Human Resources, a good career? Higher Education Mangement? uk recent graduate?

Question

Just wondering if anyone working in HR has anything to say about whether they enjoy the job, if pay and prospects are good or bad, how easy to find posts etc. Am a recent grad, and deciding on a long term career. Have an interview for a HR assistant, they ask for a grad as they say they want sumone to put through the traning etc and from what i can gather from the info i have that they want sumone to train up to progress in the company as would obviously be aiming for management in the end, however long tht takes.
Also have an interview for a job as a trainee in Higher Education management so am currently unsure which i really want to do...... Would be interesting if anyone had any perspectives on HE management as well, whether they enjoy it, prospects, pay etc..... Hate decisions lol

lol thx for the answer... didnt mean hate power and responsibility decision making..i like to be in control lol, just that its taken me a while to weigh up options of what to do for a career and now that ive narrowed it down i dont wana much up the decision and just trying to collect opinions or points of view i might not hav considered.

Answer 1

i can only speak for jobs in the US, but HR is kind of a pain. lots of paperwork, hiring and firing, reminding people of company policies, reprimanding, the confusing benefit forms. I work in higher ed, in the Institutional Advancement Department of a graduate college (Development, Communications, Marketing, Events) and there is SOOOO much you can do in this area. Our department is fun, we're highly regarded on campus by students, faculty and staff, and there's always something going on. I'd say its a wise choice! The only drawback is that there may not be a lot of room to move up if you want to stay at one school, especially if its a smaller one.

Answer 2

I worked in payroll for 12 years (USA), right along side HR, so I knew them very well. If you hate decisions, HR is not going to be a good job for you. You have to interview people to fill the job openings and then put up with the rude ones who call and tell you how much better you could have done. There are all the legal implications for any complaints from employees. You get to handle all the disciplinary actions of employees who aren't doing their job or violate company policies.

On the other hand, you get to meet new and mostly interesting people almost every day. You get some really crazy stories to tell. And the pay can be very good, depending on company size.

Have I cleared it up for you? I thought not. Good luck deciding!

Answer 3

I've occasionally thought of moving into HR, but in many organisations it's very much about numbers, statistics and manpower - not about people and their individual needs. They may not participate in selection and development on a personal level. Yet I would have thought they'd be good at looking at applications and interview performance from a broad perspective. So I didn't pursue this as a career as I was interested in the human part of HR. Maybe the job descriptions for the two you mentioned will match your own interests, and I'm sure you'll check out what is expected in each organisation. Good luck.