Engineering student wanting a Human Resource career..go for Graduate Diploma or Mast?

[haiz2006]

Dear all,

I have a Bachelor Degree NTU certificate and have 2 years of project mgt experience...but I wanna switch to human resource career path.

With no experience in hand, i thought of getting one Graduate diploma from private school..but problem is what is graduate diploma? izzit just like any other diploma?

Should I just take Master instead? like from Kaplan or MDIS or izzit better to take from local uni...but then I need support from company which is hard and I know to get master in HR from local...I would need professor reference too..

What should I do? head start already lose ppl... now ppl with experience already getting senior executive role and earn about 3.2k...

I would have to get pay cut and considerably big pay cut

No such thing as "human resource career path", the field is so wide that the required skills and prospect is totally different depending on what exactly you want to do.

If you just want to do basic administrative generalist job, then don't bother with studying, there is not much value add from a HR diploma.

There was a very long thread not long ago about HR, quite a lot of useful info inside you might want to take a look.

[haiz2006]

Of course with a big risk to take I am not gona just take a admin job...
I wan to do Corporate HR, recruitment knowing the HR inside out... taxes, compensation and benefits...and in future years do business partnering recruiting expat..etc..

Originally Posted by haiz2006

Of course with a big risk to take I am not gona just take a admin job...
I wan to do Corporate HR, recruitment knowing the HR inside out... taxes, compensation and benefits...and in future years do business partnering recruiting expat..etc..

You need focus here, each of the areas you list is quite specialise. If you go around applying random HR job that cover everything, chances are you end up in a half past 6 role.

Better go find out more what you really want before abandon engineering, my sense is you have no clue what you want and just want to get into a "HR" department, that's the fastest way to end up with a ops admin limiting career.

[bioman]

Take a GRADUATE diploma. This is meant for degree-holders unlike mere diplomas for O-level graduates.

As an engineering graduate, you would have honed systematic process thinking that HR professionals appreciate. Engineers can end up as HR Directors.

I think companies can accept you as a HR generalist first, perhaps with a fresh graduate salary or slightly higher due to no HR experience. Thereafter, get a graduate diploma. Presently understandably, you have no clue which to specialise as you have no exposure. Specialise later when you are more certain of your direction.

Masters is too huge an investment at this stage, perhaps consider when you have reached HR management level.

Originally Posted by bioman

Take a GRADUATE diploma. This is meant for degree-holders unlike mere diplomas for O-level graduates.

As an engineering graduate, you would have honed systematic process thinking that HR professionals appreciate. Engineers can end up as HR Directors.

I think companies can accept you as a HR generalist first, perhaps with a fresh graduate salary or slightly higher due to no HR experience. Thereafter, get a graduate diploma. Presently understandably, you have no clue which to specialise as you have no exposure. Specialise later when you are more certain of your direction.

Masters is too huge an investment at this stage, perhaps consider when you have reached HR management level.

Please lar, HR emphasis is on people centric skills. what " honed systematic process thinking " are you talking about?

Go to jobsdb, jobstreet and take a look at all the ads for HR position, how many list engineering style systematic process thinking as a requirement?

[bioman]

Originally Posted by Unregistered

Please lar, HR emphasis is on people centric skills. what " honed systematic process thinking " are you talking about?

Go to jobsdb, jobstreet and take a look at all the ads for HR position, how many list engineering style systematic process thinking as a requirement?

It is not a requirement, it is an additional value you bring to the organisation.

Originally Posted by bioman

It is not a requirement, it is an additional value you bring to the organisation.

I never heard of systematic process thinking being valued when hiring a hr executive.

I can see how some functions like banking, finance or logistics appreciate engineer way of thinking, but makes no sense for hr at all. The hr ladies I deal with before all don't look to me like engineers process driven...

Are you a snr hr director or headhunter who has hired hr positions b4 or you are guessing base on gut feeling?