Posted on Feb 4, 2016
SPC Human Resources Specialist
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In the Army Reserve, for the past 6 years I've been a dedicated 42A, Human Resources Specialist. I've found a lot of success and training opportunities while performing my duties in a military capacity. However, in the civilian side I've had a hard time getting a human resources job, despite it being my major and a highlight on my resume. I come off great in interviews and am told I am highly fluent in my skill set. I've done some research and found that 78% of those who practice human resources are females. My question here is if anyone thinks I am wasting my time pursuing a degree that ultimately won't be open to me because of my sex. I have a year left until I get my bachelors degree in HRM and am somewhat contemplating changing my major. Thank you.
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LTC Hillary Luton
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Well, you can look at it as discrimination, change your degree and allow yourself to be beaten, or you can finish your degree in your current field of study, renew your dedication to be the best you can be in your career field and be a success. The choice is yours.
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SFC Adam Potter
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I'm a veteran, and a male and I work in the Human Resources field. I think you need to consider that you are competing for jobs that has 75% females, so the odds of someone being more qualified than you and being of the opposite sex is greater. Consider also Military HR is a bit different the the civilian sector depending on the discipline you are jumping into. You're not going to deal with FMLA issues, EEOC complaints, Worker's Compensations claims, Affirmative Action Planning, etc. etc. while in the military. When I transitioned into the civilian sector, I had to become educated quickly in a number of areas to be an effective HR professional. I started in the non-profit sector, and was fortunate enough to land am HR Director role.

Use your current military experience to qualify to take the PHR or SHRM-CP exams. The certification will make you stand out from other applicants. I highly suggest getting study materials for this exam, as the PHR has about a 54% pass rate.

So I don't think you're being discriminated against based on what you have shared. There just happens to be more people of the opposite sex your competing against, so how do you "stand out" from your competition?
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SN Greg Wright
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SPC (Join to see) Honestly (and I'm going to catch shit for this, I know), your question is incomplete. "Do civilian HR jobs discriminate against white males?". And the simple answer is that it's become PC these days to be inclusive of everyone...and it's ok for that to happen at the expense of this subset, regardless of their qualification relative to other applicants. Kind of like, everyone can get behind derision for fat people. It's NOT ok...but it's socially acceptable, these days. Arguments -- good arguments -- can be made that white males have had their turn at the helm, and it's time to let others. That's true enough.

When the bar has swung so far that you start passing over more-qualified people for less-qualified people based upon gender, race, religion, orientation...whatever, though...well. There's a word for that, that's also no longer socially acceptable to apply to white males. The irony of it is that the vast majority of non-white males that I know would tell you to kiss off if you offered them a job simply because of their race, rather than their qualifications. They don't want or need 'charity'. They want to make their way on their own merits, just like everyone else. People that demand a position for ANY other reason than their qualifications and experience, white, black, asian, martian...aren't looking for a fair shake.
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SSG Thomas  A Gilmore
SSG Thomas A Gilmore
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havng been in both military ,cvil service, I did fing that ciil service job discrimanated against male empoyies
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SSG Thomas  A Gilmore
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