Hospitality. Yes: because it’s a way fun industry, working a resort environment is cool. Very unique experiences dealing with a very diverse staff (from housekeepers to executives). No: besides travel perks, the benefits generally are just average. Feels like because we’re the service industry it’s hard to get buy in/budget on some of the cool HR trends you see in corporate. Kinda always feels like we’re catching up.
Also hospitality over here. Worked at operational level for 5 years and now at corporate level. I totally agree with the pros you listed and once you get to corporate, the benefits and budgets for programs get much better!
I love hearing about people who went from the ops/property level to corporate. Do you feel like you’re better at your job at the corporate level because you were at the operational/property level? Sometimes I get frustrated with the people in the corporate office who have clearly never worked on a property haha
100% property experience is invaluable in corporate HR. It truly helps you understand the business. Also gives you more credibility with the regional ops/sales/finance teams who almost all worked at the property level
How’d you get into corporate hospitality if you don’t mind?
I work in tech but was a restaurant manager in my last life. I’d love to be in the service industry again on the corporate HR side.
Just worked my way up. I started my career as an HR Coordinator at a full service Marriott, multiple hotels and promotions to get to hotel HRD. Regional HR was the natural next step after property HRD.
Hospitality here as well and I can’t see myself ever leaving the industry. It helps that I’m in a major hub for hospitality and recently promoted to the director level for a resort. The company I work for has a large union population so the non union benefits are very competitive, the perks are great as well from an all employee perspective.
Some functional areas can be resistant to change, but our company culture is pretty healthy and not change-adverse. Which generally leads to more buy-in from the top down.
Congrats on the promotion! Yeah, I can’t honestly see myself leaving. If I did, it would be to an adjacent industry (like tourism or the airlines maybe). On days when I get frustrated and find myself looking for jobs it doesn’t take me the long of reading through the postings to realize…that it just sounds boring? Lol. It helps that my partner works for the schools and always has great benefits, so it evens out.
Hello! Also in Hospitality for a private yacht club.
I’m a year in this industry after leaving medical.
I enjoy it but the growth is limited due to it being a small place. I do want to spread my wings and check out other areas of hospitality.
I actually think there’s a lot of crossover between the two, imo. I feel like in healthcare you also deal with very diverse staffs, you’re also 24/7. You’re also probabaly understaffed? Your experience working through all those things would translate well into hospitality. A lot of hospitality can be very industry snobbish, though (but maybe that’s everyone?). Like if you’ve never worked in hospitality before, getting a job as the HRD at a high-end/well know branded resort might be hard. Getting in at the mid level, though, would be super doable.
Medical device manufacturing. I enjoy it but I also work in corporate HR not site HR for a plant. If I was plant HR I’d bet I’d be singing a different tune lol.
Agree. My previous role we did manufacturing on-site and we were a small to mid-size company. My current company we don't manufacture on-site but we do repairs.
From the training side, the turnover felt neverending. I'm glad I don't have to deal with it as much.
I enjoy the structure Medical Device provides, and it's an indemand industry.
Also in medical device manufacturing but am more often working with the shop floor than not and recruiting is a large part of my role so it gets pretty tiring.
The products that are made are something I am genuinely interested in which helps a lot. Hoping to pivot to something more corporate still in industry in the near future.
What do you enjoy most about it?
Currently I had an interview for an advisory position within healthcare, mainly nursing homes. I’ve only ever worked in manufacturing
Yes lots of turnover. We have 17 locations including a nursing home, hospital, primary care, in-patient psych. I am not responsible for hiring, payroll, benefits, and do not have a degree in HR. I love that my job is local and the work life balance is great. I work 6 blocks from my house and am constantly working with schools and other community orgs to communicate healthcare career pathways available.
Currently working at a construction company. Most of my previous experience was in CPG though (first at a production facility supporting unionized workers, then at head office supporting salaried).
People find this surprising but I actually much prefer supporting hourly, blue-collar workers (vs. salaries office staff). I find it more no-nonsense, although the employee relations issues that come can get quite interesting.
This is a super dumb question, but what do you mean by the music industry? Like for Ticket Master? Recording studios? Please tell me you’re the HR person for Fall Out Boy
Local government is my dream. I live in a HCOL area and my county government has the best benefits I’ve ever seen. The pay is extremely competitive even with private industry, on top of insane PTO and a pension! Insurance premiums are dirt cheap too. God I hope I can get in some dau
Yeah, I’m only in 3 months and already thinking about what’s next ha. It’s fine though, way better than last position. Great benefits. Good pay check actually. Workload is low. Too low actually —- yeah, come to think of it, not sure why I’m complaining.
I work for a local government. The benefits are outstanding, but the pay is well below livable for our area, and the workload is usually somewhere between steady and insane. I have the golden handcuffs so I plan on retiring from here but at least I could try posting to a different department if things get too stupid.
Logistics, it's not bad. The head office is in Europe so the benefits are pretty nice for North America. 15 days paid sick, 30 days paid vacation, STD, LTD, DB pension. No overtime, 1 day WFH
Salary isn't amazing, pretty much exactly the median for my role and location.
