Ahh I dismissed that option for a long time but I have recently become more open to it. My concern is how detailed does one have to be to be competent in that line of work? Is there a ton of paperwork involved and such?
It really depends on what kind of HR work you get into. I'm sort of a one-woman HR department where i'm at, so there is some paperwork involved, but it's not terribly onerous. Honestly, unless someone screws up (e.g. has to be written up, fired, etc.) most of the paperwork I handle is just shuffling stuff that employees have filled out and making sure that whatever action they're trying to do gets taken care of. there is a certain level of detail needed (e.g. Make sure their address gets updated everywhere, make sure their payroll items get updated correctly, etc), but again, it's manageable.
However, good communication is essential, as is documentation. If it's not documented, it didn't happen. This is important from a CYA (yours a well as the company's) perspective. My role is to serve and advocate for the employees, but protect the company and it's interests while doing so. This is where I think the MBA could come in handy.
There is a certain amount of order I have to maintain, I have to be educated on company policies, basic employment law, what benefits the company offers, etc, buy the are a lot of resources available to help with that. I basically end up being the company mommy. I tell people what they should & shouldn't be doing, providing structured discipline when needed, cheering people along when they do a good job, etc.
I also have an interest in higher level organizational study tho. I've always found industrial/organizational psych to be fascinating as well. That's a little higher level than corporate parental figure tho. That's more dealing with people as a concept or a resource. Perhaps somewhat more impersonal, but also very interesting.
) and am realizing that I do not want to pursue an advanced degree in the field. Is there anything viable that one can do w/ a BA in psychology or I should pursue a second degree?
