INDUSTRY OUTLOOK

Human resource management is rated among the top five growing professions in the U.S., according to recent surveys by Money magazine and Salary.com. With a projected annual growth rate of 32,300 human resource job openings per year over the next 10 years, this program was created to satisfy the critical demand for human resource leaders who can think strategically and implement globally. By combining leading-edge thought with best-practice methodology, this program provides you with a distinct competitive advantage as you build an exceptional career as a human resource professional. Gain the strategies, insights, tools, and practical applications necessary to make a real difference in this evolving profession—both today and tomorrow.

From Money magazine and Salary.com:

BEST JOBS IN AMERICA

Human Resources Manager

Ranking: 4

Average Salary: $73,500

10-Year Growth: 23 percent

Average Annual Job Openings: 32,300

Stress: B

Flexibility: A

Creativity: B

Ease of Entry: A

Why It’s Great: HR is no longer about benefits administration and the employee newsletter. Those tasks are increasingly outsourced, and directors and VPs are considered strategic planners. Even lower-level managers are expected to design employee programs that benefit the bottom line. International HR and compliance are especially hot. There's a wide variety of work, from self-employed benefits specialists to corporate recruiters and HR generalists.

What's Cool: The mission to make work more rewarding for workers. You help shape corporate culture and strategy.

What's Not Cool: Fighting the "fluffy HR" stereotype; firing people.

Top-Paying Job: Senior HR directors make around $285,000; at the C-suite level, $1 million-plus.

Education: Bachelor's degree, often followed by master's level work or professional certification.