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The differences between directors of public affairs and public relations 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 of public affairs and a public relations. Additionally, a director of public affairs has an average salary of $114,639, which is higher than the $48,383 average annual salary of a public relations.
The top three skills for a director of public affairs include government affairs, public policy and external stakeholders. The most important skills for a public relations are press releases, web content, and facebook.
| Director Of Public Affairs | Public Relations | |
| Yearly salary | $114,639 | $48,383 |
| Hourly rate | $55.11 | $23.26 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 26,290 | 22,721 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
Public relations is a strategic way of developing and maintaining a client's or company's public image through media coverage, appearances, and press releases by designing and developing events to raise funds or to spread awareness to the public regarding products, brands, or individuals. It involves research and evaluation of programs including financial, marketing, employee, or government relations using topics of public interest and news items. Due to our present technological innovations, public relations now use webinars, blogs, and downloadable resources under one convenient website.
Directors of public affairs and public relations have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Director Of Public Affairs | Public Relations | |
| Average salary | $114,639 | $48,383 |
| Salary range | Between $70,000 And $187,000 | Between $32,000 And $72,000 |
| Highest paying City | Las Vegas, NV | Richmond, VA |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | Virginia |
| Best paying company | Kaiser Permanente | Edelman Financial Engines |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Professional |
There are a few differences between a director of public affairs and a public relations in terms of educational background:
| Director Of Public Affairs | Public Relations | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Most common major | Political Science | Communication |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between directors of public affairs' and public relations' demographics:
| Director Of Public Affairs | Public Relations | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.6% Female, 42.4% | Male, 36.1% Female, 63.9% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.9% Asian, 5.3% White, 67.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 16% | 12% |