Starting an HR Career as a B.Tech Graduate: Can You Share Your Advice?

Hi, I am a B.Tech graduate and would like to start my career with an HR job. Can anyone help me with this? Thanks in advance.

Regards,
Rubis

Do you have a real passion for HR? If so, take an HR course from a reputable institute. Once you do that, try to secure a job in HR. It's not easy nowadays, but if you have a real passion and a clear understanding of the concepts, you will succeed. Best of luck.

Hi Vinod, thank you. I have a passion for HR rather than technical IT. I just wish to ask you whether doing the course PGDHR in IGNOU will help, or if I need to do an MBA in HR.

Regards,
Rubis

Thank you for the post. Your post was quite valuable. I would like to get more information from you. Let me give you some introduction about me. I am a fresh graduate. I have gained some experience through my college and other works. Will this education and experience be enough for me to get a job in HR, or do I need to pursue post-graduation?

Regards,
Rubis

You can very well pursue HR with your engineering background if you have a passion for it. Lack of any previous qualification in social science subjects does not stand in your way. All that you need is an aptitude for it. If you are someone who is interested in people's issues, loves communication, and is socially active, you will like it.

Formal Qualification in HR

A formal qualification in HR is necessary to start a career, and thereafter, it is your knowledge and skills that keep you afloat. If possible, try to do a full-time course. If not, try to do a part-time course while working. If these two options are not possible, you can think of IGNOU or other distance modes offered. However, make a proper inquiry before taking admission.

Pursuing HR in Mumbai

If you can pursue the course in Mumbai, you can try at TISS, Mumbai, which is reputed for HR.

Regards,
B. Saikumar
HR & Labor Law Advisor
Mumbai

As rightly said by Mr. Sai Kumar, you would need a formal degree or certification to kickstart your career in HR. While I was in my MBA preparation phase, even my professor used to advise me to pursue a full-time course over part-time or distance mode. The advantage of a full-time course is that you get a solid grounding, you can share ideas, participate in various events, contribute, and learn a lot about time management and talent development, which are crucial in management.

I would leave it up to you to decide whether you wish to pursue a full-time degree course or not. If you are in Mumbai, Welingkars offers a 1-year diploma program in HR which you can inquire about and weigh all the pros and cons.

I understand you have some experience, but it's important to note that "experience" typically refers to "relevant experience," which you may not have. You might end up with a very low-cost job doing basic recruitment or, if you are looking for a good job, I suggest pursuing some certification or courses.

Hope this information was helpful 

Regards,
Rubis

Hi Rubis,

You can very well pursue HR with your engineering background if you have a passion for it. Lack of any previous qualification in a social science subject does not stand in your way. All that you need is an aptitude for it. If you are someone who is interested in people's issues, loves communication, and is socially active, you will like it. A formal qualification in HR is necessary to start a career, and thereafter, it is your knowledge and skills that keep you afloat. If possible, try to do a full-time course. If not, try a part-time course while working. If these options are not possible, you can consider IGNOU or other distance modes offered. However, make a proper inquiry before admission. If you can pursue the course in Mumbai, you can try at TISS, Mumbai, which is reputable for HR.

Thank you for the information, Sai. The thing is, now it is not possible for me to do a full-time course. I am gathering details for IGNOU and would like to know if any short-term certification courses are available for HR. If there are any, will it be helpful for my career?

Regards,
Rubis

Hi Ankita, thank you again for your valuable information. Can you kindly enlighten me with the certification courses available for HR and their benefits? I would like to start with a job rather than doing a full-time course. However, it is not possible for me to do a full-time course now.

Warm Regards,
Rubis.

Hi Rubis,

I can definitely help. I would suggest that instead of opting for private certification, you could consider enrolling in a 1-year diploma program at Welingkars.

WE School Campus Options

WE School has a campus in Bangalore as well. Please check if they offer the same 1-year HR course there too. It is available at Mumbai's campus and is comparable to other degree courses, as my friend completed it. We have compared our subjects.

Please check that and let me know.

Regards,
Ankita

Hi Rubis, I surely can help. I would suggest, rather than going for private certification, you can, as suggested, go for a 1-year diploma with Welingkars. WE School has a campus in Bangalore as well. Please check if they offer the same 1-year course in HR there too. It is offered in Mumbai's campus and is at par with other degree courses as my friend did it, and we've compared our subjects. Just check that and let me know.