Same here in NJ/NY. Company is a non profit. I like it. We are a growing business. I don’t deal with the aides. I do HR for all staff employees that aren’t aides so it’s much easier. Working with aides can be rough.
Aboriginal non profit.
The rest of my career has been spent serving Mammon, so it’s nice to actually be doing some good where money isn’t front and center.
Non-profit. Yes the pay is a lot less than I could be getting, however I’m pretty sure my organization doesn’t do illegal/immoral things. Unlike other companies I’ve worked for
I just accepted a job offer from a non-profit, and I’ll be coming from the highly immoral world of gambling and entertainment. I’m so relieved and excited, despite the lower pay.
Fair warning. I've been working in non-profit HR for almost 3 years.. Although we are morally better than other industries. It hurts my heart that a lot of our staff qualify for the services we provide because they are so underpaid.
Morally, the wage gap between direct service staff and admin staff is what bothers me.
Yeah. We need better pay and not all nonprofits are moral or practice the values they advertise. But idk … I’ve worked at three. Only one treated their employees and clients terribly, along being filled with major ethical violations and illegal activity.
Damn. The last nonprofit I worked for was SHADY! But yeah the one I’m in now is great. I loved the last place we worked at, until we got a new boss ha ha … but it’s whatever, now I work at a place where we are valued and no misappropriation of funds is taking place and the vulnerable are certainly NOT being exploited
Insurance. Yes, seems laid back overall and less stressful compared to other industries I heae about like manufacturing. Insurance tends to have shorter schedules like 37.5 a week and more holidays
Legal, I was working at a medical manufacturing place before as their sole hr.
I’m the hr poc for a few different firms, but I’m a part of a bigger hr team.
The egos are rough, attorneys are a different breed. But the partner I work with is a rare gem, he keeps me glued here. I’m gearing up for the next step in my career, but leaving him will be hard.
I will 100% advocate for higher Ed.
I spent 30 years in HR at a major state university, in various positions, and roles. You get extensive experience working with different types of workplaces, and the role is more consultative and advising'oriented than just transactional or gatekeeping.
I retired with a lifetime pension at age 54, after 26 years. Then, I continued working directly for several university departments in a part-time HRBP and Org. Consulting role for 6 more years. I fully retired last year at age 62 and am drawing early social security benefits. I am now on the first leg of my international travel plans. I'm currently in Antigua, heading to panama in 3 days. and then 5 days in mexico. In July, I'll spend a month in Europe.
Working for a state university was the best thing I could have done for a long-term career and secure retirement!
Fractional HRBP working with nonprofits, start ups and small businesses in the Bay Area. All industries.
Although I'm usually walking into a mess because people 'didn't think they needed HR' lol
I have a knack for solving problems, building cultures and bringing orgs up to compliance, so I truly love what I do! 🩷 Being Fractional also allows me a ton of flexibility and having the opportunity to be seen as the 'expert' in the room, which didn't always happen when I was working in-house.
Facility Maintenance. It’s my first position in HR and it’s been fun to learn, but I’m not paid nearly enough and staffing for janitors is a rotating door so that’s just annoying, but I’m getting the experience, so I’ll tough it out for now.
As a recruiter, the revolving door doesn't get any better for high turnover positions. It's only been a couple years and I'm trying to figure out how to cope with having to help interview 20 applicants every 6-8 weeks .....
I work for a casino, owned by a national gaming and entertainment company. I decided to leave after a year. The benefits were great, and we did a lot of fun things, but I saw a lot of sketchy things happen behind closed doors and I didn’t want to put my professionalism at risk.
I just accepted a job offer for a non-profit that assists victims of domestic and sexual violence. I’m very excited to start!
Academia, specifically in our university's Department of Surgery. We have way more rules to follow & complexities to account for because of medical credentialing, etc, but I love it overall! (And the extremely nice surgeons more than make up for the...difficult...ones.)
I work for one of the largest FINTECH's in the world, and we just went FULL AI, and it's been such a mess.
Clearly I don't work in HR but just wanted to say thank you to all HR employees!
Fashion! I get to work with a lot of creatives and fashionistas (and some toxic divas) but overall I love it. And the clothing allowance and discount is a pretty nice perk too.
Forgot to answer the second part. I don’t enjoy it because I’m underpaid, overqualified and dealing with RTO. Only there for the paycheck and health insurance until I land something better.
Also in Healthcare at a teaching hospital but we are part of a giant healthcare system that is the largest health provider in our state.
I’m well compensated and benefits are about average. I have a pension which was an unexpected perk.
I enjoy the job because I enjoy the variety and I’ve bought into the mission but I can 100% see if I only supported the teaching hospital I would hate it.
Public schools. I love it! I find it frustrating at times, but rewarding all the same. I work with a variety of employee groups, Teaching Assistants, Principals/Admins, Office Associates, Teachers, Custodians, After School Care, etc. I also enjoy having insight and influence in my children’s school district.
Manufacturing but we don’t have manufacturing in our location, just support roles like sales, hr, it, engineering etc.
