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The differences between public relations consultants and marketing communications specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a public relations consultant, becoming a marketing communications specialist takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a marketing communications specialist has an average salary of $53,993, which is higher than the $50,333 average annual salary of a public relations consultant.
The top three skills for a public relations consultant include press releases, web content and strategic communications. The most important skills for a marketing communications specialist are digital marketing, project management, and graphic design.
| Public Relations Consultant | Marketing Communications Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $50,333 | $53,993 |
| Hourly rate | $24.20 | $25.96 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 19% |
| Number of jobs | 27,882 | 95,444 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 81% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Average age | 42 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
A public relations consultant represents an organization and is the company's way to communicate to the public their plans, decisions, and motivations. They both advertise and show the company's personality and create familiarity and trust. The public relations consultant's role is to create all the PR materials needed to accomplish these goals. It means writing press releases, online content, speeches, and also working with the marketing and advertising team to create copy that will evoke the interest of the public. The ultimate goal is to gain customers and thus increase sales.
A marketing communications specialist is an individual who is responsible for creating all the marketing materials that are distributed to customers to increase brand awareness for the company's products or services. To create these materials, marketing communications specialists must collaborate with graphic design teams. They are required to track their marketing performance so that they can identify ways to improve their marketing strategies. Marketing communications specialists must also set up interviews and press conferences as part of their marketing campaign.
Public relations consultants and marketing communications specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Public Relations Consultant | Marketing Communications Specialist | |
| Average salary | $50,333 | $53,993 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $85,000 | Between $36,000 And $80,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | Delaware |
| Best paying company | AbbVie | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Media | Technology |
There are a few differences between a public relations consultant and a marketing communications specialist in terms of educational background:
| Public Relations Consultant | Marketing Communications Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 81% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Most common major | Communication | Communication |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between public relations consultants' and marketing communications specialists' demographics:
| Public Relations Consultant | Marketing Communications Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 33.3% Female, 66.7% | Male, 28.0% Female, 72.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.2% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.1% Asian, 5.3% White, 66.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% | Black or African American, 5.3% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 9.6% White, 67.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 10% |