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Government relations internship vs public relations

The differences between government relations interns 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 government relations internship and a public relations. Additionally, a public relations has an average salary of $48,383, which is higher than the $34,678 average annual salary of a government relations internship.

The top three skills for a government relations internship include internship program, powerpoint and public policy. The most important skills for a public relations are press releases, web content, and facebook.

Government relations internship vs public relations overview

Government Relations InternshipPublic Relations
Yearly salary$34,678$48,383
Hourly rate$16.67$23.26
Growth rate8%8%
Number of jobs58,47022,721
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 80%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Average age4242
Years of experience44

What does a government relations internship do?

A government relations internship involves a trainee who assists the vice president of government relations in managing and analyzing policy issues. Government relations interns are required to compile and summarize material on emerging and existing public policy for staff members. They assist with external stakeholder engagement strategy and draft press releases on pertinent legislative and regulatory issues. Government relations interns must also attend congressional hearings and produce reports to corporations and trade associations covering wide a wide array of policy areas.

What does a public relations do?

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.

Government relations internship vs public relations salary

Government relations interns and public relations have different pay scales, as shown below.

Government Relations InternshipPublic Relations
Average salary$34,678$48,383
Salary rangeBetween $24,000 And $50,000Between $32,000 And $72,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCRichmond, VA
Highest paying stateWashingtonVirginia
Best paying companyThe Motley FoolEdelman Financial Engines
Best paying industryMediaProfessional

Differences between government relations internship and public relations education

There are a few differences between a government relations internship and a public relations in terms of educational background:

Government Relations InternshipPublic Relations
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 80%Bachelor's Degree, 75%
Most common majorPolitical ScienceCommunication
Most common collegeStanford UniversityStanford University

Government relations internship vs public relations demographics

Here are the differences between government relations interns' and public relations' demographics:

Government Relations InternshipPublic Relations
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 43.1% Female, 56.9%Male, 36.1% Female, 63.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.9% Asian, 5.3% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%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 Percentage12%12%

Differences between government relations internship and public relations duties and responsibilities

Government relations internship example responsibilities.

  • Manage the office's social media site on Facebook by updating news from RU to alumni.
  • Announce several collegiate sporting events including volleyball, track, baseball, softball, swimming and soccer.
  • Perform PSA's for FCC.
  • Record and edit YouTube videos.
  • Administer FMLA procedures to employees.
  • Create FMLA process map/best practices.
  • Show more

Public relations example responsibilities.

  • Manage LinkedIn profile updates and new leads.
  • Manage all copywriting elements for live broadcasts and promotional commercials.
  • Create an official office page on instagram to facilitate interaction with students.
  • Track and analyze local talent and trends on social networking sites (MySpace, YouTube).
  • Coordinate multiple marketing campaigns (SEO, CPA, CPM) and optimization of organic search traffic.
  • Edit and create YouTube videos for clientele, creating proper titles and tags to increase viewership ;.
  • Show more

Government relations internship vs public relations skills

Common government relations internship skills
  • Internship Program, 15%
  • PowerPoint, 9%
  • Public Policy, 8%
  • Donor Database, 5%
  • Government Affairs, 4%
  • Legislative Process, 4%
Common public relations skills
  • Press Releases, 22%
  • Web Content, 12%
  • Facebook, 5%
  • Event Planning, 4%
  • Blog Posts, 4%
  • Twitter, 4%

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