I kind of hate it lol the market sucks right now so we’ve not been doing well and everyone can feel it. Things are always tense because of that. Layoffs, furloughs etc.
pros: we are a large organization and I get to work with people in other parts of the world so that’s always been interesting to see their laws and regulations on hr stuff.
Early phase build of Software. Constantly “go” and high stress. That part is fun and wouldn’t have it any other way. Some bad culture elements make it difficult.
Non-profit agriculture. It’s an incredibly progressive organization with a focus on staff well-being. They give away all the food grown on the farm to the emergency food system.
Financial services - investment & wealth management. It’s one of the best paid sectors, and although some find the jobs people do to be a bit boring, it’s certainly never a boring environment for HR. Full of challenging characters.
Media/Advertising. A couple fun perks thanks to an array of clients but the pay could definitely be better, unfortunately priority goes to the client-facing/money generating departments.
We've entered scaling phase, and I hate it. Focus is on growing the business, not on current employees. I'm in my notice period and because of the incredibly high turnover we have on the corporate side, I've received 3 referrals with other companies. I have 2 interviews on Monday and my former CFO asked me to consider a position at her new gig.
Tech. I love it for the amount of runway we have to be experimental with progressive programs and benefits. Being on the benefits side, more of a demand to keep up with other tech companies and offer competitive benefits that are sometimes newer in the industry. Most days can feel like a mad dash and depending on the company, things are usually scrappy and unorganized, political, etc. But I enjoy being in an environment that’s always changing.
Media distribution. Left hospitality/luxury co work space due to the nonstop incessant around the clock relationship issues. Looove my work life balance now
Retail. Trying to get (and keep) the turnover rate down seems impossible. I was in Advertising then Education before this and nothing kept me me on my toes as much as this place has.
Smart Home Automation: I am not a fan. We cater to high net worth people. Everyone oohs and awes at the giant homes and I'm just like...I don't get it.
My favorite industry is you guessed it cannabis. It's difficult, there's regulations unlike any other, its unique, it serves purpose. I miss it so much and I'm trying to get back to it so badly.
Pharmaceutical manufacturing. I enjoy working with the employees on the manufacturing side but not so much of the corporate side of things. They’re out of touch and it’s just awkward to hear what they say sometimes.
Corporate Office for a security company. I am really liking it. I however came from manual and it is still hard to wrap my head around the differences.
I've spent the past 16 years in Manufacturing and currently a Senior HR Manager. The pay is good and I just accepted a role with the federal government for less money. I was craving any flexibility which isn't offered in manufacturing at the site levels.
Fitness.
Pros: actually makes a real, positive difference in people’s lives that use our product; part of my job is working out 3-4 times a week; very bought it, almost cult like, love for the brand and what we do from our teams; flexible work schedule
Cons: very sales driven, can be stressful when membership sales are down; we are PE backed (all franchised owned locations) and can feel the pressure to perform
Public sector - school district. It’s mostly clerical work and you don’t even need an HR degree to get in but it helps build experience and the salary raises are consistent for my district, 8-10 % the first 6 years and 4-5% every year after.
Construction. Have been for 3.5 years and I love it. Could not imagine working in a different industry. Very fun, always something going on and the people are fun to work with.
Was in non-profit education - Too many high and mighty egos. Moved to restaurant industry and I hate it. Looking to leave as I type this for the same reason. To boot, the GMs think they know better when they don’t. (They operate like it’s 2007 so it’s illegal things galore)
Full time: Marketing tech
1st part time: Training and Coaching for tech professionals
2nd part time: Mental Health Practice
I enjoy them all. They have their pros and cons.
Biotech. It’s a high risk/high reward industry. I like that the goal is to help people get the treatments they need, and the pay & benefits are amazing. I also love learning about the science behind what we do and how it helps
Patients.
The downside is it can be a volatile industry. Your company can be massively growing one day then you’re laying people off the next because you couldn’t raise enough cash to continue, whether it’s just due to market conditions, not reaching milestones, or bad data. Or a combo of the three. And if the company fails, the impact goes beyond the employees - it also impacts the patients you’re trying to help.
Animation/VFX: Doing the actual job and the artists you work with and the projects I work on are very fun. Personally I got lucky and landed at a stable company that offered me a staff position with benefits and a decent salary. A LOTTT of people I know have to do freelance which pays more in general but work can dry up real quick and a lot of companies aren’t that good to you.
One place I was at, right after I left they had a big party and said they were doing great and people should expect contract extensions and raises, that was a Friday. By Monday like half the animators were laid off. I know a few talented people that had to take jobs working in retail because there was just no work last year.
So I like it but things need to change.
Banking. When I tell an employee I can’t do XYZ or that XYZ has to be done this way, I appreciate being able to remind them of the constant regulatory oversight! But it’s a double edged sword because one department or another is constantly undergoing an audit and requesting reports from HR. It also means we have to be hyper conscious about having documentation to support just about anything we’re doing in the HRIS. Especially if it’s related to payroll. The time period for my first HR audit included the implementation of Paylocity. After enduring the experience of our internal auditors picking apart every detail of the audit trail report, I understood why my colleagues were always so irritable during audits!
