A communications assistant helps the work of a PR agency creating content, coming up with publicity campaigns, editing newsletters and press releases, among other things. They contribute to brainstorming ideas, attend events, and monitor media coverage. They are responsible for managing social media as well.
Being a communications assistant is a great opportunity to learn about the life of a PR agency. Mastering the art of influential communication is what makes or breaks leaders, whether they work for the government, for business, non-profit, or entertainment. And this is not day-old wisdom either. Important figures throughout history knew very well the power that comes with persuasion.
The most important takeaway will probably be the fact that PR is not a 9-5 job. It is a 24/7 job. Media dictates the sleep cycles of people working in communications, and if you show your dedication early on as an assistant, the reward will follow soon. Especially now that 34% of PR professionals are about to retire in the next 4-7 years.
What is a Communication Assistant?
What Does a Communication Assistant Do
There are certain skills that many communication assistants have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed compassion, time-management skills and communication skills.
How To Become a Communication Assistant
If you're interested in becoming a communication assistant, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 70.5% of communication assistants have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 6.5% of communication assistants have master's degrees. Even though most communication assistants have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Communication Assistant Career Paths
As you move along in your career, you may start taking on more responsibilities or notice that you've taken on a leadership role. Using our career map, a communication assistant can determine their career goals through the career progression. For example, they could start out with a role such as marketing assistant, progress to a title such as marketing coordinator and then eventually end up with the title marketing manager.
Average Salary for a Communication Assistant
What Am I Worth?
Top Colleges for Communication Assistants
1. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
2. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
3. California State University - Dominguez Hills
Carson, CA • Private
4. Howard University
Washington, DC • Private
5. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
6. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
7. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
8. California State University - Long Beach
Long Beach, CA • Private
9. University of California - San Diego
La Jolla, CA • Private
10. University of Michigan - Ann Arbor
Ann Arbor, MI • Private
Top Skills For a Communication Assistant
The skills section on your resume can be almost as important as the experience section, so you want it to be an accurate portrayal of what you can do. Luckily, we've found all of the skills you'll need so even if you don't have these skills yet, you know what you need to work on. Out of all the resumes we looked through, 14.0% of communication assistants listed prospective residents on their resume, but soft skills such as compassion and time-management skills are important as well.
Choose From 10+ Customizable Communication Assistant Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Communication Assistant templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Communication Assistant resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Communication Assistant Demographics
Communication Assistant Gender Distribution
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among communication assistants, 65.2% of them are women, while 34.8% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among communication assistants is White, which makes up 57.3% of all communication assistants.
- The most common foreign language among communication assistants is Spanish at 48.3%.
Online Courses For Communication Assistant That You May Like
Learn high impact communication skills for emails, group messaging, online meetings, social media & verbal communication...
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Communication Training Course - Develop True Communication Mastery!...
Best States For a Communication Assistant
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a communication assistant. The best states for people in this position are North Dakota, Alaska, New York, and Wisconsin. Communication assistants make the most in North Dakota with an average salary of $46,586. Whereas in Alaska and New York, they would average $45,360 and $41,225, respectively. While communication assistants would only make an average of $40,837 in Wisconsin, you would still make more there than in the rest of the country. We determined these as the best states based on job availability and pay. By finding the median salary, cost of living, and using the Bureau of Labor Statistics' Location Quotient, we narrowed down our list of states to these four.
1. North Dakota
$46,586
Avg. Salary
2. District of Columbia
$46,829
Avg. Salary
3. New York
$41,225
Avg. Salary
How Do Communication Assistant Rate Their Jobs?
5.0
5.0
Communications and Advocacy Assistant Officer • July 2020What do you like the most about working as Communication Assistant?
Photography, videography, human interest stories, copy editing. Show MoreWhat do you NOT like?
Communication etiquette Show More3.0
3.0
What do you like the most about working as Communication Assistant?
Planning meetings, producing monthly newsletter, attaining a feature for the newsletter and learning about co workers, helping co workers with I.T. tasks, teaching co workers about Canva, writing emails, creating ideas for social media posts, planning campaigns, Show MoreWhat do you NOT like?
Dealing with angry people on the phone, older persons sending impossible requests, older persons not listening to me when I explain that certain things cannot be done on Facebook and then by-passing me to go ask IT Show MoreTop Communication Assistant Employers
Most Common Employers For Communication Assistant
| Rank | Company | Average Salary | Hourly Rate | Job Openings |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of Colorado Boulder | $45,721 | $21.98 | 36 |
| 2 | Rutgers University | $43,115 | $20.73 | 67 |
| 3 | AT&T | $40,734 | $19.58 | 92 |
| 4 | Indiana University of Pennsylvania | $34,677 | $16.67 | 49 |
| 5 | California University of Pennsylvania | $34,037 | $16.36 | 33 |
| 6 | American Campus Communities | $33,546 | $16.13 | 372 |
| 7 | Arizona State University | $33,461 | $16.09 | 83 |
| 8 | Campus Advantage | $31,939 | $15.36 | 53 |
| 9 | Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania | $31,154 | $14.98 | 74 |
| 10 | University Village | $30,508 | $14.67 | 42 |
Communication Assistant Videos
