Is a human resources degree necessary?

In the US, you can obtain certification info from www.hrci.org, the certifiying body for SHRM. There are 2 levels of certification, PHR and SPHR (professional in human resources and senior professional in HR). The certification is for 3 years but you can recertify regularly for as long as you like. I am SPHR certified and, while you have to work at it, it is not difficult to recertify.

A degree in HR is definitely not necessary but you will need to be certified at some point. More and more, I see job postings with certification preferred and that seems to be to be an important "punch on your ticket."

I agree with Greg. A specialist degree is not necessary, though a graduate qualification is now distinguishing in the selection for management roles. In Europe, there are many fine institutes that will provide HR certification. In the UK, the CIPD has an excellent reputation as an accreditation body, and professional institute for HR professionals.

As a CIPD member, I am able to draw on substantial information services that help in my work, training, and networking opportunities. It is these things that help the organisation that I work for, and my institute facilitates this.

Thanks Greg - great answer for Jeannie.

The accreditation process I describe above is aimed at UK HR professionals and this legal jurisdiction.

Thank you Greg for the information I did look into the website and have saved it to my favorite and thank you Paul. Coming into this field in the past 4 years what are your suggestiions in helping some grow in this career to gain more knowledge in this area. I really want to learn more and keep growing and become my best at what i do. As i was seraching the website hrci I notice they do offer different ceritifications, but how do we get the knowledge one needs to be able to grow and be of more help to the company and the employees. How I ended up in this position is that they trained me to administor the companies benefits, and then they I begain to handle all the workers comp cases. I also know payroll and accounting, but I would like to leran more in-depth the responsibilities and knowledge to be more effective as the HR person. As I search the website hric I did not see any courses that they offer. I would like to venture out in this career with my wings wide open but i feel like i need more. Am i doing this all wrong

Jeannie
Many universities and colleges offer classes and courses in HR, both semester long and one day. You should also look for your local SHRM chapter, a great way to connect with other HR people and the SHRM website is fabulous!
As you read more in the HRCI website you will see that certification is developed through the Learning System and the Body of Knowledge the SHRM believes we should have. Keep checking out both websites!

Thank you for the information this helps me out alot.

Great points all. I would just add to Greg's to mention a 3rd SHRM certification that is becoming more and more important (especially in multinationals): GPHR (Global Professional in Human Resources).

Yes. A degree is an absolute necessity. A degree gives you the theoretical background and base upon which to build. It teaches you where to find information to answer questions. But even that isn't enough.
You need experience - a variety of experience. Not just the same thing over and over again - or the same thing in different places. You need to be able to do anything and everything in HR - from recruiting to training to employee relations to job design and pricing.

And you need to keep your skills and knowledge up to date, including new technology.

You're right - HR is getting a lot more competitive than before but that's because the demands put upon HR continue to grow. And, as practitioners, we need to keep growing, too.

I'm not convinced of the need for a degree, though for many companies where the recruiting process is done by machine - no degree = no chance.

I've got nearly the same level of experience as you, and I've been struggling to find a new contract - though I've started my own businesses in the interim to keep going - and also have no degree.

I'm not in the remotest bit convinced that 3 years of hard work to gain a degree would help though. I have qualifications in training, hr, sales, project management, quality (inc. six sigma and lean), technical authoring, amongst many others - what's another piece of paper anyway?

I have to add that I think a degree is important, just not an HR degree. In fact, I think that most younger people (I am in my 50's) are going to need a masters degree as well as certification to stay competitive. Nik is right, most large firms just use technology to sort through resumes so you will have to work harder to beat that.

I believe a degree is vital, however, an HR major is less important in the grander scheme of things. (I would discount a major in some other areas as well but that would depend upon the job applied for)

As HR evolves the requirement for a degree will become even more crucial. However, one must make a distinction between traditional transactional HR and more engaged decision making HR. As an example, One who administers benefits or compensation plans does not necessarily require a degree while a valid argument could be made about one who designs benefit plans or compensation structures. Even at that I see more and more individuals with degrees in even entry level HR positions. The reality is that regardless of personal opinion, the degree is becoming a requirement.

I believe Greg's point of Graduate level education coupled with certification is valid. As a profession that is evolving the natural course will be to drive the requirements for entry to such a level.

Degree's lend professional credibility through a variety of factors. I would strongly encourage anyone who wishes to make a career in this profession to obtain both an Undergraduate and Graduate degree. Certification after that simply becomes a valid discriminator.

I can share with you that within my network I know many Graduate level HR professionals, who have 10+ years of experience, with certification (S/PHR, CCP, CEBS, etc) who are struggling to find gainful employment within the profession. They are losing out to others with equal qualifications. The future is becoming obvious.