Human Resources Specialists build social perceptiveness, service orientation and judgment and decision making skills that carry over to other work. Below are 25 careers ranked by how closely their skills match, with pay from BLS May 2025. The closest match is Human Resources Managers (94%).
Updated October 2026 · Data: O*NET 31.0 and BLS OEWS May 2025 · How we match careers
Sorted by skill match.
| # | Career | Skill match | Median pay | Pay change | Extra education |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Human Resources Managers | 94% | $149,280 | +97% | None |
| 2 | Compensation and Benefits Managers | 90% | $149,230 | +97% | None |
| 3 | First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers | 89% | $69,500 | −8% | None |
| 4 | Social and Community Service Managers | 85% | $80,390 | +6% | None |
| 5 | Training and Development Managers | 84% | $133,000 | +75% | None |
| 6 | Compliance Managers | 84% | $141,900Pay for the broader BLS group “Managers, All Other” | Not compared | None |
| 7 | Executive Secretaries and Executive Administrative Assistants | 84% | $76,590 | +1% | None |
| 8 | Administrative Services Managers | 83% | $114,130 | +50% | None |
| 9 | First-Line Supervisors of Non-Retail Sales Workers | 83% | $87,520 | +15% | None |
| 10 | Financial Managers | 82% | $166,570 | +119% | None |
Compared with Human Resources Specialists, median $75,940. Skill match is our estimate (0–99) from O*NET 31.0 skills, knowledge, work activities and interests, adjusted for preparation and big pay drops. Pay: BLS OEWS May 2025, national median.
How important each skill is in work as human resources specialists (O*NET importance, scale 1–5).
The gaps that show up most often across your top 10 matches.
Free and low-cost training: use the CareerOneStop training finder below.
A concrete first step, the skills to add, and the hard parts of each job, from O*NET 31.0 education, training and work context data.
94% skill match · $149,280 · +97% pay
Systems Evaluation · Management of Personnel Resources · Management of Financial Resources
90% skill match · $149,230 · +97% pay
Operations Analysis · Management of Financial Resources · Systems Evaluation
89% skill match · $69,500 · −8% pay
Operations Analysis · Quality Control Analysis · Troubleshooting
If you want to stay close to what you do now, these roles are the nearest.
The closest matches are Human Resources Managers (94% skill match, median $149,280), Compensation and Benefits Managers (90% skill match, median $149,230) and First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers (89% skill match, median $69,500), based on O*NET 31.0 data and BLS May 2025 pay.
Among the 25 matches, 19 pay more than human resources specialists at the median. The biggest increases: Financial Managers (+119%, $166,570), Human Resources Managers (+97%, $149,280) and Compensation and Benefits Managers (+97%, $149,230).
24 of the 25 matches usually need no more education than you have now, based on O*NET Job Zones. One usually needs a graduate degree: Education Administrators, Postsecondary.
We compare the importance of skills, knowledge, work activities and interests in O*NET 31.0 for your job and every other career, then adjust for extra preparation and big pay drops. The full method is on our Methodology page.