[janeanddaria]

I have been deciding what to major in at college (it is my first semester currently). I was set on becoming an Occupational Health and Safety Inspector, only to find out I must take some of the highest math courses ("just working hard at it" is not going to work, I am terrible at math). Anyway, both my mother and one of my good friends recommended me going into Human Resources, because of my love of paperwork and my ability to stay calm while people around me flip out. I was curious about what you other ISTJs think about this career choice. Thank you.

 

[AllyKat]

I only briefly worked in HR when I was doing office temping. It was ok, although the place where I worked in HR was a bit cliquey and it didn't suit me.

Administrative based careers aren't bad jobs for ISTJs on the whole, it works well with our organisational and methodical skills. Likewise, I only worked directly in the field when I was temping, so it was never a career choice, but I couldn't have done it long term as I would have got bored (but I'm academically inclined, and I love maths so...)

I guess the only thing you have to think about which you might be less inclined to deal with is the personal side. Ultimately, human resources is about people, and to some extent you're going to have to work with them. Sometimes hiring, sometimes firing. If you're the kind of ISTJ that really doesn't want to really spend too long bothering about people directly then you might be better in a less people-oriented administrative field.

In saying that, I'm in the UK not the US, and I'm aware that some jobs can vary considerably in terms of what you get involved in. Hopefully someone with more experience can advise.

 

[jcal]

From what I've observed of HR professionals here in the US, at some point as you move up the chain (or if it's a smaller company where there is no chain), you will likely be heavily involved with hiring and exit interviews as well as training/orientation and disciplinary functions. You'd have to consider whether that likelihood would suit you as a long term vocation.

I will say that it would not suit me very well, and neither would the purely administrative tasks, for that matter. In my current job as a design engineer, more than half of my time is spent on administrative tasks and I'm not particularly happy about it, as I'm primarily inclined to be a technical problem solver. There is more to it than just type, so in the end it's really a (preferably well-informed) choice you will ultimately have to make for yourself.

 

[Sela]

My major at university was Human Resource Management. I also wanted to major in Operations Management, but I needed the scholarship money, so I went with the former, as that particular scholarship I was granted only paid for HR Mgm't. I'm actually working as an Administrative Assistant for a Department Chair at the university and while I'm certainly not getting rich, it's not terrible work; it's steady daytime hours and I probably have about 50% of my day to myself, and interact with others the other 50% (students, other faculty, my department chair, etc.).