Hi Ankita, Sure, I'll go through these and let you know. Actually, I am planning to relocate to UAE and seek a job there in HR. Gathering details for that, so I thought of doing this through distance education. Will it be helpful?

Regards, Rubis

Ankita's suggestion of Welingkar is worth pursuing. However, I have seen employers favoring two-year diploma courses. This diploma may enable you to gain entry into HR, but to progress further in your career, you may need a proper integrated qualification. Therefore, plan for that now. All the best.

Regards

Usually, a distance learning management course isn't as fruitful as a full-time/part-time/classroom session. Honestly speaking, it is not just the HR knowledge or certification; it is also the HR discussions and projects, how you interact in groups, how you handle trivial information, project deadlines, handle your group and manpower, etc., that go into making an HR professional. A distance learning program would surely provide you with the same education and a similar certification, but the practical experience wouldn't be there.

It would be up to you to decide what you wish to pursue. If it is only the certification, I don't think distance education would be harmful. However, if you need to learn and grow, a traditional school session would be necessary.

Hope this helps.

Hi Rubis,

Being from a technical background, I can only say Oracle and SAP are like CRM systems. Basically, an SAP HR or an Oracle HR course would help you work on the HR software that many big organizations use, but not all. Many big brands that have a considerable number of employees still use traditional Excel and Access (as a database) to come to conclusions.

Another thing, as I mentioned before, SAP and Oracle are just CRM or database/information handling mechanisms. They won't give you core HR knowledge; they would teach you how to do tasks, such as recruitment, easily by maintaining data that gets updated automatically. However, they won't teach you the core process of recruitment. I hope you can understand the difference.

Regarding which course is better, honestly, I've never inquired. The reason being, in order to understand a shortcut or an easy way, we must first know the long cut or a difficult way. I am trying my hands on Excel and managing my data on it (also because we have fewer than 50 staff). So, I can't tell you which one is better.

But I would recommend first understanding the core HR process and practice, and how it works, and then only if required, you can learn the shortcuts of the process. It may happen that the investment you'd make for such a course may not be put to use unless you are with a brand or big organization with a large number of employees. It might not be of help. One of my friends is working at a brand in the IT industry, headquartered in Mumbai but with offices at many places and an employee strength of 1000+ or even higher, and yet she uses Excel to make trackers.

Just to give you an idea of how fruitful or futile it would be to undergo SAP/Oracle at the beginning of your career. You can always do so later when you think it becomes essential.

(Again, that was my suggestion. You're free to seek advice from other professionals here who have better experience.)

Wish you luck.

Hi Ankita, Thank you for your info; it was really helpful. I reviewed the course details today. My cousin told me about Schlinder's Corp HR certificate program. Do you have any idea about this?

Rubis

As Ankita suggested, Wellingkars is one option you can pursue. You can also contact Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan in Bangalore to explore any options for short-term courses. They offer one-year diploma courses.

Regards,
B. Saikumar
Mumbai

Hi Ankita, I am really thankful for all the support and guidelines you have provided me. You have been great by sharing your info and ideas with me. I would surely let you know after taking my first step in my career. Thanks a lot. Wishing you an advance happy new year. I would love to have contact with you if you are interested. Thanks again. Take care.

Warm Regards,
Rubis

Good to know you are interested in a Human Resource career. First of all, an engineering degree is a plus point for you in this profession. Secondly, along with your present degree, if you have some degree in Human Resources, it will add additional value to your career.

Advantages of an Engineering Background in HR

Nowadays, every organization is focused on cost minimization, process excellence, and resource optimization. As an engineer, you can understand manpower allocation in manufacturing industries, their training and development planning, and need analysis. What I want to say is that you can easily grasp the complexity of these matters and have good control over the RCA processes.

Benefits of an Additional Degree in Human Resources

Apart from that, an additional degree in Human Resources will help you understand the various HR functions and roles and the fields in which HR can contribute. It will also give you an overview of legal statutory compliances. In other words, you will be able to know the various laws related to Human Resources.

Regards,

Hi, thanks a lot for your acknowledgment. It was really thoughtful, and I am planning to do a course in HR. I hope I will have a good career in HR. Keeping my fingers crossed.

Rubis