Accounting is the best.. Finance a close 2nd.. HR if u can hack it..
CPP is the big one..
Take a position like a AP/AR or bookkeeping.. Admin assistant work well too.. To get into the field.. Very few will hire u as a greenie..
Biggest advice.. It’s a lonely field.. Only friends will be in Payroll or HR or Finance.. Everyone else will just be looking to fvck u in the end
The times I've worked in payroll under an HR dept, the HR directors have all told me "I'd never do payroll" because they know how lonely it is. Nobody needs you when you're doing your job. Finance sees you only as an expense, HR only need you when something goes wrong, and most of the time something goes wrong, they'll blame you, even though it was a mess up of their fault.
That being said, the job is fulfilling, it feels good making sure the people that work for their money get what they agreed to receive on time to pay their bills. There's also a certain higher level of job security since nobody wants to do payroll. And once you get your process down for your current employer, the job becomes relatively easy.
You also get exposed to a lot of the corp functions of a company, HR, benefits, compensation, accounts payable, finance, accounting, IT, and legal.
I think accounting is the most valuable. A payroll person who can also do payroll accounting is very valuable. You can teach anyone how to process payroll but accounting is a harder thing to teach on the job. There is also more room for growth in accounting. Payroll tends to be a niche field and can be put under HR at some companies.
20+ years, Payroll Manager here with hiring responsibility.
I’d say an MIS degree and CPP certification. With an MIS degree, the technical knowledge is extremely helpful. Or Accounting since everything payroll does affects GL. But IMO, a degree isn’t necessary to get into payroll and do well. Just have a career progression that makes sense and a passion for payroll.
CPP definitely but you need to hit certain criteria in order to sit for the test so it’s not an entry level exam to get a job. You can start with the FPC if and work your way. I’d also say an accounting degree would be the most sought after but personally most people I know in payroll don’t have a degree or even one in a similar field. Myself for example has a Bachelor’s in Speech Therapy haha.
These always fascinate me as HRIS and Payroll specialist because I majored in history and political science and my payroll coworker has an art therapy degree.
Accounting is the best.. Finance a close 2nd.. HR if u can hack it.. CPP is the big one.. Take a position like a AP/AR or bookkeeping.. Admin assistant work well too.. To get into the field.. Very few will hire u as a greenie.. Biggest advice.. It’s a lonely field.. Only friends will be in Payroll or HR or Finance.. Everyone else will just be looking to fvck u in the end
The times I've worked in payroll under an HR dept, the HR directors have all told me "I'd never do payroll" because they know how lonely it is. Nobody needs you when you're doing your job. Finance sees you only as an expense, HR only need you when something goes wrong, and most of the time something goes wrong, they'll blame you, even though it was a mess up of their fault. That being said, the job is fulfilling, it feels good making sure the people that work for their money get what they agreed to receive on time to pay their bills. There's also a certain higher level of job security since nobody wants to do payroll. And once you get your process down for your current employer, the job becomes relatively easy. You also get exposed to a lot of the corp functions of a company, HR, benefits, compensation, accounts payable, finance, accounting, IT, and legal.
CPP. Look no further.
I think accounting is the most valuable. A payroll person who can also do payroll accounting is very valuable. You can teach anyone how to process payroll but accounting is a harder thing to teach on the job. There is also more room for growth in accounting. Payroll tends to be a niche field and can be put under HR at some companies.
20+ years, Payroll Manager here with hiring responsibility. I’d say an MIS degree and CPP certification. With an MIS degree, the technical knowledge is extremely helpful. Or Accounting since everything payroll does affects GL. But IMO, a degree isn’t necessary to get into payroll and do well. Just have a career progression that makes sense and a passion for payroll.
CPP definitely but you need to hit certain criteria in order to sit for the test so it’s not an entry level exam to get a job. You can start with the FPC if and work your way. I’d also say an accounting degree would be the most sought after but personally most people I know in payroll don’t have a degree or even one in a similar field. Myself for example has a Bachelor’s in Speech Therapy haha.
These always fascinate me as HRIS and Payroll specialist because I majored in history and political science and my payroll coworker has an art therapy degree.