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.
Communications Director Overview
Communications Director Careers
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 $36.81 an hour? That's $76,573 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.
When it comes to the most important skills required to be a communications director, we found that a lot of resumes listed 7.9% of communications directors included web content, while 7.8% of resumes included press releases, and 7.7% of resumes included internal communications. Hard skills like these are helpful to have when it comes to performing essential job responsibilities.
When it comes to searching for a job, many search for a key term or phrase. Instead, it might be more helpful to search by industry, as you might be missing jobs that you never thought about in industries that you didn't even think offered positions related to the communications director job title. But what industry to start with? Most communications directors actually find jobs in the non profits and education industries.
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 55.7% of communications directors have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 27.0% of communications directors have master's degrees. Even though most communications directors have a college degree, it's possible 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.
What is the right job for my career path?
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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.
What is the right job for my career path?
Tell us your goals and we'll match you with the rights job to get there.
Average Salary for a Communications Director
Communications Directors in America make an average salary of $76,573 per year or $37 per hour. The top 10 percent makes over $132,000 per year, while the bottom 10 percent under $44,000 per year.
Average Salary
$76,573
Best Paying Cities
City
Average Salary
$42k
$165k
Recently Added Salaries
Job TitleCompany  | Company | Start Date | Salary |
|---|---|---|---|
Merced City Elementary Communications Director Communications Director | Merced City Elementary Merced City Elementary | 01/29/2021 01/29/2021 | $94,81401/29/2021 $94,814 |
University of Maryland Community Director Community Director | University of Maryland University of Maryland | 01/27/2021 01/27/2021 | $50,00001/27/2021 $50,000 |
University of Colorado Director of Communications Director of Communications | University of Colorado University of Colorado | 01/27/2021 01/27/2021 | $56,00001/27/2021 $56,000 |
Salesforce.com, Inc. Success Director-Communications, Media & Telco (CMT) Industry Success Director-Communications, Media & Telco (CMT) Industry | Salesforce.com, Inc. Salesforce.com, Inc. | 01/25/2021 01/25/2021 | $143,40001/25/2021 $143,400 |
Salesforce.com, Inc. Success Director-Communications, Media & Telco (CMT) Industry Success Director-Communications, Media & Telco (CMT) Industry | Salesforce.com, Inc. Salesforce.com, Inc. | 01/25/2021 01/25/2021 | $143,40001/25/2021 $143,400 |
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Communications Director Resumes
Designing and figuring out what to include on your resume can be tough, not to mention time-consuming. That's why we put together a guide that is designed to help you craft the perfect resume for becoming a Communications Director. If you're needing extra inspiration, take a look through our selection of templates that are specific to your job.
Learn How To Write a Communications Director Resume
At Zippia, we went through countless Communications Director resumes and compiled some information about how best to optimize them. Here are some suggestions based on what we found, divided by the individual sections of the resume itself.
View Detailed InformationTop 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 • Public
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 • Public
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 • Public
In-State Tuition
$8,306
Enrollment
9,394
10. Boston University
Boston, MA • Private
In-State Tuition
$53,948
Enrollment
17,238
Job type you want
Full Time
Part Time
Internship
Temporary
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.
- Web Content, 7.9%
- Press Releases, 7.8%
- Internal Communications, 7.7%
- Customer Service, 6.6%
- External Communications, 4.4%
- Other Skills, 65.6% See All Communications Director Skills
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, Colorado, New Jersey, and California. Communications directors make the most in Washington with an average salary of $107,610. Whereas in Colorado and New Jersey, they would average $104,442 and $102,755, respectively. While communications directors would only make an average of $101,998 in California, 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. Washington
Total Communications Director Jobs:
526
Highest 10% Earn:
$186,000
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
$107,610
Avg. Salary
2. California
Total Communications Director Jobs:
2,524
Highest 10% Earn:
$185,000
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
$101,998
Avg. Salary
3. New Jersey
Total Communications Director Jobs:
595
Highest 10% Earn:
$184,000
Location Quotient:
1.04
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
$102,755
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 $80,736. Atria Senior Living follows up with an average salary of $89,658, and then comes American Heart Association with an average of $97,303. 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 Activision Blizzard, Abt Associates, and First Lutheran Church
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