Online Human Resources Schools & Colleges

In addition to handling employee questions and hiring workers, human resources managers often work with executives on planning, adjusting and recommending company policies. Human resource workers also answer questions about benefits and compensation as well as safety, security and technology. They work for businesses, colleges, hospitals, insurance companies and in the public sector. They often work 40-hour weeks but could put in longer hours in certain situations, such as when negotiating contract disputes, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Human Resources Online Colleges

A bachelor's degree in human resources administration is typically needed, although some employers might seek candidates with business or technical experience or even a liberal arts degree. You can find online human resources programs available from the associate degree to advanced graduate school level and these can help provide you with a flexible schedule while you obtain the skills you seek. Some of these online programs include the Associate of Science degree in Human Resources Management, the Bachelor's of Science in Business/Human Resource Management and the MBA in Human Resource Management. You can also find Master's of Science degrees in fields such as Leadership or Management and PhDs that are online in Human Resource Management. There are really a very wide number of degree specializations available online that can be helpful to you procuring the type of education in the special field you seek. You can also look for unique opportunities to advance through professional associations that offer training credits and certification programs to human resources workers. Examples include the American Society for Training and Development and Society for Human Resource Management, according to the BLS.

A degree in human resources could prove promising as demand for those working in the human resources, training and labor relations field as managers and specialists is expected to increase 22 percent, 2008-2018, according to the BLS. This is expected because of increasing laws regulating workplace standards in safety, health, wages, family leave, retirement accounts and equal opportunity employment. The increase could result in more than 190,000 available openings during the time period, according to the BLS. Those working in the field earned high wages. Human resources managers, for example, earned mean annual wages of $108,600, according to the BLS while compensation and benefits managers earned mean annual wages of $96,940 and training and development specialists earned $57,280. There are other career areas that could be of interest to those who want to put their interpersonal skills to work. These include positions in counseling, education administration, law, public relations and even social work.