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The differences between public affairs interns and public affairs specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a public affairs internship and a public affairs specialist. Additionally, a public affairs specialist has an average salary of $66,383, which is higher than the $31,924 average annual salary of a public affairs internship.
The top three skills for a public affairs internship include public affairs, press releases and powerpoint. The most important skills for a public affairs specialist are news stories, veterans, and fact sheets.
| Public Affairs Internship | Public Affairs Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $31,924 | $66,383 |
| Hourly rate | $15.35 | $31.91 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 57,898 | 19,889 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A public affairs intern is responsible for performing administrative duties to support the public affairs operations on media relations and developing strategies to maintain the department's integrity for social responsibility. Public affairs interns assist with press releases, community programs, and dissemination of information to the public. They also check the communication techniques, ensuring that the approach reaches the target audience, as well as responding to the public's inquiries and concerns and escalating complaints. A public affairs intern must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially on data processing and publishing accurate content on different medium platforms.
Psychology research assistants take charge of the operational and administrative tasks like mailing surveys, summarizing results, and managing correspondence. The research assistants identify the areas in need of improvement and score psychological tests. They prepare the interview questions and summarize test results. Their job involves responding to research-related emails and take part in project meetings. Also, they update the content of websites and prepare reports of their progress. The skills they need in carrying out this job include communication, critical thinking, attention to detail, and technical skills.
Public affairs interns and public affairs specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Public Affairs Internship | Public Affairs Specialist | |
| Average salary | $31,924 | $66,383 |
| Salary range | Between $25,000 And $40,000 | Between $43,000 And $102,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | - | Virginia |
| Best paying company | - | |
| Best paying industry | - | Government |
There are a few differences between a public affairs internship and a public affairs specialist in terms of educational background:
| Public Affairs Internship | Public Affairs Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Political Science | Communication |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between public affairs interns' and public affairs specialists' demographics:
| Public Affairs Internship | Public Affairs Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 36.4% Female, 63.6% | Male, 47.2% Female, 52.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.3% Asian, 5.4% White, 66.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 5.3% White, 66.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 12% |