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The differences between directors strategic communications 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 director strategic communications and a communications director. Additionally, a communications director has an average salary of $107,700, which is higher than the $105,320 average annual salary of a director strategic communications.
The top three skills for a director strategic communications include project management, business development and professional development. The most important skills for a communications director are web content, press releases, and customer service.
| Director Strategic Communications | Communications Director | |
| Yearly salary | $105,320 | $107,700 |
| Hourly rate | $50.63 | $51.78 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 30,746 | 27,939 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A director of strategic communications is responsible for monitoring the strategic communications of an organization, relating to the media relations and dissemination of information across the company and public platforms to promote brand image and close deals with business partners. Directors of strategic communications identify efficient marketing techniques and opportunities to gain more resources for revenue by analyzing the current trends to develop new services and improve existing ones. A director of strategic communications must be highly communicative and organizational, especially on coordinating with project teams to support business functions.
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.
Directors strategic communications and communications directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Director Strategic Communications | Communications Director | |
| Average salary | $105,320 | $107,700 |
| Salary range | Between $66,000 And $167,000 | Between $61,000 And $188,000 |
| Highest paying City | Carson City, NV | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | Nevada |
| Best paying company | The Hatcher Group | McKinsey & Company Inc |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a director strategic communications and a communications director in terms of educational background:
| Director Strategic Communications | Communications Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 76% |
| Most common major | Business | Communication |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between directors strategic communications' and communications directors' demographics:
| Director Strategic Communications | Communications Director | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 61.7% Female, 38.3% | Male, 40.2% Female, 59.8% |
| 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, 9.0% Asian, 5.1% White, 75.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 16% | 16% |