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The differences between public relations and senior communications 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 relations and a senior communications specialist. Additionally, a senior communications specialist has an average salary of $78,948, 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 senior communications specialist are project management, powerpoint, and strategic communications.
| Public Relations | Senior Communications Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $48,383 | $78,948 |
| Hourly rate | $23.26 | $37.96 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 22,721 | 18,973 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| 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.
A senior communications specialist is primarily in charge of developing communication strategies in the company. Their responsibilities revolve around ensuring the smooth flow of internal and external communications, coordinating various departments, managing campaigns and event schedules, devising social media strategies, and supervising media relations. A senior communications specialist must also address issues and concerns, resolving them promptly. Furthermore, as a senior specialist, it is essential to lead and assist the junior specialists, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.
Public relations and senior communications specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Public Relations | Senior Communications Specialist | |
| Average salary | $48,383 | $78,948 |
| Salary range | Between $32,000 And $72,000 | Between $56,000 And $111,000 |
| Highest paying City | Richmond, VA | Oakland, CA |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | Edelman Financial Engines | Analysis Group |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Technology |
There are a few differences between a public relations and a senior communications specialist in terms of educational background:
| Public Relations | Senior Communications Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Communication | Communication |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between public relations' and senior communications specialists' demographics:
| Public Relations | Senior Communications Specialist | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 36.1% Female, 63.9% | Male, 35.7% Female, 64.3% |
| 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, 10.0% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 11.9% Asian, 5.3% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 12% |