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The differences between directors, corporate communications and directors of public affairs can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a director, corporate communications and a director of public affairs. Additionally, a director of public affairs has an average salary of $114,639, which is higher than the $104,820 average annual salary of a director, corporate communications.
The top three skills for a director, corporate communications include corporate communications, external communications and press releases. The most important skills for a director of public affairs are government affairs, public policy, and external stakeholders.
| Director, Corporate Communications | Director Of Public Affairs | |
| Yearly salary | $104,820 | $114,639 |
| Hourly rate | $50.39 | $55.11 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 34,978 | 26,290 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Corporate communications directors are responsible for supervising all official communications for their organization, including emails, press releases, responses to media inquiries, and through other formats. As top-level managers, they oversee middle managers and work with a communications staff, ensuring that all communications deliver a consistent message that is equivalent to the corporate philosophy and branding. Their duties include analyzing communications strategies and policies to examine their effectiveness. Also, they set up and implement communications policies and determine official formatting for documents. Additionally, they collaborate with different departments to ascertain communications' needs and develop plans to resolve those needs.
Directors of Public Affairs are executives who manage the public relations and communications initiatives of the company. They oversee all external communications that are intended for broadcast. They create guidelines on the proper crafting of communication materials that will be published or broadcasted. They also lead the public affairs department in networking activities and industry events. Directors of Public Affairs must be level-headed, calm, and creative. They should know how to communicate with the public, handle crises, and create successful brands.
Directors, corporate communications and directors of public affairs have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Director, Corporate Communications | Director Of Public Affairs | |
| Average salary | $104,820 | $114,639 |
| Salary range | Between $64,000 And $169,000 | Between $70,000 And $187,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Las Vegas, NV |
| Highest paying state | California | Nevada |
| Best paying company | Juniper Networks | Kaiser Permanente |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Pharmaceutical |
There are a few differences between a director, corporate communications and a director of public affairs in terms of educational background:
| Director, Corporate Communications | Director Of Public Affairs | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Communication | Political Science |
| Most common college | Massachusetts Institute of Technology | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between directors, corporate communications' and directors of public affairs' demographics:
| Director, Corporate Communications | Director Of Public Affairs | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 45.2% Female, 54.8% | Male, 57.6% Female, 42.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.2% Asian, 5.1% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 5.8% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 5.1% White, 75.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 16% | 16% |