Public Relations as a Career

Description of the Job

Public relations specialists are responsible for growing, shaping, and maintaining a company's reputation and brand. Public relations specialists are tasked with identifying media opportunities, maintaining existing media relations, and promoting positive public awareness of the company through external communications. Public relations specialists can work in-house or for an agency.

Fast Facts

  • Number of hours per weekGenerally 40 hours
  • Average starting pay$51k Nationally, $59k in the Bay Area
  • Amount of travel requiredMay be required, depends on project or company
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Roles & Responsibilities

  • Write and edit speeches or Press releases
  • Respond to media inquiries or clients
  • Manage the company’s image if the company faces bad press or public complaints
  • Assist marketing teams with their campaigns 
  • Plan and direct PR programs
  • Ensure brand consistency across company
 

Skills Needed

  • Writing & editing skills: PR specialists are responsible for writing, editing and sometimes the publishing of public announcements and memos within and outside of the company. They often work with highly ranked individuals within companies and speak for the company as a whole.
  • Work under pressure: PR specialists often help companies deal with crisis situations. 
  • Able to represent a company professional: a PR specialist helps to make the company look good, so it’s important to act professionally when dealing with the image of the company
  • Staying up to date with trends: PR specialists use the latest trends to their advantage in order to sway the public opinion.

Steps to Enter The Field

  • The best degrees to have for a PR specialist include a bachelor’s in Marketing or Public Relations. Other majors such as communications, English, Journalism, or business are helpful too
  • Internships at PR consulting firms or within a PR department at a company. 
  • Staying up to date with the news cycle and trends. This will be helpful during interviews. 
  • Take courses in public speaking, advertising, marketing, business administration and creative writing.
  • Figure out what field you would like to work in. PR specialists can work in business, politics, sports, and many other industries. 
  • Getting certifications or attending conferences can help you grow your knowledge of the industry.

Landscape of the Field & Companies in the Field

  • PR specialists can work within a company, at a consulting firm, or even on their own. 
  • Generally speaking, corporate companies tend to be of a large size and possess significant funding when they have in house PR.
  • At a smaller company, they likely won’t have a specific PR specialist role. However, they may have general marketing roles, which will likely include some PR roles. 
  • This website provides a ranking of the best 250 PR consulting firms.

External Resources to Learn More & Develop Skills

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