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Boston Career Explorer

Management

Human Resources Managers

Plan, direct, or coordinate human resources activities and staff of an organization.

Also called: Employee Relations Manager, HR Admin Director (Human Resources Administration Director), HR Director (Human Resources Director), HR Manager (Human Resources Manager), HR Ops Manager (Human Resources Operations Manager), HR VP (Human Resources Vice President)

Median pay in Greater Boston
$184,990
$88.94/hr
Jobs in Greater Boston
6,480
Massachusetts 2024–2034
+3.1%
520 openings a year
Typical U.S. entry requirement
Bachelor's degree
5 years or more of related work experience

Greater Boston: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH metro area, May 2025. Growth and openings: Massachusetts statewide projection.

Pay range in Greater Boston

Yearly pay in Greater Boston by percentile
10th25thMedian75th90th
$99,990$139,310$184,990$232,930$317,690

10% of workers earn less than the first figure and 10% earn more than the last.

What you’d do

  • Serve as a link between management and employees by handling questions, interpreting and administering contracts and helping resolve work-related problems.
  • Plan, direct, supervise, and coordinate work activities of subordinates and staff relating to employment, compensation, labor relations, and employee relations.
  • Perform difficult staffing duties, including dealing with understaffing, refereeing disputes, firing employees, and administering disciplinary procedures.
  • Represent organization at personnel-related hearings and investigations.
  • Negotiate bargaining agreements and help interpret labor contracts.
  • Advise managers on organizational policy matters, such as equal employment opportunity and sexual harassment, and recommend needed changes.

AI and this job

AI exposure: how much of this job’s work AI tools can do or help with, based on national research. It is not a forecast of job loss.

Higher exposure84 of 100

The index averages three national research measures, each shown as a percentile of all jobs:

  • AIOE 88
  • Language-model AIOE 90
  • GPTs-are-GPTs 73

Observed AI use today: Little or none (Anthropic Economic Index)

AI exposure is higher for this job, but observed AI use is little or none so far. AI tools can help with drafting messages, summarizing contracts, and handling routine paperwork. The hardest parts, such as settling disputes, firing, representing the organization at hearings, and negotiating labor agreements, rely on trust and judgment.

Likely to change

  • Drafting policy messages and employee communications
  • Summarizing contracts and routine HR paperwork

Still relies on people

  • Settling disputes and handling discipline or firings
  • Negotiating labor agreements and attending hearings

Written with AI from the data on this page. Check with a career coach before making a decision.

Next steps from here

Related jobs that build on what you already do.

  • Architectural and Engineering Managers

    Managing staff, coordinating work across groups, and making approval decisions carry over. This move needs technical project knowledge, pays more, and has lower AI exposure, but slower growth.

    Pay difference
    +$20,140 median
    AI exposure
    Moderate
    MA growth
    +0.1%
    To get started
    Bachelor's degree

Training near Boston

College and school programs in the Boston metro area that lead to this job, with 2023-24 completions (IPEDS).

61 programs near Boston (plus 42 graduate)

Related occupations

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