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The differences between public relations and communications consultants 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 relations and a communications consultant. Additionally, a communications consultant has an average salary of $91,455, which is higher than the $48,383 average annual salary of a public relations.
The top three skills for a public relations include press releases, web content and facebook. The most important skills for a communications consultant are powerpoint, web content, and project management.
| Public Relations | Communications Consultant | |
| Yearly salary | $48,383 | $91,455 |
| Hourly rate | $23.26 | $43.97 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 22,721 | 29,942 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
Communications consultants are responsible for preparing media releases, whether through print, video, or email. They perform varied tasks that may include working on complete projects such as media analysis and branding, creating strategies to reinforced communication among clients and employees, and providing guidance and recommendations to a company's public relations team. Communications consultants may also conduct training on best practices for other employees. Some employers prefer someone with a bachelor's degree in communications, public relations or journalism, previous work experience in a related field, and excellent written and verbal communication skills.
Public relations and communications consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Public Relations | Communications Consultant | |
| Average salary | $48,383 | $91,455 |
| Salary range | Between $32,000 And $72,000 | Between $63,000 And $130,000 |
| Highest paying City | Richmond, VA | Oakland, CA |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Edelman Financial Engines | Dell |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Utilities |
There are a few differences between a public relations and a communications consultant in terms of educational background:
| Public Relations | Communications Consultant | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 71% |
| Most common major | Communication | Communication |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between public relations' and communications consultants' demographics:
| Public Relations | Communications Consultant | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 36.1% Female, 63.9% | Male, 43.5% Female, 56.5% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 5.4% White, 66.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 12% |