HRCI (Human Resource Certification Institute) offers a wide range of exams, with more than 135,000 professionals certified in 100 countries. The HRCI exams have evolved along with the profession, adding tests in HR disciplines that are broad in scope, yet address the global diversity that the industry represents. The HRCI reports some important numbers to give you some perspective:
PHR: 77,408 certified professionals
SPHR: 53,577 certified professionals
Of those certified, 38 percent serve in specialist roles, whereas 33 percent are managers.
More than 13,000 applicants applied for the exam in the spring 2014.
Approximately 43 percent of test takers choose to self-study in preparation for the exam.
Similar to other professional exams in degree of difficulty, both the PHR and SPHR exams have pass rates that can run between 55 to 60 percent on average.
Texas leads the number of certified by state with approximately 10,833, followed closely by California at 10,778.
This information is useful for you to determine how competitive your market is for human resource jobs and validates that passing this exam will set you apart from the rest.
