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The differences between chief communications officers and assistant directors, communications can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a chief communications officer, becoming an assistant director, communications takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a chief communications officer has an average salary of $115,086, which is higher than the $54,965 average annual salary of an assistant director, communications.
The top three skills for a chief communications officer include crisis communications, external communications and CCO. The most important skills for an assistant director, communications are customer service, property management, and professional development.
| Chief Communications Officer | Assistant Director, Communications | |
| Yearly salary | $115,086 | $54,965 |
| Hourly rate | $55.33 | $26.43 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 80,711 | 36,340 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 42 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
A chief communications officer oversees internal relations and researches public employees. Most of the chief communications officers spend a massive amount of time interacting with the chief marketing officers of their organization. They are responsible for management issues and may offer risk management in industries that are prone to hazard, risk, and product failure. They provide wise counsel to the senior team whenever major decisions are debated. They act in many ways as representatives of many publics who are not in the room when these decisions are made. These officers also help the organization translate strategy to action.
An assistant communications director is responsible for managing the communicative operations across the company, handling the dissemination of information among employees, and releasing management announcements to media platforms. Assistant communications directors draft project techniques and strategies, as well as monitoring social media contents and press releases. They also identify business opportunities by analyzing recent trends that would generate more revenue resources and increase the company's profits. An assistant communications director must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in assessing business information to prevent miscommunications and negative publications.
Chief communications officers and assistant directors, communications have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Chief Communications Officer | Assistant Director, Communications | |
| Average salary | $115,086 | $54,965 |
| Salary range | Between $63,000 And $208,000 | Between $30,000 And $100,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | - | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | - | Pace University |
| Best paying industry | - | Government |
There are a few differences between a chief communications officer and an assistant director, communications in terms of educational background:
| Chief Communications Officer | Assistant Director, Communications | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Communication | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between chief communications officers' and assistant directors, communications' demographics:
| Chief Communications Officer | Assistant Director, Communications | |
| Average age | 42 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 59.5% Female, 40.5% | Male, 34.1% Female, 65.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 5.1% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 8.4% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 5.2% White, 64.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 16% | 12% |