Hiring, pay, policies and the hard conversations. A degree, an exam, and a designation that carries weight.
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Pay, the path, pros and cons and the facts on one printable page. Good for a wall or a guidance counsellor.
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What you earn and what it costs to get there.
Typical
$85,000
Coordinator
$54,000
Manager
$124,000
Job Bank's national median is $40.87 an hour, about $85,000 a year full time. Government, banks and large companies pay at the top. Small businesses and charities pay at the bottom. Directors and vice-presidents of HR (human resources) earn well above this range.
$50,000 to $60,000
HR (human resources) coordinator or assistant
Big cities and the federal government pay the most at entry level. A designation on your resume adds a few thousand dollars from the start.
$100,000 to $124,000
HR (human resources) manager after about 8 to 10 years
Directors at large companies and chief people officers can earn $150,000 and up. Specialists in compensation and labour relations are paid a premium.
Tuition, fees, exams and kit. Not rent, food or travel
The low end is a two year college HR (human resources) diploma at the cheapest domestic rate, plus the designation exam fees and a first year of association membership. The high end is a four year university degree at the top of the tuition range with the same designation costs on top. Many employers pay the designation exams and the membership dues once you are hired, so the real bill often lands well under the high figure. The dues repeat every year for as long as you hold the designation.
Typical student debt matches any business degree. Many employers pay the designation fees once you are hired.
Pension
Defined-benefit plans in government, hospitals and universities.
Health and dental
You will know the plan better than anyone, because you administer it.
Hybrid work
Common, though hiring and investigations are often in person.
Paid professional development
Employers often cover designation fees and conferences.
The exact path from high school to qualified.
A degree or diploma, a knowledge exam, then experience to earn the full designation.
High school
Grades 11 and 12
English, business and any course with writing and presenting.
Post-secondary
2 to 4 years
A 4-year degree in HR (human resources), business or psychology, or a 2-year college diploma. Graduates of other degrees often add a 1-year graduate certificate in HR management.
Knowledge exam
After graduation
In Ontario, the CHRP (Certified Human Resources Professional) knowledge exam through HRPA (Human Resources Professionals Association) plus an Ontario employment law exam. In the rest of Canada, the National Knowledge Exam through CPHR (Chartered Professionals in Human Resources) Canada's provincial bodies. Accredited programs can waive the exam.
Coordinator to generalist
2 to 4 years
Onboarding, benefits, records, recruiting support. Then broader files: performance, policy, employee relations.
Full designation
About 3 years of experience
The CHRL (Certified Human Resources Leader) in Ontario or CPHR (Chartered Professional in Human Resources) elsewhere adds an experience requirement and, in Ontario, a second exam.
English
Policies, letters, investigation reports.
Business
Payroll, budgets, how organizations run.
Law
Employment standards, human rights, privacy.
Psychology or social science
Why people behave the way they do at work.
You do not need a licence to work in HR (human resources) anywhere in Canada. In Ontario, though, the HRPA (Human Resources Professionals Association) is a regulator under provincial law: it grants the CHRP (Certified Human Resources Professional), CHRL (Certified Human Resources Leader) and CHRE (Certified Human Resources Executive) titles, and it can discipline members. In the other nine provinces and the territories, CPHR (Chartered Professionals in Human Resources) Canada's member associations grant the CPHR designation. Employers increasingly list a designation as required for mid-level jobs. The titles do not transfer automatically between Ontario and the rest of Canada.
Ontario
York, Toronto Metropolitan University and McMaster have HR (human resources) degrees. Seneca, Humber, Sheridan and Conestoga run diplomas and graduate certificates accredited toward the CHRP (Certified Human Resources Professional).
Quebec
HEC Montréal (the business school attached to Université de Montréal) and Concordia offer HR degrees in French and English.
West
University of Alberta, University of Calgary, Simon Fraser and BCIT (British Columbia Institute of Technology).
Atlantic
Saint Mary's and Dalhousie in Halifax, University of New Brunswick.
Things you don't need, but that help.
Compensation and benefits
Pay grids, bonuses, pension plans. Number-heavy and well paid.
Labour relations
Negotiating and managing union contracts. Highest-paid HR (human resources) specialty in unionized industries.
HR analytics
Turnover, engagement and pay data. Needs spreadsheet and some statistics skills.
Talent acquisition
Leading recruiting for a company. Overlaps with the recruiter career.
Co-op placement
Many HR (human resources) degrees and diplomas offer co-op. It is how most coordinators get hired.
French
Required for federal government HR jobs and national companies.
Payroll certification
The National Payroll Institute's certification is a quick add-on for small-company HR roles.
Master's degree
In industrial relations or HR management. Helps for director and public-sector roles.
Day to day, pros and cons, where you'd work.
Morning inbox: a manager asking how to handle a late employee, a benefits question, a job offer to draft. An interview panel for an open role. A meeting on the new vacation policy. After lunch, an investigation interview about a harassment complaint, taken carefully, with notes. Updating the HR (human resources) system with a promotion and a leave. Late in the day, sitting with a manager while they deliver a termination. It is a people job, but a lot of it is documents.
The good
The hard parts
Things people don't tell you.
The HRPA (Human Resources Professionals Association) is a regulatory body under an Ontario statute, with a complaints and discipline process like other professions. Its CHRP (Certified Human Resources Professional) knowledge exam has 175 multiple-choice questions, plus a separate 110-question exam on Ontario employment law.
Ontario uses the CHRP (Certified Human Resources Professional) and CHRL (Certified Human Resources Leader). The other nine provinces and the territories use the CPHR (Chartered Professional in Human Resources), backed by an association of about 31,000 members. Move provinces and you may need to re-register.
Every province publishes its employment standards law online, free. In Ontario it covers minimum wage, hours of work, overtime, vacation, public holidays, leaves and termination. HR (human resources) specialists read it constantly, and so can you.
Last checked September 2026. Pay figures are typical full-time annual amounts in Canadian dollars, based on Government of Canada Job Bank wage data and published salary grids. They vary by province, employer and experience. Tuition is for domestic students.