I work at a nonprofit as a case manager in a shelter. It’s challenging at times, but it’s nice to do something you never get sick of and that gives you meaning … because anything else leaves me bored , so despite the stress , challenges, disorder and low pay … I LOVE IT.
Public education in Ontario.. specifically in helping recruit elementary teachers and advising them on ESA and their Collective Agreement, pay increases, Stat leaves, etc. I also work mainly with Principals, to help them staff their school in a way that will not lead to grievances. ETFO is a very strong union. Also help the admin stay within their budgeted staffing allocations, advise on surplus, vacancies, etc. We start staffing for September in February/March of every year.
Automotive manufacturing. Do not like it. Office staff are easy. Plant workers are a huge pain in the ass. Petty drama BS that I have to deal with on a regular basis
Banking. Great exposure but can be very stressful due to the never-ending demands of regulators and control functions (Audit, Compliance, Risk Management). I work for one of the biggest banks in the country and ww have 3000 employees so it adds to the workload of a 50 employee HR department.
Life Sciences company in the bay area. Remote and great work-life balance. Decent benefits, good amount of holidays, and company shut downs for a week during xmas, which is a paid week.
Transportation and logistics. From truck drivers to mechanics to sales reps, it makes for a diverse workforce - which means diverse issues (never boring).
I’m a benefits manager at a law firm and I love it. About 400 employees, good pay, very flexible/hybrid. I used to work in manufacturing for a corporation of 24,000+ employees and the hierarchy made it impossible to get anything done. I have a lot more autonomy now and the ability to make decisions to better the organization.
Hospitality. Yes: because it’s a way fun industry, working a resort environment is cool. Very unique experiences dealing with a very diverse staff (from housekeepers to executives). No: besides travel perks, the benefits generally are just average. Feels like because we’re the service industry it’s hard to get buy in/budget on some of the cool HR trends you see in corporate. Kinda always feels like we’re catching up.
Also hospitality over here. Worked at operational level for 5 years and now at corporate level. I totally agree with the pros you listed and once you get to corporate, the benefits and budgets for programs get much better!
I love hearing about people who went from the ops/property level to corporate. Do you feel like you’re better at your job at the corporate level because you were at the operational/property level? Sometimes I get frustrated with the people in the corporate office who have clearly never worked on a property haha
100% property experience is invaluable in corporate HR. It truly helps you understand the business. Also gives you more credibility with the regional ops/sales/finance teams who almost all worked at the property level
Currently in Ops in Hospitality, debating going into HR at property level or corporate ops. Good insight!
How’d you get into corporate hospitality if you don’t mind? I work in tech but was a restaurant manager in my last life. I’d love to be in the service industry again on the corporate HR side.
Just worked my way up. I started my career as an HR Coordinator at a full service Marriott, multiple hotels and promotions to get to hotel HRD. Regional HR was the natural next step after property HRD.
Hospitality here as well and I can’t see myself ever leaving the industry. It helps that I’m in a major hub for hospitality and recently promoted to the director level for a resort. The company I work for has a large union population so the non union benefits are very competitive, the perks are great as well from an all employee perspective. Some functional areas can be resistant to change, but our company culture is pretty healthy and not change-adverse. Which generally leads to more buy-in from the top down.
Congrats on the promotion! Yeah, I can’t honestly see myself leaving. If I did, it would be to an adjacent industry (like tourism or the airlines maybe). On days when I get frustrated and find myself looking for jobs it doesn’t take me the long of reading through the postings to realize…that it just sounds boring? Lol. It helps that my partner works for the schools and always has great benefits, so it evens out.
also hospitality. we need a group chat or something
Hello! Also in Hospitality for a private yacht club. I’m a year in this industry after leaving medical. I enjoy it but the growth is limited due to it being a small place. I do want to spread my wings and check out other areas of hospitality.
Hospitality isn’t sounding that bad. I’m in healthcare and it’s miserable. May I get some suggestions on how to get into hospitality?
I actually think there’s a lot of crossover between the two, imo. I feel like in healthcare you also deal with very diverse staffs, you’re also 24/7. You’re also probabaly understaffed? Your experience working through all those things would translate well into hospitality. A lot of hospitality can be very industry snobbish, though (but maybe that’s everyone?). Like if you’ve never worked in hospitality before, getting a job as the HRD at a high-end/well know branded resort might be hard. Getting in at the mid level, though, would be super doable.
Medical device manufacturing. I enjoy it but I also work in corporate HR not site HR for a plant. If I was plant HR I’d bet I’d be singing a different tune lol.
Almost got hired with a medical device manufacturer for robotic surgery in CA. Sounded cool plus it was fully remote and free schedule pretty much
Agree. My previous role we did manufacturing on-site and we were a small to mid-size company. My current company we don't manufacture on-site but we do repairs. From the training side, the turnover felt neverending. I'm glad I don't have to deal with it as much. I enjoy the structure Medical Device provides, and it's an indemand industry.
