Communications directors are key to many businesses. Not only do they support a more organized system within the organization, but they also help present a more united public image.
Communication is one of the traits every business struggles with. It's one of the contributing factors for why people leave their jobs. By hiring a communication director, many organizations are able to communicate more effectively making employees much happier. In a way, communication directors are the glue that holds everyone together.
How to Become a Communications Director
What is a Communications Director
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a Communications Director. For example, did you know that they make an average of $51.5 an hour? That's $107,114 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 8% and produce 6,300 job opportunities across the U.S.
What Does a Communications Director Do
There are certain skills that many Communications Directors 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 Leadership skills, Problem-solving skills and Speaking skills.
How To Become a Communications Director
If you're interested in becoming a Communications Director, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 75.5% of Communications Directors have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 14.2% of Communications Directors have master's degrees. Even though most Communications Directors have a college degree, it's impossible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a Communications Director. When we researched the most common majors for a Communications Director, we found that they most commonly earn Bachelor's Degree degrees or Master's Degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on Communications Director resumes include Associate Degree degrees or High School Diploma degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a Communications Director. In fact, many Communications Director jobs require experience in a role such as Internship. Meanwhile, many Communications Directors also have previous career experience in roles such as Communications Manager or Reporter.
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Communications Director Career Paths
In addition to switching up your job search, it might prove helpful to look at a career path for your specific job. Now, what's a career path you ask? Well, it's practically a map that shows how you might advance from one job title to another. Our career paths are especially detailed with salary changes. So, for example, if you started out with the role of Director you might progress to a role such as Development Director eventually. Later on in your career, you could end up with the title Development Director.
Communications Director Jobs You Might Like
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Average Salary for a Communications Director
Communications Directors in America make an average salary of $107,114 per year or $52 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $174,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $65,000 per year.
Average Salary
$107,114
Find Your Salary Estimate
How much should you be earning as an Communications Director? Use Zippia's Salary Calculator to get an estimation of how much you should be earning.
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12 Communications Director Resume Examples
Build a professional communications director resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 12+ resume templates to create your communications director resume.
Stephanie Walker Communications Director |
Nathan Gardner Communications Director Experience Communications Director2017 - Present FPI Management•Los Angeles, CA
Principal2014 - 2017 Bank of America•Los Angeles, CA
Chairperson2010 - 2014 Delta Air Lines•Los Angeles, CA
Vice Chairperson2006 - 2007 Delta Air Lines•Boulder, CO
Skills Professional ServicesWeb ContentHuman ResourcesFinancial StatementsProfessional DevelopmentConflict ResolutionBusiness DevelopmentStudent BodyC-SuitePowerpoint Education Doctoral Degree Political Science2007 - 2010 Arizona State University•Phoenix, AZ Master's Degree International Relations2005 - 2006 University of Colorado at Boulder•Boulder, CO Bachelor's Degree International Relations2002 - 2005 University of Colorado at Boulder•Boulder, CO |
Learn How To Write a Communications Director Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Communications Director resumes and compiled some information about how to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Communications Director Resume Examples And TemplatesAnd if you’re looking for a job, here are the five top employers hiring now:
Choose From 10+ Customizable Communications Director Resume templates
Zippia allows you to choose from different easy-to-use Communications Director templates, and provides you with expert advice. Using the templates, you can rest assured that the structure and format of your Communications Director resume is top notch. Choose a template with the colors, fonts & text sizes that are appropriate for your industry.
Communications Director Demographics
Communications Director Gender Distribution
Male
40%
Female
60%
After extensive research and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
- Among Communications Directors, 59.8% of them are women, while 40.2% are men.
- The most common race/ethnicity among Communications Directors is White, which makes up 79.2% of all Communications Directors.
- The most common foreign language among Communications Directors is Spanish at 48.9%.
