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Public Relations Specialists

Career Overview

Career Description

  Engage in promoting or creating good will for individuals, groups, or organizations by writing or selecting favorable publicity material and releasing it through various communications media. May prepare and arrange displays, and make speeches.  

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Wage Data

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Career Outlook

 

Employment is projected to grow faster than average; however, keen competition is expected for entry-level jobs.

Employment change. Employment of public relations specialists is expected to grow by 18 percent from 2006 to 2016, faster than average for all occupations. The need for good public relations in an increasingly competitive business environment should spur demand for these workers in organizations of all types and sizes. Those with additional language capabilities also are in great demand.

Employment in public relations firms should grow as firms hire contractors to provide public relations services rather than support full-time staff.

Among detailed industries, the largest job growth will continue to be in advertising and related services.

Job prospects. Keen competition likely will continue for entry-level public relations jobs, as the number of qualified applicants is expected to exceed the number of job openings. Many people are attracted to this profession because of the high profile nature of the work. Opportunities should be best for college graduates who combine a degree in journalism, public relations, advertising, or another communications-related field with a public relations internship or other related work experience. Applicants without the appropriate educational background or work experience will face the toughest obstacles.

Additional job opportunities should result from the need to replace public relations specialists who retire or leave the occupation for other reasons.

 

Employment Overview

 

Public relations specialists held about 243,000 jobs in 2006. They are concentrated in service-providing industries such as advertising and related services; health care and social assistance; educational services; and government. Others work for communications firms, financial institutions, and government agencies.

Public relations specialists are concentrated in large cities, where press services and other communications facilities are readily available and many businesses and trade associations have their headquarters. Many public relations consulting firms, for example, are in New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington, DC. There is a trend, however, for public relations jobs to be dispersed throughout the Nation, closer to clients.

 

Job Zone Description

  Job Zone 4 - Preparation needed
These occupations often involve coordinating, supervising, managing, and/or training others.
 
  Overall Experience  
  A minimum of two to four years of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant needs four years of college and several years of accounting work to be considered qualified.  
  Education  
  Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.  
  Job Training  
  Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.  
  Examples  
  Accountants, chefs and head cooks, computer programmers, historians, and police detectives.  

Related Occupations

1.Advertising Sales Agents 
2.Demonstrators and Product Promoters 
3.Market Research Analysts 
4.Real Estate Sales Agents 
5.Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products 
6.Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Technical and Scientific Products 
7.Wholesale and Retail Buyers, Except Farm Products 

Additional Resources

 

A comprehensive directory of schools offering degree programs, a sequence of study in public relations, a brochure on careers in public relations, and an online brochure entitled Where Shall I Go to Study Advertising and Public Relations?, are available from:

  • Public Relations Society of America, Inc., 33 Maiden Lane, New York, NY 10038-5150. Internet: http://www.prsa.org

For information on accreditation for public relations professionals and the IABC Student Web site, contact:

  • International Association of Business Communicators, One Hallidie Plaza, Suite 600, San Francisco, CA 94102.

 
Sources: O*Net data version 12.0
Occupational Outlook Handbook
Department of Labor
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