What is the Typical Human Resources Salary?

A typical human resources department houses a lot of employees, with different roles, experience, and a varying human resources salary. Therefore it’s difficult to determine an average human resources salary, but here is a look at some of the different roles present in the HR department, and the salaries that go along with these jobs.

Salaries in the HR Department

As a beginning staff member in the HR department, many people may work as a human resources specialist, focusing their skills on a specific part of the HR department. An average salary for this position hovers around $55k per year. Another option for HR personnel is to be an HR generalist who supports many different tasks within the office. A person in this role can expect to earn around $60k mid-career.

Once you get into HR positions with more responsibility, the salary continues to increase. A recruiter, who focuses on finding the right employees to fit the company, earns between $56k to $60k per year. Once employees find their way into a managerial role, the salary can increase exponentially. The average HR manager in the middle of their career earns around $100k per year.

There are a few factors that affect how far from the mean an employee will land in their salary negotiations. Location is a factor; those working in cities will find that their salaries are higher than those in smaller town settings. The size and wealth of the company can, and should, play a role in salary. Those working for bigger and more powerful companies have a bigger place to negotiate for higher salaries and increased benefits. However, the final biggest factor is the personal attributes of the employee; those with more experience and more bargaining power often trend higher than the averages for their HR positions.

How to Land a Well Paid HR Position

For those who are comfortable starting at the bottom of the HR pay scale, it may be possible to find work as an entry level employee. Companies will want to see that these candidates at least have relevant experience in dealing with people, such as a past customer service or interpersonal job. A degree in psychology, business, or a field related to HR will go far in making a candidate appealing for an entry level position.

There are a few ways to get to the higher end of the HR pay scale. A degree in human resources is often a big help, and it boosts the job seeker from an entry level starting point to a well paid position with more responsibilities. Human resources managers will tend to have a lot of experience in the field, great interpersonal and organizational skills, and often a degree in human resources or industrial/ organizational psychology.

See also: Top 10 Best Online Masters in Human Resources Management Degrees (MSHR) 2014

Compared to many other starting points in a company, human resource positions tend to pay fairly well. They also demand that the individual be ready to jump into a professional setting and represent the company well. In addition to pay, there are a number of benefits that HR employees count as part of the pros of the job. A good working environment, a sense of community and interpersonal connection, and the ability to maintain a good work/life balance are some of the most cited benefits of human resource positions, in addition to human resources salary.