/Change managment etc were some of the areas they got into. HR in consulting company is not a partner track role.

Government - You are already overqualified. You need high school education to work in HR. Lot of GS-13/14/15 started at the bottom and moved up.

Good Luck