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Communications Director Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Communications Director Jobs - $174K and Up
- Work From Home Communications Director Jobs
- Entry Level Communications Director Jobs
- Part Time Communications Director Jobs
- Actively Hiring
- No Degree Communications Director Jobs
Top Colleges for Communications Directors
1. Stanford University
Stanford, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$51,354
Enrollment
7,083
2. University of Pennsylvania
Philadelphia, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$55,584
Enrollment
10,764
3. Northwestern University
Evanston, IL • Private
In-State Tuition
$54,568
Enrollment
8,451
4. University of Southern California
Los Angeles, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$56,225
Enrollment
19,548
5. California State University - Bakersfield
Bakersfield, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$7,309
Enrollment
9,142
6. Villanova University
Villanova, PA • Private
In-State Tuition
$53,308
Enrollment
6,819
7. San Diego State University
San Diego, CA • Private
In-State Tuition
$7,488
Enrollment
30,018
8. Bentley University
Waltham, MA • Private
In-State Tuition
$49,880
Enrollment
4,177
9. SUNY Farmingdale
Farmingdale, NY • Private
In-State Tuition
$8,306
Enrollment
9,394
10. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
In-State Tuition
$53,948
Enrollment
17,238
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Communications Director Jobs You Might Like
- High Paying Communications Director Jobs - $174K and Up
- Work From Home Communications Director Jobs
- Entry Level Communications Director Jobs
- Part Time Communications Director Jobs
- Actively Hiring
- No Degree Communications Director Jobs
Online Courses For Communications Director That You May Like
Communication Fundamentals: How To Communicate Better
Become an Effective Communicator And Learn How to Get Your Message Across By Learning Communication Fundamentals...
Communication Skills - Learn How To Communicate Effectively
Learn high impact communication skills for emails, group messaging, online meetings, social media & verbal communication...
Winning With Communication - Master Communication Skills
Communication Training Course - Develop True Communication Mastery!...
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Top Skills For a Communications Director
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, 7.9% of Communications Directors listed Web Content on their resume, but soft skills such as Leadership skills and Problem-solving skills are important as well.
Best States For a Communications Director
Some places are better than others when it comes to starting a career as a Communications Director. The best states for people in this position are Washington, California, Montana, and Oregon. Communications Directors make the most in Washington with an average salary of $150,308. Whereas in California and Montana, they would average $145,741 and $137,287, respectively. While Communications Directors would only make an average of $133,354 in Oregon, 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. California
Total Communications Director Jobs:
2,524
Highest 10% Earn:
$224,000
Location Quotient:
1.2
Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here
$145,741
Avg. Salary
2. Washington
Total Communications Director Jobs:
526
Highest 10% Earn:
$211,000
Location Quotient:
1
Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here
$150,308
Avg. Salary
3. Montana
Total Communications Director Jobs:
82
Highest 10% Earn:
$199,000
Location Quotient:
0.98
Location Quotient is a measure used by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) to determine how concentrated a certain industry is in a single state compared to the nation as a whole. You can read more about how BLS calculates location quotients here
$137,287
Avg. Salary
How Do Communications Director Rate Their Jobs?
Top Communications Director Employers
We've made finding a great employer to work for easy by doing the hard work for you. We looked into employers that employ Communications Directors and discovered their number of Communications Director opportunities and average salary. Through our research, we concluded that FPI Management was the best, especially with an average salary of $47,676. United Dominion Realty Trust follows up with an average salary of $53,122, and then comes American Heart Association with an average of $99,514. In addition, we know most people would rather work from home. So instead of having to change careers, we identified the best employers for remote work as a Communications Director. The employers include Amgen, Mastercard, and Veeva Systems
Communications Director Videos
Explore Careers: Marketing/Communications Manager
Ben Carson Had a Communications Director?
Becoming a Communications Director FAQs
How much money does a communications director make?
A communications director makes around $90,000 a year on average. However, this can vary significantly, with the bottom percentile earning only around $85,000 a year, while top earners can make over $130,000 as a communications director.
What degree do I need to be a director of communications?
To be a director of communications, a person needs at least a bachelor's degree in order to be considered for the role. This degree is typically held in communications. English, marketing, or public relations.
What skills do you need to be a communications director?
The most important skills for a communications director are excellent verbal and written communications skills and a deep understanding of communication strategies. Unsurprisingly, it is critical that a communications director be an expert communicator, not just for the work they do but also to run their team well.
Have more questions? See all answers to common executive management questions.
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