Education Path - Human Resources (CIPD)

Member since 10 November 2024

T. JamesMember27 January 2026 13:43:11

Hello,

I'm an American studying for a Human Resource degree in the US with the goal to move to Ireland in the next 3 years. I'm finishing my associates this summer and unsure if I should continue towards a Bachelors degree or shift towards earning the CIPD (Chartered Institute of Personal and Development) Lvl III and Lvl V Certification.

I understand that the CIPD cert is wildly used in the EU for this field, but also understand that completing my Bachelors here is a solid foundation for my education. I'm trying to gauge what would be the better path; shift my focus more towards the EU certifications so that I'm prepared for the EU job market when I Move or finish my US degree and continue my education once I'm in Ireland.

See also

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Education System in Ireland - 2 Replies

Cynic UK/Netherlands Expert

Member since 15 September 2015

CynicUK/Netherlands Expert30 January 2026 09:13:31

8078

Hi and welcome to the Forum.

CIPD is a chartered HR professional qualification, as you say, recognised by many companies as a base level qualification to work in an HR department; the only drawback to such qualifications is that they are not legally required (I have a similar level Chartered qualification in a different field). My advice would be to successfully finish your degree and then complete your CIPD, it's a more rounded set of qualifications that would help you in a more general management field. While a US high school diploma may be accepted as a prerequisite for employment, or further education in the USA, over here it's pretty unknown as the basis of applying for any kind of management role. I worked for a US multi before I retired and all of our US colleagues on the management team were degree qualified.

I hope this helps.

Cynic

Expat Team