Public Relations Specialists
Marketing, Sales and ServiceO*NET 27-3031.00United States
Promote or create an intended public image for individuals, groups, or organizations. May write or select material for release to various communications media.
- Median annual earnings
- $74,763
- Projected change
- +8%
- Typical education
- Bachelor's degree
- Employment
- 313.27K jobs
50th percentile, United States
2025 to 2035
90.9% of the workforce
Growing to 338.19K by 2035
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These courses and certificates are connected through catalog career relationships and Lightcast skill tags.
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The work
What public relations specialists do
Tasks reported for this occupation, ordered by how often they come up in the role.
- Respond to requests for information from the media or designate an appropriate spokesperson or information source.
- Write press releases or other media communications to promote clients.
- Plan or direct development or communication of programs to maintain favorable public or stockholder perceptions of an organization's accomplishments, agenda, or environmental responsibility.
- Post and update content on the company's Web site and social media outlets.
- Establish or maintain cooperative relationships with representatives of community, consumer, employee, or public interest groups.
- Confer with other managers to identify trends or key group interests or concerns or to provide advice on business decisions.
- Coach client representatives in effective communication with the public or with employees.
- Study the objectives, promotional policies, or needs of organizations to develop public relations strategies that will influence public opinion or promote ideas, products, or services.
- Prepare or edit organizational publications, such as employee newsletters or stockholders' reports, for internal or external audiences.
- Arrange public appearances, lectures, contests, or exhibits for clients to increase product or service awareness or to promote goodwill.
- Develop plans or materials to communicate organizational activities that are beneficial to the environment, public safety, or other important social issues.
- Plan or conduct market or public opinion research to test products or determine potential for product success, communicating results to client or management.
- Confer with production or support personnel to produce or coordinate production of advertisements or promotions.
- Consult with advertising agencies or staff to arrange promotional campaigns in all types of media for products, organizations, or individuals.
- Prepare or deliver speeches to further public relations objectives.
Pay and outlook
What the job pays and where it is heading
Annual earnings range
Reported earnings by percentile, United States
- 10th percentile
- $43,320
- 25th percentile
- $55,779
- 50th percentile
- $74,763
- 75th percentile
- $101,610
- 90th percentile
- $141,177
The gold marker shows the median. Half earn more than $74,763 and half earn less.
Employment outlook
2025 to 2035 projection
+8%faster than average
2025313,273 jobs
2035 projected338,186 jobs
24,913 more positions over the decade, before replacement hiring.
Preparation
Education levels
What people currently working in the career hold. These are not entry requirements.
- Bachelor's degree
- 90.9%
- Master's or Professional degree
- 9.1%
Skills
Skills employers ask for
Technical skills appearing most often in job postings for this occupation.
How the work gets done
Core competencies
Broad capabilities associated with strong performance in this occupation.
- Speaking
- Talking to others to convey information effectively.
- 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.
- Social Perceptiveness
- Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
- Reading Comprehension
- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
- Writing
- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
- 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.
- Systems Evaluation
- Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
- Negotiation
- Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
- Service Orientation
- Actively looking for ways to help people.
- Systems Analysis
- Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
- Monitoring
- Monitoring/Assessing performance of yourself, other individuals, or organizations to make improvements or take corrective action.
- Instructing
- Teaching others how to do something.
- Learning Strategies
- Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
- Operations Analysis
- Analyzing needs and product requirements to create a design.
In the market
Job titles and employers
Recent job postings in United StatesCommon job titles
- 01Communications Specialists3,619 postings
- 02Communications Coordinators1,661 postings
- 03Marketing Communications Specialists859 postings
- 04Community Liaisons581 postings
- 05Communications Interns565 postings
- 06Public Relations Specialists485 postings
- 07Communications Associates473 postings
- 08Internal Communications Specialists407 postings
- 09Telecommunications Specialists372 postings
- 10Marketing and Communications Specialists328 postings
- 11Media Buyers317 postings
- 12Media Planners276 postings
- 13Digital Communications Specialists245 postings
- 14Strategic Communications Specialists244 postings
- 15Corporate Communications Specialists213 postings
- 16Emergency Communications Specialists204 postings
- 17Public Relations and Communications Specialists173 postings
- 18IT Communications Specialists172 postings
- 19Communications Advisors153 postings
- 20Marketing Communications Interns148 postings
Top employers
- 01Publicis Groupe303 postings
- 02DLA Piper294 postings
- 03Robert Half132 postings
- 04Maximus118 postings
- 05Amazon112 postings
- 06Cengage Learning108 postings
- 07Tlc Creative Solutions106 postings
- 08Accenture89 postings
- 09Cci Systems81 postings
- 10GE Aerospace76 postings
- 11Deloitte69 postings
- 12Edjoin.Org59 postings
- 13GovCIO59 postings
- 14Herc58 postings
- 15Merck & Co.58 postings
- 16Booz Allen Hamilton54 postings
- 17Cai54 postings
- 18Beacon Hill Staffing Group52 postings
- 19Horizon Media52 postings
- 20Public Consulting Group50 postings
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