Are HR certifications worth it? What first-gen and career-changing professionals should know

If you are moving into HR from another department, or you are the first person in your family to work in an office, someone has probably told you to get “the SHRM.” They rarely say what it costs, what it proves, or whether anyone will care.

I hold a J.D. and a master’s in human resource management, so I am the person this credential matters least for. That is exactly why I went and looked at the evidence for the people it might matter most for. Here is what the data shows, and where it runs out.

Who actually goes after an HR certification?

I could not find a survey that splits certification seekers into career changers and lifelong HR people, so I will not pretend there is one. What the available data shows is a pattern by level. A PayScale survey of more than 102,000 people with HR job titles, reported by PIHRA, found about 34% held at least one certification, rising to 35.5% of HR managers and 51.1% of HR vice presidents. Certification gets more common the higher you go. Certifications also help you show up when recruiters search LinkedIn. If you are weighing your own practice, see consulting versus in-house HR.

The credentials are built for different starting points. HRCI describes the aPHR as a knowledge-based credential for people starting an HR career or managing people without formal HR training. The PHR and SPHR are for practitioners already doing the work. SHRM’s SHRM-CP is aimed at early to mid-career professionals in general HR duties, and the SHRM-SCP at strategic-level work.

My read, and it is an inference, not a measured finding: certification works as an on-ramp for people changing into HR and as a screening checkbox for people climbing into management.

Can you get one without a bachelor’s degree?

Yes, for both major bodies. SHRM says you do not need a degree or HR experience for the SHRM-CP, and no degree for the SHRM-SCP, which asks for three years of strategic-level HR work. HRCI’s aPHR requires no HR experience. The PHR counts experience instead of a degree: 1 year with a master’s, 2 years with a bachelor’s, or 4 years with neither.

That matters because the degree gap is real. About 29.6% of Black adults 25 and older held a bachelor’s degree in 2024, against 38.6% of White adults, according to Census data. A credential with no degree requirement reaches people the usual path leaves out. It does not erase the gap, and my piece on dropping degree requirements shows why employers’ stated openness often does not become hiring.

What do the main certifications cost?

Cost is the barrier I would worry about most. These figures come from the issuers’ own pages as of this writing, so confirm them before you pay.

Credential	Degree required?	Cost to sit the exam	Pass rate
aPHR (HRCI)	No, and no experience	$400 with application	71%
PHR (HRCI)	No, but 4 years’ experience without one	$495 with application	72%
SPHR (HRCI)	No, but 7 years’ experience without one	$595 with application	76%
SHRM-CP	No, and no experience	About $350 to $700, by exam, timing and membership	Not published
SHRM-SCP	No, but 3 years strategic work

HRCI pass rates are as of December 31, 2025, from its pass rate page. SHRM lists its fees on its exam fee page, and its 2026 handbook shows somewhat higher figures than that page, so check the current number when you register. Student and military rates are lower.

Exam fees are only the start. SHRM’s handbook says fees do not cover study materials, retests or transfers, and fees are not refundable. Both bodies also require recertification every three years, with 60 credits for SHRM and 60 for the PHR and SPHR (45 for the aPHR).

Do they pass at high rates, and are they challenged?

Most candidates pass, so the exams work more as a baseline than as a way to separate top talent. HRCI also reports 47% for the California-specific PHRca, a useful reminder that state law content is harder to pass. SHRM does not publish a pass rate. I found no published pass rates by race or by degree status for either body, so nobody can say whether the exams pass different groups at different rates.

The credentials have been challenged on two fronts. On validity, a 2012 academic exchange concluded that the value of certification for performance and credibility was still unproven, and flagged the financial ties between SHRM and its certifying institute. SHRM split from HRCI in 2014 and launched its own credentials. On values, SHRM’s 2024 decision to drop “equity” from its diversity work drew a petition with more than 700 signatures, and some practitioners let their certifications lapse. SHRM still reported about 148,000 active holders in May 2025.

Does a certification pay off?

Employers ask for it, and that part is measurable. A study published in 2012 found 15.6% of HR job announcements required or preferred a PHR or SPHR, rising to 25.1% for managerial roles. A 2019 study put the share of postings requiring or preferring an HR certification at nearly 20%. Demand rose with job level and education requirements, which fits the checkbox pattern.

Whether it raises pay is less certain. The salary studies I found compare certified and uncertified people without controlling for experience, so they show association, not cause. Certified people may simply be more ambitious or better placed. I would not sell anyone on a pay bump. Pay varies by location, see the Bay Bridge pay gap for HR managers.

What does it mean if you are first-generation or a person of color?

Three findings matter here.

The drop-off happens at management. In 2025 BLS data, 13.4% of HR workers were Black but 9.8% of HR managers were, and 16.2% were Hispanic against 13.3% of managers. That gap does not prove a barrier. It does sit exactly where certification demand concentrates.

Certification returns look larger for Black and Hispanic workers, from a lower base. A 2020 analysis of Current Population Survey data found certification-only holders earned about 28% more (Black) and 26% more (Hispanic) than peers with neither credential, against about 18% for White workers. Black certified workers still earned less in absolute terms. The analysis covers all occupations, not HR, and did not test statistical significance.

A credential does not replace a network. A nonprofit’s report on first-generation graduates, covered by The 74, found referred candidates were four times more likely to be hired. A certificate gets you past a filter. It does not hand you the introduction, so pair it with the plan in my guide to getting a referral without a network, and read how first-gen grads are getting in despite vanishing entry-level jobs.

There is a funding answer. The SHRM Foundation grant covers one SHRM-CP or SHRM-SCP exam and the SHRM learning system for members whose employer is not paying. It is not cash, and membership is required. And if you are negotiating an offer, ask the employer to cover the exam. My guide for Black candidates negotiating salary covers how to ask.

Which one should you pick?

Use your starting point, not the brand.

• No degree and no HR experience: the aPHR is the cheapest entry at $400 with no prerequisites.
• No degree, some HR work: the SHRM-CP, which asks for neither a degree nor experience.
• No degree, 4 or more years in HR: the PHR, or the SHRM-SCP if your work is strategic.
• Degree and experience already: check what your target employers list in their postings, and take that one. If none name a certification, spend the money elsewhere.

If your path runs through training or facilitation, build the delivery skills behind online facilitation alongside any certificate.

If you want a plan that fits your degree, your budget and your target roles, book a free 20-minute conversation and bring the job postings you are aiming at. We will check which certification they actually ask for, and whether it is worth buying.

McKinley holds a J.D. but is not a licensed attorney. Articles here are general information, not legal advice. For your specific situation, talk with an employment attorney.

Data current as of September 2026. Sources are linked where each figure appears.