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The differences between internal communications specialists 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 an internal communications specialist and a public relations. Additionally, an internal communications specialist has an average salary of $61,999, which is higher than the $48,383 average annual salary of a public relations.
The top three skills for an internal communications specialist include employee engagement, powerpoint and HR. The most important skills for a public relations are press releases, web content, and facebook.
| Internal Communications Specialist | Public Relations | |
| Yearly salary | $61,999 | $48,383 |
| Hourly rate | $29.81 | $23.26 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 27,601 | 22,721 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
An internal communications specialist's role is to devise strategies in maintaining a clear and active line of communication and engagement within a workplace. They must manage the flow of communications across different departments, all while prioritizing timeliness and accuracy. Additionally, they must participate in writing and editing communication materials, reports, correspondence, memos, and more. There are also instances when they have to produce presentations, disseminate information, and utilize various mediums such as photos and videos. Furthermore, as an internal communications specialist, it is essential to develop action plans while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
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.
Internal communications specialists and public relations have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Internal Communications Specialist | Public Relations | |
| Average salary | $61,999 | $48,383 |
| Salary range | Between $41,000 And $92,000 | Between $32,000 And $72,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Richmond, VA |
| Highest paying state | California | Virginia |
| Best paying company | Parsons | Edelman Financial Engines |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Professional |
There are a few differences between an internal communications specialist and a public relations in terms of educational background:
| Internal Communications Specialist | Public Relations | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Most common major | Communication | Communication |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between internal communications specialists' and public relations' demographics:
| Internal Communications Specialist | Public Relations | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 36.5% Female, 63.5% | Male, 36.1% Female, 63.9% |
| Race ratio | Black 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 Percentage | 12% | 12% |