The Q: What type of degree or major would you recommend for a future in human resources? Preferably as a human resource manager.

The A: HR is a field that demands skills in a wide range of areas -- business, economics, accounting/finance, communications (reading, writing and speaking well), psychoanalysis, critical thinking and problem solving, to name a few -- so I won't recommend any particular major over another. Any number of different majors could prepare you quite well! Even a major in chemistry could come in handy, if you find yourself hired as an HR manager at a pharmaceutical company.

If you're unsure what major you like best (and you're not required to pick one yet), I'd suggest you take a nice variety of courses, at least during your first year, and then narrow things down as time goes on. (If you're already a sophomore or older, you'll have less time to take different courses, but can look back over the ones you've taken so far to see which subjects you enjoyed most.) Since you already know you're interested in HR -- and hopefully know a bit about the field -- be confident that by following your interests you'll naturally take a path that'll give you the academic foundation you need.

Be sure to browse through your school's course guide thoroughly before signing up for classes, and go for the ones that look most intriguing. Eventually, I bet you'll find yourself enjoying one or two subjects more than others -- or, heck, less than others, which can be just as helpful -- and your major/s will more or less fall right into your lap.

Just in case you're looking for a little more info about HR management jobs, you may want to read through this lovely profile provided by the U.S. Department of Labor:

http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos021.htm

Hope this helped a bit. Best of luck!

—Myles Helfand, General Advisor

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