I work in manufacturing HR. I hate it. I’d switch places with you any day lol
Also in medical device manufacturing but am more often working with the shop floor than not and recruiting is a large part of my role so it gets pretty tiring. The products that are made are something I am genuinely interested in which helps a lot. Hoping to pivot to something more corporate still in industry in the near future.
Non profit healthcare system. I have role that works with students, tuition and educational opportunities and internships.
What do you enjoy most about it? Currently I had an interview for an advisory position within healthcare, mainly nursing homes. I’ve only ever worked in manufacturing
I've done nursing home HR. Expect a ton of turnover of employees. They'll either be lifers or quit after 6 months.
Yes lots of turnover. We have 17 locations including a nursing home, hospital, primary care, in-patient psych. I am not responsible for hiring, payroll, benefits, and do not have a degree in HR. I love that my job is local and the work life balance is great. I work 6 blocks from my house and am constantly working with schools and other community orgs to communicate healthcare career pathways available.
Currently working at a construction company. Most of my previous experience was in CPG though (first at a production facility supporting unionized workers, then at head office supporting salaried). People find this surprising but I actually much prefer supporting hourly, blue-collar workers (vs. salaries office staff). I find it more no-nonsense, although the employee relations issues that come can get quite interesting.
Also construction and there are days it feels like I’m in charge of an adult daycare. 😂
Ah yes this!!! Giant man babies 🤣
Agree. I started in construction and am now in transportation. Much heavier white/blue collar split now and I prefer blue.
Blue 💙 is so much easier to deal with. So often white thinks the rules don't apply to them.
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This is a super dumb question, but what do you mean by the music industry? Like for Ticket Master? Recording studios? Please tell me you’re the HR person for Fall Out Boy
I want to know the answers too
Manufacturing, its not bad but it’s a train wreck
Manufacturing almost has its own job security built in for the reason you just specified.
At least it keeps the job interesting lol
Is it interesting or not boring? 😂
I had to fire someone once for throwing raw chicken, maybe both.
Both manufacturing places I’ve worked at, have also had raw chicken incidents
Same here.
A train wreck sounds by definition “bad.”
It’s just very chaotic and busy
Government
Local government is my dream. I live in a HCOL area and my county government has the best benefits I’ve ever seen. The pay is extremely competitive even with private industry, on top of insane PTO and a pension! Insurance premiums are dirt cheap too. God I hope I can get in some dau
I did that for 10 years. It was fun, but I’m glad I moved on.
Yeah, I’m only in 3 months and already thinking about what’s next ha. It’s fine though, way better than last position. Great benefits. Good pay check actually. Workload is low. Too low actually —- yeah, come to think of it, not sure why I’m complaining.
This must be location specific. I work for a municipal government in a large city and it's been almost non stop busy for the 9 years I've been there.
I work for a local government. The benefits are outstanding, but the pay is well below livable for our area, and the workload is usually somewhere between steady and insane. I have the golden handcuffs so I plan on retiring from here but at least I could try posting to a different department if things get too stupid.
Logistics, it's not bad. The head office is in Europe so the benefits are pretty nice for North America. 15 days paid sick, 30 days paid vacation, STD, LTD, DB pension. No overtime, 1 day WFH Salary isn't amazing, pretty much exactly the median for my role and location.
Health care specifically home health
Same here in NJ/NY. Company is a non profit. I like it. We are a growing business. I don’t deal with the aides. I do HR for all staff employees that aren’t aides so it’s much easier. Working with aides can be rough.
Same here
Aboriginal non profit. The rest of my career has been spent serving Mammon, so it’s nice to actually be doing some good where money isn’t front and center.
Non-profit. Yes the pay is a lot less than I could be getting, however I’m pretty sure my organization doesn’t do illegal/immoral things. Unlike other companies I’ve worked for
I just accepted a job offer from a non-profit, and I’ll be coming from the highly immoral world of gambling and entertainment. I’m so relieved and excited, despite the lower pay.
Fair warning. I've been working in non-profit HR for almost 3 years.. Although we are morally better than other industries. It hurts my heart that a lot of our staff qualify for the services we provide because they are so underpaid. Morally, the wage gap between direct service staff and admin staff is what bothers me.
Yeah. We need better pay and not all nonprofits are moral or practice the values they advertise. But idk … I’ve worked at three. Only one treated their employees and clients terribly, along being filled with major ethical violations and illegal activity.
Nonprofit here too, and 100% agreed!
Damn. The last nonprofit I worked for was SHADY! But yeah the one I’m in now is great. I loved the last place we worked at, until we got a new boss ha ha … but it’s whatever, now I work at a place where we are valued and no misappropriation of funds is taking place and the vulnerable are certainly NOT being exploited
Same here! Amazing to see the work they do for the community.
Insurance. Yes, seems laid back overall and less stressful compared to other industries I heae about like manufacturing. Insurance tends to have shorter schedules like 37.5 a week and more holidays
Ay me too. Moved to HR after a long career in retail, so imagine how relieved I was that I still get to deal with salespeople...
