Fundraisers vs Human Resources Specialists: $73K vs $76K Median Pay

Fundraisers vs Human Resources Specialists: what changes?

Consider Fundraisers if you want to organize activities to raise funds or otherwise solicit and gather monetary donations or other gifts for an organization. Consider Human Resources Specialists if you would rather recruit, screen, interview, or place individuals within an organization. Both list bachelor's degree; compare training and prior experience separately.

Try this next: Compare three local entry-level postings for Fundraisers and Human Resources Specialists. List the duties, credentials, prior experience, and paid training each employer actually asks for. Try a supervised class or sample project from each field before choosing a program.

BLS 2025 wages and 2025–2035 projections. National medians are not starting offers. Occupation size is not a count of vacancies. View the BLS data.

Compare the practical differences

Fundraisers

National median pay (2025): $72,550
Route into the job: Bachelor's degree
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate: Identify and build relationships with potential donors.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 10,000

Know before you choose

Review the full career brief for day-to-day working conditions.

See the full Fundraisers brief

Human Resources Specialists

National median pay (2025): $75,940
Route into the job: Bachelor's degree
Prior related experience: No prior related occupation is typically required; employer requirements vary.
Training and licensing: BLS does not list a separate on-the-job training requirement. Employers may still provide orientation and role-specific training.
Work to investigate: Interpret and explain human resources policies, procedures, laws, standards, or regulations.
Annual openings (2025–2035): 73,700

Know before you choose

Review the full career brief for day-to-day working conditions.

See the full Human Resources Specialists brief

How the national numbers differ

Human Resources Specialists has the edge on annual openings

Human Resources Specialists is at 73,700 annual openings, compared with 10,000 annual openings for Fundraisers.

Human Resources Specialists has the edge on projected growth

Human Resources Specialists is at 6.4% projected growth, compared with 5.5% projected growth for Fundraisers.

Human Resources Specialists has the edge on median pay

Human Resources Specialists is at $75,940, compared with $72,550 for Fundraisers.

60.9/ 100

Fundraisers

72.2/ 100

Human Resources Specialists

Each available metric is ranked from 0 to 100 against the careers on ChooseField. The weighted average uses this profile: pay 30%, growth 25%, openings 30%, preparation level 15%. Missing values are not scored as zero; their weights are redistributed across available metrics. Occupation size has zero weight: employment is not accessible vacancies. Preparation categories do not measure admission difficulty or years without earnings. The score summarizes national measures; local opportunities and personal fit still need separate consideration.

Detailed evidence