HR certifications and how they impact careers

Introduction

In 2018, there’s a myriad of credentials that HR professionals could pursue. Yet, we have not seen any research or hard data to help HR pros determine which particular HR credentials are worth pursuing. For example,
what specific skills and competencies can one expect to gain from each certification? Which one will give HR pros the greatest pay boost? How do certifications impact one’s career trajectory and ability to move into
management and leadership positions?

To find the answers, PayScale collected salary and demographic information from over 102,000 respondents who completed our online salary survey. These respondents have HR job titles and 34 percent reported that they
have at least one HR certification. We analyzed the impact of various HR certifications on compensation and career trajectory for HR professionals in the U.S..

For this study, we evaluated 10 distinct certifications from four HR membership organizations including SHRM, HRCI, World at Work and the Institute for Professional Excellence in Coaching.

To determine the impact certifications have on compensation and career advancement for HR pros in the U.S., we looked at the dataset through a number of lenses. First, we built a statistical model to estimate the pay
boost one can expect from having a particular HR credential, while controlling for other factors that impact compensation such as job title, industry and location.