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The differences between communications leads and public information officers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a communications lead, becoming a public information officer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a communications lead has an average salary of $96,988, which is higher than the $56,725 average annual salary of a public information officer.
The top three skills for a communications lead include project management, strategic communications and HR. The most important skills for a public information officer are press releases, web content, and community outreach.
| Communications Lead | Public Information Officer | |
| Yearly salary | $96,988 | $56,725 |
| Hourly rate | $46.63 | $27.27 |
| Growth rate | 12% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 20,413 | 129,237 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Average age | 45 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
The global senior program manager acts as a coordinator for the organization's projects and performs various tasks including supervision, account management, daily staff assignments, budget planning, cost control, and tracking program expenses by collaborating with various global departments to enhance all global programs. He/she should have excellent analytical, decision-making, leadership, and organization skills and knowledge about project management to be able to oversee and organize activities to ensure its compliance with the organization's goals.
The primary job of a public information officer involves the promotion of a positive public image on social media. Public information officers offer significant information during a crisis. They collect facts and distribute them to the media and organize special events like awards ceremonies. Typically, they work for large organizations and government agencies. They maintain their online presence that can be part of the duties of public information. Also, they can work for long hours on an irregular schedule, especially when the incidents or situations affect the organization.
Communications leads and public information officers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Communications Lead | Public Information Officer | |
| Average salary | $96,988 | $56,725 |
| Salary range | Between $67,000 And $139,000 | Between $38,000 And $83,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Fairfield, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Delaware |
| Best paying company | Meta | City of Fairfield |
| Best paying industry | Internet | Professional |
There are a few differences between a communications lead and a public information officer in terms of educational background:
| Communications Lead | Public Information Officer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Most common major | Business | Communication |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between communications leads' and public information officers' demographics:
| Communications Lead | Public Information Officer | |
| Average age | 45 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 41.4% Female, 58.6% | Male, 43.7% Female, 56.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 5.1% White, 62.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% | 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 | 14% | 16% |