Is a Master’s in Human Resources a Good Degree for an Entrepreneur?

For every internationally famous entrepreneur, there are thousands of start-up business owners who could benefit from the skills offered in a Master’s in Human Resources program. The interpersonal skills and ability of an entrepreneur to communicate effectively with investors could mean getting approved for funding. However, future entrepreneurs also need to consider carefully whether study at the graduate level is appropriate for the entrepreneur’s future business plans.

Essential Skills for Entrepreneurs

One of the universal skills that all entrepreneurs must possess is the willingness to work hard at everything connected to a business or start-up, but working 18-hour days is no guarantee that an idea will take flight. One of the threads that ties together many of an entrepreneur’s most important skills is the ability to manage, interact, and delegate in an environment with other people.

Starting a business from scratch very rarely remains a solo project for very long, and the concept of “people skills” is an essential consideration for entrepreneurs. It’s not enough that an entrepreneur becomes an expert in general business practices. Entering into valuable collaborative projects may be the key to solving problems and advancing the business’s goals. Collaboration with others and understanding common human decisions are common features of human resources programs.

Resource: Top 10 Best Online Master’s in Human Resources Management Degrees (MSHR) 2014

Common Concepts in Human Resources Programs

The way in which a human resources program might align with the skills required by an entrepreneur is in the lessons offered on human interaction and sociology. In addition, graduate programs in human resources will go beyond generalized topics on business and delve into essential concepts like workforce planning, organizational management, and financial planning.

Many of the classes offered in traditional Master’s in Human Resources programs align with the skills required of business owners, and that’s exactly the type of information an entrepreneur might seek at the beginning of his or her career. The most important asset a company has is its people, and a human resources degree is an essential way to learn that concept.

How an Entrepreneur Might Use a Human Resources Degree

The curriculum of a human resources program may vary depending upon whether a student chooses a specialty, as well as the expected learning outcomes of the program. Most of the classes focused upon human resources and how the topic impacts business will be directly valuable to an entrepreneur. However, a degree program may also offer additional classes that are valuable to an entrepreneur in areas like economics, marketing, accounting, and business finance.

According to the National Human Resources Association (NHRA), human resources professional don’t just hire and fire people at a company. Today’s professionals also help solve organizational challenges in business related to projects like mergers, acquisitions, and bringing goods or services to market. These types of business projects align incredibly well with the work of an entrepreneur once a business has opened its doors.

In addition to a master’s degree, a student may also choose to enter a Master of Business Administration program with a concentration in Human Resources or Human Resource Management. Future entrepreneurs should study the curriculum of a chosen program to determine whether the degree will focus on essential entrepreneurial knowledge. Also, the true value of a Master’s in Human Resources degree to an entrepreneur may be whether his or her final goal is running a full-fledged company.