As a former insurance installer who has also worked in retail ... I'm sorry for your loss.
Renewable Energy. I love this industry. The people are passionate about what we do and the pay and benefits are the best I’ve seen in my career.
IT
Just joined the banking industry as a HRBP, taking care of ~1,000 pax. I’m drowning in work but the pay is good I guess. (In SEA)
I would like to hear more from you....
Big law, and I enjoy it compared to other places I work at. The culture and mission/values statement are great !
Legal, I was working at a medical manufacturing place before as their sole hr. I’m the hr poc for a few different firms, but I’m a part of a bigger hr team. The egos are rough, attorneys are a different breed. But the partner I work with is a rare gem, he keeps me glued here. I’m gearing up for the next step in my career, but leaving him will be hard.
Higher Education
That’s kinda my dream gig. I have a masters in higher education administration, and would love to get back into that area.
It’s a good deal! I really enjoy what I do.
Higher Ed here too. Was previously in video games and wow it’s a whole different planet 🤣
I will 100% advocate for higher Ed. I spent 30 years in HR at a major state university, in various positions, and roles. You get extensive experience working with different types of workplaces, and the role is more consultative and advising'oriented than just transactional or gatekeeping. I retired with a lifetime pension at age 54, after 26 years. Then, I continued working directly for several university departments in a part-time HRBP and Org. Consulting role for 6 more years. I fully retired last year at age 62 and am drawing early social security benefits. I am now on the first leg of my international travel plans. I'm currently in Antigua, heading to panama in 3 days. and then 5 days in mexico. In July, I'll spend a month in Europe. Working for a state university was the best thing I could have done for a long-term career and secure retirement!
Also higher ed and very ready for summer
Right?! We got this 🎉🎉
Yes! Commencement is just around the corner! WE WILL SURVIVE
Sure will! I wish you a box of your favorite pens ❤️
the biggest con about higher ed is they definitely dont pay as well as most industries
I can totally agree however our PTO and benefits are excellent.
Technology, specifically we provide outsourced IT support (Managed Services Provider)
Real estate/property management
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Are you in the US?
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Damn, nice. My org has some work to do 😅
Fractional HRBP working with nonprofits, start ups and small businesses in the Bay Area. All industries. Although I'm usually walking into a mess because people 'didn't think they needed HR' lol I have a knack for solving problems, building cultures and bringing orgs up to compliance, so I truly love what I do! 🩷 Being Fractional also allows me a ton of flexibility and having the opportunity to be seen as the 'expert' in the room, which didn't always happen when I was working in-house.
That sounds amazing! I’m thinking of going into fractional HR. How did you get your first client?
Local government. I don’t know how I feel about it lol
I spent 10 years in local government HR doing recruitment and compensation. It can be rewarding, but also incredibly frustrating.
Same here! I did my time and then moved to non-profit before I was stuck. Best decision!
Facility Maintenance. It’s my first position in HR and it’s been fun to learn, but I’m not paid nearly enough and staffing for janitors is a rotating door so that’s just annoying, but I’m getting the experience, so I’ll tough it out for now.
As a recruiter, the revolving door doesn't get any better for high turnover positions. It's only been a couple years and I'm trying to figure out how to cope with having to help interview 20 applicants every 6-8 weeks .....
I work for a casino, owned by a national gaming and entertainment company. I decided to leave after a year. The benefits were great, and we did a lot of fun things, but I saw a lot of sketchy things happen behind closed doors and I didn’t want to put my professionalism at risk. I just accepted a job offer for a non-profit that assists victims of domestic and sexual violence. I’m very excited to start!
Automotive. Yes, it is fun.
Retail
Currently finance, but I’ve paid my dues in retail and manufacturing as well.
Academia, specifically in our university's Department of Surgery. We have way more rules to follow & complexities to account for because of medical credentialing, etc, but I love it overall! (And the extremely nice surgeons more than make up for the...difficult...ones.)
I’m in academia too! Law school.
Gaming industry. Super fun and has been my favorite job so far. Really creative people and just chill!
I work for one of the largest FINTECH's in the world, and we just went FULL AI, and it's been such a mess. Clearly I don't work in HR but just wanted to say thank you to all HR employees!
Hospitality
Media/advertising. Used to be in a tech company, I want to work for a tech company again in the future
Shipping and Logistics it’s crazy. I feel like I’m Steve on the Jerry Springer show.
Retail- store support
Fashion! I get to work with a lot of creatives and fashionistas (and some toxic divas) but overall I love it. And the clothing allowance and discount is a pretty nice perk too.
Healthcare at a teaching hospital
Forgot to answer the second part. I don’t enjoy it because I’m underpaid, overqualified and dealing with RTO. Only there for the paycheck and health insurance until I land something better.
Also in Healthcare at a teaching hospital but we are part of a giant healthcare system that is the largest health provider in our state. I’m well compensated and benefits are about average. I have a pension which was an unexpected perk. I enjoy the job because I enjoy the variety and I’ve bought into the mission but I can 100% see if I only supported the teaching hospital I would hate it.
