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The differences between community relations specialists and media specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a community relations specialist and a media specialist. Additionally, a media specialist has an average salary of $50,832, which is higher than the $49,344 average annual salary of a community relations specialist.
The top three skills for a community relations specialist include press releases, event planning and community events. The most important skills for a media specialist are digital marketing, video production, and customer service.
| Community Relations Specialist | Media Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $49,344 | $50,832 |
| Hourly rate | $23.72 | $24.44 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 28,509 | 39,401 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A community relations specialist is responsible for handling the organization's community engagements by facilitating fundraising events, volunteering acts, and charity programs and partnerships. Community relations specialists also write content for public and media promotions to promote brand awareness and the company's mission across the community. They should also be updated with the current events and situations to identify events and strategies that will help stabilize the society's condition. Since this type of job requires interacting with community people, a community relations specialist must have excellent communication skills to respond to their inquiries and concerns.
Media specialists are individuals who establish and administer content on various social media platforms. The job involves monitoring site metrics, overseeing creative design, and responding to reader comments. Specialists offer advice to administrators and teachers on the use of non-print social media. They work for huge enterprises with multimedia departments, new media departments, and in-house websites. The skills the job requires include trend awareness, social media ads, community management, strong visual aesthetic, and understanding SEO.
Community relations specialists and media specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Community Relations Specialist | Media Specialist | |
| Average salary | $49,344 | $50,832 |
| Salary range | Between $34,000 And $70,000 | Between $35,000 And $73,000 |
| Highest paying City | Alexandria, VA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | City National Bank | BP America Inc |
| Best paying industry | Government | Professional |
There are a few differences between a community relations specialist and a media specialist in terms of educational background:
| Community Relations Specialist | Media Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Business | Communication |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between community relations specialists' and media specialists' demographics:
| Community Relations Specialist | Media Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 25.3% Female, 74.7% | Male, 52.9% Female, 47.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.1% Asian, 5.3% White, 66.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 5.3% White, 66.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 12% |