Are you confident speaking in front of a large crowd? Do you have excellent grammatical and literacy skills? Are you a natural born communicator?
A public relations specialist has the very important job of creating and maintaining a favourable public image for the organization that they work for/represent. If you are thinking of becoming a public relations specialist a, then we recommend getting experience working in your local or school paper and then completing a bachelors degree!
A public relations specialist, or also called a communications specialist or media specialist, is responsible for creating and maintaining a favourable public image for the organization that they work for/represent. They craft media releases and develop social media programs to shape public perception of their organization and increase awareness of its work and goals. Essentially, they handle an organizations communication with the public, including consumers, investors, reporters and other media specialists. Their typical duties and responsibilities include:
Public relations is about sharing the right information to right the right places and people, to create an excellent brand reputation. There are many reasons why correct public relations are important for any business, including:
Pros:
Cons:
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the employment of Public Relations Specialists is projected to grow 7% from 2019 to 2029. This increase in employment is predicted because organizations will continue to emphasize community outreach and customer service relations as a way to maintain and enhance their reputation and visibility. Public opinion can change quickly and, as consequently, public relations specialists will be needed to respond to new development and maintain and organizations reputation.
Furthermore, the use of social media is expected to create opportunities for public relations specialists are they try to appeal to consumers and the general public in new wats.
To become a public relations specialist you will typically need a bachelor’s degree. Although there is not one single degree that is guaranteed for success, employers are likely to prefer candidates who have degrees in public relations, journalism, communications, English or business. Ideally, candidates will also aim to complete an internship in public relations, or gather experience through communicating with others through a school newspaper, this demonstrates that they have the skills needed to be successful at PR.
According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the median annual wage for a public relations specialist in the United States was $62,810. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $35,350 per annum and the highest 10 percent earned more than $118,210.
The highest paying industry was the business, professional, labor, political and similar organizations industry, where the annual median salary was $68,610. The government was the second highest paying industry, where the median average salary was $67,590. This was followed by advertising, public relations and related services ($64,880) and then educational services ($59,360).
Public relations specialists have a lot of responsibility. Although the issues that they solve are out of their control, they have a lot of control over how they resolve, and maintain, a companies reputation. Therefore, public relations specialists are likely to have high autonomy. Public relations specialists are likely to work long hours, especially if things go wrong and they need to rectify a companies reputation! As a result, flexibility is lower.
According to Zippia, the best states to be a public relations specialist, based on average annual salary and the number of jobs available, are:
The worst states, according to Zippia, are Oklahoma, Nebraska, Louisiana, New Mexico and Mississippi.
The largest employer of public relations specialists in the United States was educational services, which employed 13% of all public relations specialist in 2019. Advertising, public relations and related services employed 13%, the government employed 10% and business, professional, labor, political and similar organizations employ 8%.
Public relations specialists usually work in offices. However, they may also deliver speeches, attend meetings and community activities, which will mean they may have to travel and work with/meet lots of different people.
Which personalities tend to succeed and thrive in Public Relations Specialist careers? Based on our research, there is a relatively strong positive correlation between the following personality types and Public Relations Specialist career satisfaction. This doesn’t mean that there aren’t many exceptions, of course, but if you fit into one of the following personality types then we suggest you give strong consideration to a career in Public Relations Specialist.
It is likely that successful public relations specialist will be an ESTJ personality type. ENTJ’s, or otherwise known as ‘the executive’ are decisive, confident and firm. They are sticklers for productivity and are eager to take charge and ensure things done correctly. They also like to work in a logical and methodical way. All of these qualities are suited to a public relations specialist, who is responsible for ensuring a company has a good reputation and needs to ensure that everything is done correctly in order to maintain this reputation.
The become a public relations specialist, a bachelor’s degree is generally required and after, relevant work experience is a huge bonus. Therefore, when a public relations specialist finally secures a job, they will feel a huge sense of accomplishment and mastery. Furthermore, every time a purchasing manager ensures a companies reputation is kept favourable, and increases their profitability based on this, they will feel accomplished.
Public relations specialists play a very important role in an organization. Although their work won’t save the lives of thousands of starving children, it will ensure that businesses remain favourable and profitable. Therefore, from a business and economic perspective, there is high meaning and contribution in the work of a public relations specialist.
Most public relations will work full time. They may often find themselves working overtime and long hours, as well as travelling. Therefore, it can sometimes provide a difficult life fit.
If you are an incredibly organized, decisive and confident, then you will do well as a public relations specialist. You should enjoy (and be REALLY good at) public speaking and communicating with others – as the key part of a public relations specialists job is to talk to members of the public and other coworkers.
A good business mindset will help you to thrive as a public relations specialist, as this means you will always be working with the companies best interests at the forefront of your mind. Typically, attention to detail will allow you to thrive as a public relations specialists. This is because they will need to ensure that every aspect of a companies image is protected. Finally, excellent literacy and grammatical skills are a must, as public relations specialists need to be able to write speeches.
Those who do cannot confidently interact with others may struggle as a public relations specialist, as they will spend a lot of their time interacting and talking to others. Therefore, if you are not a natural leader and don’t feel confident talking in front of strangers, then you are likely to struggle as a public relations specialist. Finally, those who do not pay attention to detail or who do not have a business mindset may struggle.
As well as adequate experience and the relevant education, public relations specialists will need skills and talents such as:
To become a public relations specialist, you will typically need a bachelor’s degree. Although there is not one single degree that is guaranteed for success, employers are likely to prefer candidates who have degrees in public relations, journalism, communications, English or business.
There are no specific certifications of licenses needed to be a public relations specialist in the United States.
A public relations specialist has the very important job of creating and maintaining a favourable public image for the organization that they work for/represent. They craft media releases and develop social media programs to shape public perception of their organization and increase the awareness of its work and goals.
Essentially, they are responsible for an organizations success by handling communication with the public, including consumers, investors, reporters and other media specialists.
If you are thinking of becoming a public relations specialist and you are in high school, then we recommend getting experience working in your local or school paper!
To become a public relations specialist, you will need to achieve a bachelor’s degree. Although there is not one single degree that is guaranteed for success, employers are likely to prefer candidates who have degrees in public relations, journalism, communications, English or business.
Public relations specialists will learn the majority of their skills through their college education. When they secure a junior public relations role, they are likely to receive some training which will further progress their skills and knowledge!
Have a question about Public Relations Specialist careers? If so, our mentors would love to help! Just click on a mentor’s profile below and then fill out the “Ask a Question” form on that page. Your question will then be emailed to the mentor, who can then email you a reply.
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