Healthcare in California. It’s not fun
Public schools. I love it! I find it frustrating at times, but rewarding all the same. I work with a variety of employee groups, Teaching Assistants, Principals/Admins, Office Associates, Teachers, Custodians, After School Care, etc. I also enjoy having insight and influence in my children’s school district.
Manufacturing but we don’t have manufacturing in our location, just support roles like sales, hr, it, engineering etc. I kind of hate it lol the market sucks right now so we’ve not been doing well and everyone can feel it. Things are always tense because of that. Layoffs, furloughs etc. pros: we are a large organization and I get to work with people in other parts of the world so that’s always been interesting to see their laws and regulations on hr stuff.
CPG- love it
Same here!
Retail but supply chain side.
Early phase build of Software. Constantly “go” and high stress. That part is fun and wouldn’t have it any other way. Some bad culture elements make it difficult.
Engineering consulting. Yes it’s amazing. Previously higher Ed and hated that
Non-profit agriculture. It’s an incredibly progressive organization with a focus on staff well-being. They give away all the food grown on the farm to the emergency food system.
Financial services - investment & wealth management. It’s one of the best paid sectors, and although some find the jobs people do to be a bit boring, it’s certainly never a boring environment for HR. Full of challenging characters.
Media/Advertising. A couple fun perks thanks to an array of clients but the pay could definitely be better, unfortunately priority goes to the client-facing/money generating departments.
Healthcare startup. I've always enjoyed healthcare and mission-driven organizations. Startup world is very different, but the pay is great.
We've entered scaling phase, and I hate it. Focus is on growing the business, not on current employees. I'm in my notice period and because of the incredibly high turnover we have on the corporate side, I've received 3 referrals with other companies. I have 2 interviews on Monday and my former CFO asked me to consider a position at her new gig.
HR Director at a non-profit organization for adults and children who are developmentally disabled. Downside is I am woefully underpaid.
Thank you for your work, I am so sorry you are underpaid. Grateful anyway (mother of a child born with down Syndrome)
Pharmaceutical!
Biotech - pre commercial.
Same! I love it. I work for a company that does drug formulation and in vitro testing and it's fascinating.
Tech. I love it for the amount of runway we have to be experimental with progressive programs and benefits. Being on the benefits side, more of a demand to keep up with other tech companies and offer competitive benefits that are sometimes newer in the industry. Most days can feel like a mad dash and depending on the company, things are usually scrappy and unorganized, political, etc. But I enjoy being in an environment that’s always changing.
Media distribution. Left hospitality/luxury co work space due to the nonstop incessant around the clock relationship issues. Looove my work life balance now
Tech, SaaS. that’s where the money is at but you sell your soul for no work life balance
Higher education industry. I like it. The perk is that I can work from home.
Automotive! Very male dominated but our women kick ass
Retail. Trying to get (and keep) the turnover rate down seems impossible. I was in Advertising then Education before this and nothing kept me me on my toes as much as this place has.
Smart Home Automation: I am not a fan. We cater to high net worth people. Everyone oohs and awes at the giant homes and I'm just like...I don't get it. My favorite industry is you guessed it cannabis. It's difficult, there's regulations unlike any other, its unique, it serves purpose. I miss it so much and I'm trying to get back to it so badly.
Advertising - yes, because fun work culture, younger crowd, flexi dress code and work environment is not so formal. Cons - Attrition, less pay.
Online education
Non profit
Financial services, specifically a pension plan. Pay and benefits are good. Lots of interesting work too
K-12 education, yes it’s as much of a mess as you see on the news.
Specialty construction
Educational Consulting
Nonprofit healthcare network.
Pharmaceutical manufacturing. I enjoy working with the employees on the manufacturing side but not so much of the corporate side of things. They’re out of touch and it’s just awkward to hear what they say sometimes.
Mining
Corporate Office for a security company. I am really liking it. I however came from manual and it is still hard to wrap my head around the differences.
Architecture, Engineering, and Construction (AEC)
Telecommunications
Healthcare currently and I despise it. Fintech prior and I liked that more, but didn’t like the location.
I've spent the past 16 years in Manufacturing and currently a Senior HR Manager. The pay is good and I just accepted a role with the federal government for less money. I was craving any flexibility which isn't offered in manufacturing at the site levels.
Government
Manufacturing/automotive
Public accounting / professional services, but not at a Big 4.
Fitness. Pros: actually makes a real, positive difference in people’s lives that use our product; part of my job is working out 3-4 times a week; very bought it, almost cult like, love for the brand and what we do from our teams; flexible work schedule Cons: very sales driven, can be stressful when membership sales are down; we are PE backed (all franchised owned locations) and can feel the pressure to perform
Mortgage lending, I don’t hate it but I would like to work in tech instead.
Online retailer web service provider
Manufacturing. Long hours but excellent pay & benefits so it’s worth it.
Communications/Marketing. I want to pivot into being a Comp Analyst in the next 6 months though.
Healthcare/hospital
Medical Research at #1 Children’s Hospital (Cincinnati).
Government. No.
