Why is HR specialisation looked down upon despite being a critical business function?

HR specialisation faces social bias in Indian MBA circles, but the stigma is rooted in outdated perceptions that don't match reality at top programmes. Three factors drive the bias.

First, HR is seen as a "support" function rather than a revenue-generating core function like sales or product management. Second, most employees only encounter tactical HR work (recruitment screening, exit formalities, payroll queries) and never see the strategic business partnering that top-tier HRM graduates actually do.

Third, the pay gap at non-Tier-1 schools is real, entry-level HR roles there pay ₹6-8 LPA while finance and consulting peers start at ₹10-12 LPA, cementing the "lower prestige" assumption.

The Reality at Top HR Programmes

XLRI Jamshedpur, TISS Mumbai, and MDI Gurgaon place HRM graduates into strategic roles that look nothing like the operational HR work most people imagine. Class of 2024 at XLRI saw HR graduates join Hindustan Unilever, ITC, Aditya Birla Group, and Tata Steel as management trainees in talent strategy, organisational design, and leadership development, not as campus recruiters. The average package for XLRI's HRM batch was ₹28.6 LPA, within ₹2-3 LPA of the BM batch, and top offers crossed ₹40 LPA from consulting firms like Deloitte, PwC, and EY for their people advisory practices.

TISS Mumbai's HRM programme placed 100% of its 2024 batch with a median of ₹22.5 LPA, with roles spanning workforce analytics, change management, and HR transformation projects.

MDI's HR batch saw Accenture Strategy, McKinsey Implementation, and BCG Platinion recruit for their people and organisation verticals, roles that require the same analytical rigour as strategy consulting.

Why the Bias Persists

The stigma survives because most MBA aspirants only see HR through the lens of their undergraduate campus placements or corporate internships, where HR teams handle administrative work. They don't witness the boardroom-level HR business partner roles that drive M&A integration, culture transformation, or talent pipeline strategy at Fortune 500 firms.

From Reddit, we learnt that many CAT 99+%ile scorers avoid HR specialisation purely due to peer perception, not actual career data.

Career Progression and C-Suite Paths

Strategic HR roles offer clear paths to CHRO positions, which sit on executive committees alongside CFOs and COOs. Tata Group, Mahindra, and Reliance have elevated CHROs to board-level influence over the past decade, reflecting HR's growing strategic weight. Consulting firms now run dedicated people advisory practices, Mercer, Korn Ferry, and Aon recruit heavily from XLRI and TISS for roles that blend data science, organisational psychology, and business strategy.

If you're deciding between HR and other specialisations, compare colleges on placement outcomes by function, not just overall averages. The top three HR programmes (XLRI, TISS, MDI) deliver outcomes that rival general management programmes at Tier-2 IIMs, but only if you're targeting strategic roles at large corporates or consulting firms.

Outside these schools, the pay gap and role quality drop sharply.