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The differences between public relations directors and communications leads 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 director, becoming a communications lead takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a communications lead has an average salary of $96,988, which is higher than the $94,692 average annual salary of a public relations director.
The top three skills for a public relations director include press releases, web content and pr campaigns. The most important skills for a communications lead are project management, strategic communications, and HR.
| Public Relations Director | Communications Lead | |
| Yearly salary | $94,692 | $96,988 |
| Hourly rate | $45.52 | $46.63 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 31,693 | 20,413 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 81% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 42 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
A public relations director is an individual who is employed to design and implement marketing strategies that can cultivate the relationship between a company and the media. Public relations directors collaborate with the internal team to boost brand awareness and maximize brand consistency in all advertising efforts. They must arrange interviews and press releases so that they can promote their company and its products or services. They also maintain relationships with the media and should manage sensitive issues to maintain the company's good reputation.
The global senior program manager acts as a coordinator for the organization's projects and performs various tasks including supervision, account management, daily staff assignments, budget planning, cost control, and tracking program expenses by collaborating with various global departments to enhance all global programs. He/she should have excellent analytical, decision-making, leadership, and organization skills and knowledge about project management to be able to oversee and organize activities to ensure its compliance with the organization's goals.
Public relations directors and communications leads have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Public Relations Director | Communications Lead | |
| Average salary | $94,692 | $96,988 |
| Salary range | Between $59,000 And $150,000 | Between $67,000 And $139,000 |
| Highest paying City | Napa, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | California |
| Best paying company | Exelixis | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Internet | Internet |
There are a few differences between a public relations director and a communications lead in terms of educational background:
| Public Relations Director | Communications Lead | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 81% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Communication | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between public relations directors' and communications leads' demographics:
| Public Relations Director | Communications Lead | |
| Average age | 42 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 35.9% Female, 64.1% | Male, 41.4% Female, 58.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.0% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 5.1% White, 74.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 11.8% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 5.1% White, 62.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.9% |
| LGBT Percentage | 16% | 14% |