I am looking for the impossible I guess. Master degree for under 6000 usd. Tried university of the people, but it is just not my thing. Amberton has a master in training but it is double the price I can afford Any suggestions? Or can anybody suggest some good certifications?
I like Amberton. I'm a fan of their unfortunately named Master of Arts in professional Development. It's an interdisciplinary MA. You can transfer, I think, 12 credits into it and have to do 24 credits there but they can be credits in anything. The only two required classes are research methods and ethics. They're RA. They're not particularly controversial. And they're pretty cheap in the broad landscape of Masters programs. I would find 12 of the cheapest credits possible and transfer them in and then only worry about paying for the 24 at Amberton at full price, personally. The MA in PD is problematic for me because it sounds like it's a degree in Professional Development, as if it could be an Org Development or Training degree. It isn't. You can do it all with credits in counseling or communications or "Family Science" or whatever else Amberton is offering these days. It's a degree that from the outside could appear to be an HR degree without being an HR degree at all. Plus side is that for you, in this instance, you can use that to your advantage. To your question, it really depends upon where you are in your career. I would absolutely not recommend a Masters degree if you're just trying to break into HR. If you've been around for a while and are finding you're hitting a wall without a Masters, different story. In my personal opinion, no HR masters program should be considered until after you have either SHRM or SPHR (or their lower level equivalents in those paths). And, frankly, I'd say SHRM is the safer long term bet. I also think CEBS is a good designation if you work benefits. There are a few specialty certs out there for specialized roles such as if you work with Workers Comp etc, but those are at the top.
I second that emotion. I did it the other way around, getting my SPHR in 2014. But yes, it will impress potential employers far more. (You see it as either a required or suggested criterion in a lot of job listings.) This is a tougher call. The SPHR has the name cachet, while the SHRM-SCP has SHRM behind it. (There was a nasty schism that produced this two-track system.) I was grandfathered into the SHRM-SCP because of my SPHR when they split (SHRM and HRCI). I let the SHRM-SCP lapse, but there's something about "being in the club" that matters. One can also consider either HRCI's PHR or SHRM's SHRM-CP if your experience and/or preparedness means one is not ready for the senior certifications. They carry some punch, too.
Mac juli, did not look at cipd, thanks. Neuhaus, thank you for the information, will look at SHRM, but what is CEBS? Thanks for the help
https://www.ifebp.org/cebs-designation/Pages/cebs.aspx IIRC, they were at least previously ACE recommended for credit as well.
