Career Change To -HR In The Mid 30's?Please Help

Dear Seniors ,
I have a BA in Psychology and a Masters degree in Mass communication (Audio Visual Production) from SIMC.Post this I have been working in the documentary film sector .I however have a strong urge to return back to my base field of psychology as I feel that is my calling .I am contemplating an MBA-HR .

I have 2 questions .
Are my present credentials good enough to join in any -HR firm considering I have a communications degree from Symbiosis .(will that help )
2. An MBA-HR or gain a little work ex here before going into an MBA programme ? What would you suggest ?
From India, Mumbai

Dear friend,

Every person has likes and dislikes. Every person has pull toward some subject. Possibly you are getting pulled toward HR. Nevertheless, before allowing HR to become career's magnet and getting attracted towards it, it is worth doing market study. Therefore pertinent question to be asked is do HRs get job easily? Please talk to HRs who are looking for change and ask them for how many years are the looking for change? You may talk to unemployed HR and find out for how many months/years are they searching job in their favourite function.

Please do the market research on what is ratio of HR Vs Non-HR in the average company? What is total employee count in your company and how many HR professionals work in your company?

In India, life of average HR is different from what is found in the books on HR. For few it is just utopia. For few, acquiring MBA (HR) degree does not translate into getting a good job. Out of sheer frustration, they take up job of a recruiter.

As far as background of psychology is concerned, in average company, HR has got nothing to do with it. Common employers would expect HR to know more about recruitment, payroll processing, labour law related matters etc. Psychology-based recruitment or employee training is handled but the percentage of such companies is minuscule. For majority of the companies, these concepts are plainly romantic!

Psychology is discipline of study that is all-pervasive and tools and techniques of psychology can be applied anywhere be it marketing or in your existing job of audio-visual production. Study of psychology need not be used only in HR. Your existing job is different and you have capacity to develop functional excellence. Thanks to the penetration of internet, day by day audio visual media is gaining ground. That is happening at the expense of print media.

Against this backdrop, I recommend you giving priority to enter into a function that is considered primary in their industry. Ask average HR and in private they admit that their status secondary in their company. Many lament that they are never at par with Finance or Marketing or Production/Operations. Therefore, please ponder on whether you are taking step from primary to the secondary function. Correcting this regressive step could take years.

By reading my above comments, please do not construe that I am against HR. However, I have been dealing with HRs because of my profession or because of my membership of this forum for more than a decade. HR is very dynamic. Principles of HR Management if implemented, it helps in shaping a right organisation culture. But Indian employers belittle HR. For many of them, it is still good old personnel management. Regrettably, they consider HR as old wine in new bottle!

All the best!

Dinesh Divekar
From India, Bangalore