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The differences between 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 communications officer and a communications director. Additionally, a communications director has an average salary of $107,700, which is higher than the $40,161 average annual salary of a communications officer.
The top three skills for a communications officer include affordable housing, non-emergency telephone calls and customer service. The most important skills for a communications director are web content, press releases, and customer service.
| Communications Officer | Communications Director | |
| Yearly salary | $40,161 | $107,700 |
| Hourly rate | $19.31 | $51.78 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 73,260 | 27,939 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A communications officer is responsible for maintaining the brand image of an organization through monitoring marketing campaigns and public relations techniques. Communications officers handle press releases, social media management, media outreach, reviewing digital contents, and disseminating public communications within the company's premises and appropriate audience. They often coordinate with the senior management to develop strategic procedures to improve brand awareness, attracting potential partnerships that would generate more revenues and increase the company's profitability. A communications officer must have excellent leadership skills to monitor the performance of the communications staff and ensure maximum productivity.
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.
Communications officers and communications directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Communications Officer | Communications Director | |
| Average salary | $40,161 | $107,700 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $62,000 | Between $61,000 And $188,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Nevada |
| Best paying company | Morgan Stanley | McKinsey & Company Inc |
| Best paying industry | Non Profits | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a communications officer and a communications director in terms of educational background:
| Communications Officer | Communications Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 60% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Most common major | Criminal Justice | Communication |
| Most common college | California State University - Bakersfield | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between communications officers' and communications directors' demographics:
| Communications Officer | Communications Director | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 44.3% Female, 55.7% | Male, 40.2% Female, 59.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 5.1% White, 74.5% 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% |