Public relations officer vs public relations consultant

The differences between public relations officers and public relations 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 officer and a public relations consultant. Additionally, a public relations consultant has an average salary of $50,333, which is higher than the $33,646 average annual salary of a public relations officer.

The top three skills for a public relations officer include website content, press releases and facebook. The most important skills for a public relations consultant are press releases, web content, and strategic communications.

Public relations officer vs public relations consultant overview

	Public Relations Officer	Public Relations Consultant
Yearly salary	$33,646	$50,333
Hourly rate	$16.18	$24.20
Growth rate	8%	8%
Number of jobs	73,367	27,882
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 81%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	4	4

Public relations officer vs public relations consultant salary

Public relations officers and public relations consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Public Relations Officer	Public Relations Consultant
Average salary	$33,646	$50,333
Salary range	Between $25,000 And $43,000	Between $29,000 And $85,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	Seattle, WA
Highest paying state	Washington	Washington
Best paying company	Society for Industrial and Applied Mathematics	AbbVie
Best paying industry	Telecommunication	Media

Differences between public relations officer and public relations consultant education

There are a few differences between a public relations officer and a public relations consultant in terms of educational background:

	Public Relations Officer	Public Relations Consultant
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 70%	Bachelor's Degree, 81%
Most common major	Business	Communication
Most common college	Stanford University	Northwestern University

Public relations officer vs public relations consultant demographics

Here are the differences between public relations officers' and public relations consultants' demographics:

	Public Relations Officer	Public Relations Consultant
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 41.1% Female, 58.9%	Male, 33.3% Female, 66.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 5.3% White, 66.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%	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%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between public relations officer and public relations consultant duties and responsibilities

Public relations officer example responsibilities.

Create PowerPoint presentations and manage a high volume of communication via phone and e-mail from and internal and external sources.
Manage all copywriting elements for live broadcasts and promotional commercials.
Share other organizations' collaborative Facebook events on CAO's Facebook.
Create events and publicize that information through social media platforms such as Facebook.
Implement a strategic communications plan that increase brand awareness across all platforms including product visibility, social media presence and SEO.
Compile and distribute game notes and player biographies.

Public relations consultant example responsibilities.

Maintain strong working relationships across all departments to manage successful on-site opportunities, content and multimedia asset development and spokesperson requests.
Create the first official Instagram account for the fine arts galleries.
Create highly visible content by utilizing a wide variety of social media platforms and SEO trends.
Plan and execute all web, SEO, PPC, email, and social media campaigns.
Leverage Facebook to create digital referral network and increase visibility in consumer market.
Foster an energetic public discussion through Facebook and videos, exciting visual displays, carefully target humor and thought-provoking questions.

Public relations officer vs public relations consultant skills

Common public relations officer skills

Website Content, 16%
Press Releases, 16%
Facebook, 8%
Press Conferences, 7%
Twitter, 4%
Instagram, 4%

Common public relations consultant skills

Press Releases, 19%
Web Content, 12%
Strategic Communications, 10%
Community Outreach, 5%
Facebook, 4%
Event Planning, 3%

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Public Relations Officer
Public Relations Officer vs Public Relations Consultant

Updated January 8, 2025

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