What do they do?
Promote or create an intended public image for individuals, groups, or organizations. May write or select material for release to various communications media. May specialize in using social media.
Also known as:
Communication Specialist, Communications Specialist, Community Relations Coordinator, Corporate Communications Specialist, Information and Communications Specialist, Information Specialist, Marketing Coordinator, Media Planner, Media Relations Specialist, Media Specialist, Press Agent, Public Affairs Officer, Public Affairs Specialist, Public Information Officer, Public Information Specialist, Public Relations Consultant (PR Consultant), Public Relations Coordinator (PR Coordinator), Public Relations Specialist (PR Specialist)
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Ranks #64 in job growth rate600Job Openings
Ranks #22 in net job growth
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- Bachelor's degree (57%)
- Master's degree (23%)
- Some college, no degree (7%)
- Doctorate or Professional Degree (4%)
- Associate's degree (4%)
- High school diploma equivalent (4%)
- Less than high school diploma (<1%)
Most Popular Majors that prepare Public Relations Specialists
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#1
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Degrees Granted
4,716
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Female Students
2,890
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Male Students
1,826
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Median Starting Salary
$40,000
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#2
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Degrees Granted
417
-
Female Students
343
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Male Students
74
-
Median Starting Salary
$41,400
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#3
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Degrees Granted
22
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Female Students
16
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Male Students
6
-
Median Starting Salary
$41,400
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#4
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Degrees Granted
7
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Female Students
1
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Male Students
6
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Median Starting Salary
$41,400
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People in this career often have these skills:
- Active Listening - Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times.
- Speaking - Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- Reading Comprehension - Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Writing - Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- Social Perceptiveness - Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Critical Thinking - Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
- Coordination - Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
- Time Management - Managing one's own time and the time of others.
- Persuasion - Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
- Judgment and Decision Making - Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
- Active Learning - Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
- Complex Problem Solving - Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
People in this career often know a lot about:
- Communications and Media - Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
- English Language - Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
- Administration and Management - Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
- Customer and Personal Service - Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
- Sales and Marketing - Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
- Computers and Electronics - Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
People in this career often have talent in:
- Oral Comprehension - The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
- Oral Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
- Written Expression - The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
- Speech Recognition - The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
- Speech Clarity - The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
- Written Comprehension - The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
- Problem Sensitivity - The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
- Deductive Reasoning - The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
- Fluency of Ideas - The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
- Originality - The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
- Inductive Reasoning - The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
- Near Vision - The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
People in this career often do these activities:
- Provide educational information to the public.
- Develop promotional strategies or plans.
- Write advertising or promotional material.
- Collaborate with others in marketing activities.
- Coach others.
- Edit written materials.
- Write informational material.
- Coordinate logistics for productions or events.
- Conduct market research.
- Inform viewers, listeners, or audiences.
- Promote products, activities, or organizations.
This page includes data from:
Career data: O*NET 28.3 Database
by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (“USDOL/ETA”). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA
Occupation statistics: USDOL U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment Statistics
Videos: CareerOneStop, USDOL/ETA and the Minnesota Department of Employment & Economic Development
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