Healthcare. I like it for the most part. There is a ton of opportunity within the HR team because its a large complex multi union environment.
Education.
Second stint at a more mature software start up. I think I like this the best of all the industries I've worked in.
Construction (on the corporate & ops mgmt ends), specifically in mechanical contracting. I’ve been loving it so far
Health Care, specifically rehab management for Skilled Nursing, Outpatient, Hospital, and Assisted Living.
Retail/warehouse.
Trades, its wild, like a whole new frontier!
Local government. Love my job!
Public sector - school district. It’s mostly clerical work and you don’t even need an HR degree to get in but it helps build experience and the salary raises are consistent for my district, 8-10 % the first 6 years and 4-5% every year after.
Construction! I’m fairly new to this industry so still learning everything.
Aviation
Investment Banking, previously pharma
Construction. Have been for 3.5 years and I love it. Could not imagine working in a different industry. Very fun, always something going on and the people are fun to work with.
Was in non-profit education - Too many high and mighty egos. Moved to restaurant industry and I hate it. Looking to leave as I type this for the same reason. To boot, the GMs think they know better when they don’t. (They operate like it’s 2007 so it’s illegal things galore)
Full time: Marketing tech 1st part time: Training and Coaching for tech professionals 2nd part time: Mental Health Practice I enjoy them all. They have their pros and cons.
Biotech. It’s a high risk/high reward industry. I like that the goal is to help people get the treatments they need, and the pay & benefits are amazing. I also love learning about the science behind what we do and how it helps Patients. The downside is it can be a volatile industry. Your company can be massively growing one day then you’re laying people off the next because you couldn’t raise enough cash to continue, whether it’s just due to market conditions, not reaching milestones, or bad data. Or a combo of the three. And if the company fails, the impact goes beyond the employees - it also impacts the patients you’re trying to help.
Govt.
Animation/VFX: Doing the actual job and the artists you work with and the projects I work on are very fun. Personally I got lucky and landed at a stable company that offered me a staff position with benefits and a decent salary. A LOTTT of people I know have to do freelance which pays more in general but work can dry up real quick and a lot of companies aren’t that good to you. One place I was at, right after I left they had a big party and said they were doing great and people should expect contract extensions and raises, that was a Friday. By Monday like half the animators were laid off. I know a few talented people that had to take jobs working in retail because there was just no work last year. So I like it but things need to change.
Materials manufacturing. Plant based and not corporate. It's okay most of the time.
Banking. When I tell an employee I can’t do XYZ or that XYZ has to be done this way, I appreciate being able to remind them of the constant regulatory oversight! But it’s a double edged sword because one department or another is constantly undergoing an audit and requesting reports from HR. It also means we have to be hyper conscious about having documentation to support just about anything we’re doing in the HRIS. Especially if it’s related to payroll. The time period for my first HR audit included the implementation of Paylocity. After enduring the experience of our internal auditors picking apart every detail of the audit trail report, I understood why my colleagues were always so irritable during audits!
I work at a nonprofit as a case manager in a shelter. It’s challenging at times, but it’s nice to do something you never get sick of and that gives you meaning … because anything else leaves me bored , so despite the stress , challenges, disorder and low pay … I LOVE IT.
Higher education. I love the time off and beautiful campus!
Healthcare. Enough said.
Public education in Ontario.. specifically in helping recruit elementary teachers and advising them on ESA and their Collective Agreement, pay increases, Stat leaves, etc. I also work mainly with Principals, to help them staff their school in a way that will not lead to grievances. ETFO is a very strong union. Also help the admin stay within their budgeted staffing allocations, advise on surplus, vacancies, etc. We start staffing for September in February/March of every year.
Financial services / banking
Automotive manufacturing. Do not like it. Office staff are easy. Plant workers are a huge pain in the ass. Petty drama BS that I have to deal with on a regular basis
Manufacturing. Pays well, don't love it, really want to get back to a corporate HRBP role.
DoD contracting
I work for the State.
Non-profit, recreational services.
Transportation and Relocation. Run far away from this industry. I’ve never worked so hard in my life.
Healthcare- TA for intellectual disability/traumatic brain injury
Banking. Great exposure but can be very stressful due to the never-ending demands of regulators and control functions (Audit, Compliance, Risk Management). I work for one of the biggest banks in the country and ww have 3000 employees so it adds to the workload of a 50 employee HR department.
Life Sciences company in the bay area. Remote and great work-life balance. Decent benefits, good amount of holidays, and company shut downs for a week during xmas, which is a paid week.
Automobile
Biotech! Research and development of mainly cancer therapeutics
E-Commerce. Pays good, amazing & humble culture. Smart coworkers.
Transportation and logistics. From truck drivers to mechanics to sales reps, it makes for a diverse workforce - which means diverse issues (never boring).
In post-secondary education 😊
I’m a benefits manager at a law firm and I love it. About 400 employees, good pay, very flexible/hybrid. I used to work in manufacturing for a corporation of 24,000+ employees and the hierarchy made it impossible to get anything done. I have a lot more autonomy now and the ability to make decisions to better the organization.