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The differences between chief communications officers and communications directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a chief communications officer and a communications director. Additionally, a chief communications officer has an average salary of $115,086, which is higher than the $107,700 average annual salary of a communications director.
The top three skills for a chief communications officer include crisis communications, external communications and CCO. The most important skills for a communications director are web content, press releases, and customer service.
| Chief Communications Officer | Communications Director | |
| Yearly salary | $115,086 | $107,700 |
| Hourly rate | $55.33 | $51.78 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 80,711 | 27,939 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
A communications director is responsible for monitoring and supervising the overall media relations from internal to external communications. A communications director's duties include managing campaigns, providing organizational updates to the employees, supporting social media marketing, developing effective communication strategies to build the organization's reputation, and efficiently leading team members in handling events that represent the business. Communications directors must have strong leadership and communication skills to provide support for the company's daily operations and strategies.
Chief communications officers and communications directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Chief Communications Officer | Communications Director | |
| Average salary | $115,086 | $107,700 |
| Salary range | Between $63,000 And $208,000 | Between $61,000 And $188,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | Nevada |
| Best paying company | - | McKinsey & Company Inc |
| Best paying industry | - | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a chief communications officer and a communications director in terms of educational background:
| Chief Communications Officer | Communications Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Most common major | Communication | Communication |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between chief communications officers' and communications directors' demographics:
| Chief Communications Officer | Communications Director | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 59.5% Female, 40.5% | Male, 40.2% Female, 59.8% |
| 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, 5.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 5.1% White, 75.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 16% | 16% |