Human Resources Development

Types of Degrees Human Resources Development Majors Are Getting

The following table lists how many human resources development graduations there were in 2020-2021 for each degree level.

Education Level	Number of Grads
Master’s Degree	1,079
Bachelor’s Degree	782
Graduate Certificate	327
Basic Certificate	82
Doctor’s Degree	21
Undergraduate Certificate	18
Associate Degree	6

What Human Resources Development Majors Need to Know

O*NET surveyed people in occupations related to HR development and asked them what knowledge areas, skills, and abilities were important for their jobs. The responses were rated on a scale of 1 to 5 with 5 being most important.

Knowledge Areas for HR Development Majors

According to O*NET survey takers, a major in HR development should prepare you for careers in which you will need to be knowledgeable in the following areas:

• Education and Training - Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
• English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
• Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
• Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
• Personnel and Human Resources - Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.

Skills for HR Development Majors

The following list of skills has been highlighted as some of the most essential for careers related to HR development:

• Instructing - Teaching others how to do something.
• Learning Strategies - Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
• Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
• Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
• Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.

Abilities for HR Development Majors

As you progress with your HR development degree, there are several abilities you should pick up that will help you in whatever related career you choose. These abilities include:

• Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
• Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
• Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
• Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
• Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.

What Can You Do With a Human Resources Development Major?

People with a HR development degree often go into the following careers:

Job Title	Job Growth Rate	Median Salary
Training and Development Specialists	11.5%	$60,870

Who Is Getting a Bachelor’s Degree in Human Resources Development?

The major attracts more women than men. About 78% of the recent graduates in this field are female.

Racial-Ethnic Diversity

At the countrywide level, the racial-ethnic distribution of HR development majors is as follows:

Race/Ethnicity	Number of Grads
Asian	50
Black or African American	76
Hispanic or Latino	132
White	460
International Students	14
Other Races/Ethnicities	50

Geographic Diversity

Americans aren’t the only ones with an interest in HR Development. About 1.8% of those with this major are international students.

How Much Do Human Resources Development Majors Make?

Salaries According to BLS

HR Development majors often go into careers with median salaries of $65,120. This median refers to all degree levels, so the salary for a person with just a bachelor’s degree may be a little less and the one for a person with an advanced degree may be a little more.

To put that into context, according to BLS data from the first quarter of 2020, the typical high school graduate makes between $30,000 and $57,900 a year (25th through 75th percentile). The average person with a bachelor’s degree (any field) makes between $45,600 and $99,000. Advanced degree holders make the most with salaries between $55,600 and $125,400.

Amount of Education Required for Careers Related to Human Resources Development

Some careers associated with HR development require an advanced degree while some may not even require a bachelor’s. Whatever the case may be, pursuing more education usually means that more career options will be available to you.

How much schooling do you really need to compete in today’s job market? People currently working in careers related to HR development have obtained the following education levels.

Education Level	Percentage of Workers
Post-Secondary Certificate - awarded for training completed after high school (for example, in agriculture or natural resources, computer services, personal or culinary services, engineering technologies, healthcare, construction trades, mechanic and repair technologies, or precision production)	2.8%
Some College Courses	2.8%
Associate’s Degree (or other 2-year degree)	5.7%
Bachelor’s Degree	59.5%
Post-Baccalaureate Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Baccalaureate degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees carrying the title of Master.	11.3%
Master’s Degree	17.0%
Post-Master’s Certificate - awarded for completion of an organized program of study; designed for people who have completed a Master’s degree but do not meet the requirements of academic degrees at the doctoral level.	2.8%

Online Human Resources Development Programs

In 2020-2021, 80 schools offered a HR development program of some type. The following table lists the number of programs by degree level, along with how many schools offered online courses in the field.

Degree Level	Colleges Offering Programs	Colleges Offering Online Classes
Certificate (Less Than 1 Year)	0	0
Certificate (1-2 years)	2	1
Certificate (2-4 Years)	0	0
Associate’s Degree	1	1
Bachelor’s Degree	26	12
Post-Baccalaureate	0	0
Master’s Degree	40	16
Post-Master’s	3	0
Doctor’s Degree (Research)	8	1
Doctor’s Degree (Professional Practice)	0	0
Doctor’s Degree (Other)	0	0

Is a Degree in Human Resources Development Worth It?

The median salary for a HR development grad is $65,120 per year. This is based on the weighted average of the most common careers associated with the major.

This is 63% more than the average salary for an individual holding a high school degree. This adds up to a gain of about $504,400 after 20 years!

Majors Related to Human Resources Development

You may also be interested in one of the following majors related to HR development.

Major	Number of Grads
General Human Resources Management/Personnel Administration	19,084
Organizational Behavior Studies	3,921
Labor & Industrial Relations	1,789
Other Human Resources Management and Services	1,450
Labor Studies	171
Executive/Career Coaching	57

References

*The racial-ethnic minorities count is calculated by taking the total number of students and subtracting white students, international students, and students whose race/ethnicity was unknown. This number is then divided by the total number of students at the school to obtain the racial-ethnic minorities percentage.

• College Factual
• College Scorecard
• National Center for Education Statistics
• O*NET Online
• U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
• Usual Weekly Earnings of Wage and Salary Workers First Quarter 2020
• Image Credit: By Arunkumar Umapathy under License

More about our data sources and methodologies.