Post job

Social media internship vs media specialist

The differences between social media interns and media 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 social media internship and a media specialist. Additionally, a media specialist has an average salary of $50,832, which is higher than the $31,145 average annual salary of a social media internship.

The top three skills for a social media internship include instagram, facebook insights and twitter. The most important skills for a media specialist are digital marketing, video production, and customer service.

Social media internship vs media specialist overview

Social Media InternshipMedia Specialist
Yearly salary$31,145$50,832
Hourly rate$14.97$24.44
Growth rate8%8%
Number of jobs79,41139,401
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 84%Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Average age4242
Years of experience44

What does a social media internship do?

In a social media internship, the primary role is to take part in managing a brand's social media platforms for public relations. One of their primary duties is to craft informative and captivating content while under the supervision and guidelines of a manager or supervisor. Furthermore, there may also be instances where an intern must participate in devising strategies that would bring more public recognition to the brand, such as social media campaigns to boost sales and improve client base.

What does a media specialist do?

Media specialists are individuals who establish and administer content on various social media platforms. The job involves monitoring site metrics, overseeing creative design, and responding to reader comments. Specialists offer advice to administrators and teachers on the use of non-print social media. They work for huge enterprises with multimedia departments, new media departments, and in-house websites. The skills the job requires include trend awareness, social media ads, community management, strong visual aesthetic, and understanding SEO.

Social media internship vs media specialist salary

Social media interns and media specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Social Media InternshipMedia Specialist
Average salary$31,145$50,832
Salary rangeBetween $24,000 And $39,000Between $35,000 And $73,000
Highest paying CitySeattle, WAWashington, DC
Highest paying stateHawaiiNew Jersey
Best paying companyOracleBP America Inc
Best paying industryEducationProfessional

Differences between social media internship and media specialist education

There are a few differences between a social media internship and a media specialist in terms of educational background:

Social Media InternshipMedia Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 84%Bachelor's Degree, 70%
Most common majorCommunicationCommunication
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityStanford University

Social media internship vs media specialist demographics

Here are the differences between social media interns' and media specialists' demographics:

Social Media InternshipMedia Specialist
Average age4242
Gender ratioMale, 31.2% Female, 68.8%Male, 52.9% Female, 47.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.1% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.0% Asian, 5.3% White, 66.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%Black or African American, 10.3% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.2% Asian, 5.3% White, 66.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%
LGBT Percentage12%12%

Differences between social media internship and media specialist duties and responsibilities

Social media internship example responsibilities.

  • Manage accounts for clients by monitoring, engaging, digital copywriting, and generating content.
  • Create posts on company's Tumblr blog, manage to gain dozens of notes on posts and followers
  • Reach minimum requirement in sales every month, run social media accounts, and develop and manage online marketing campaigns
  • Develop and manage social media program leveraging Facebook and Pinterest.
  • Manage Facebook account including fielding inquiries and generating overall positive engagement.
  • Help manage the Concrete2Green official blog and create multimedia PowerPoint presentations for promotional purposes
  • Show more

Media specialist example responsibilities.

  • Develop fresh leads to connect with by utilizing LinkedIn connections and resources.
  • Manage content for and development of the museum's Drupal website, cartermuseum.org.
  • Manage teams for film, video, animation, & multimedia creation of any kind.
  • Assign to work as a media associate at Starcom managing a portion of the Kellogg's account.
  • Develop and manage proprietary PPC support material.
  • Participate in brainstorming sessions, proofread and edit marketing materials, manage magazine inventory.
  • Show more

Social media internship vs media specialist skills

Common social media internship skills
  • Instagram, 18%
  • Facebook Insights, 15%
  • Twitter, 14%
  • Social Media Marketing, 6%
  • Linkedin, 4%
  • YouTube, 4%
Common media specialist skills
  • Digital Marketing, 14%
  • Video Production, 7%
  • Customer Service, 5%
  • Web Content, 5%
  • Google Analytics, 4%
  • Google Adwords, 3%

Browse arts, entertainment, sports, and media jobs