Arts, Design, Entertainment, Sports, and Media · Holland code EAS

Public Relations Specialists

Promote or create an intended public image for individuals, groups, or organizations. May write or select material for release to various communications media. May specialize in using social media.

Also called: Communications Specialist, Public Affairs Specialist, Public Information Officer, Public Relations Specialist (PR Specialist), Community Relations Coordinator, Corporate Communications Specialist, Information and Communications Specialist, Media Relations Specialist.

O*NET 27-3031.00

At a glance

US median annual pay: $74,750; Middle half earn $56,260 to $100,370. BLS OEWS, May 2025.
Most common education: Bachelor's Degree; 91% of workers surveyed by O*NET report this level.
Preparation needed: Job Zone 4 of 5; Considerable preparation. Zone 1 is little or none; zone 5 is graduate-level.
US employment outlook, 2024 to 2034: +5% · Faster than average; 315,900 jobs in 2024, projected 331,000. BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook, which groups this with similar roles as "Public relations specialists".

What the work involves

The tasks workers in this occupation rate as most important, from the O*NET survey.

Respond to requests for information from the media or designate an appropriate spokesperson or information source.
Plan or direct development or communication of programs to maintain favorable public or stockholder perceptions of an organization's accomplishments, agenda, or environmental responsibility.
Post and update content on the company's Web site and social media outlets.
Write press releases or other media communications to promote clients.
Establish or maintain cooperative relationships with representatives of community, consumer, employee, or public interest groups.
Confer with other managers to identify trends or key group interests or concerns or to provide advice on business decisions.
Coach client representatives in effective communication with the public or with employees.
Study the objectives, promotional policies, or needs of organizations to develop public relations strategies that will influence public opinion or promote ideas, products, or services.

Skills and knowledge it leans on

Skills

Active Listening4.1 / 5
Speaking4.1 / 5
Reading Comprehension4.0 / 5
Writing4.0 / 5
Critical Thinking3.9 / 5
Active Learning3.4 / 5

Knowledge areas

Communications and Media4.9 / 5
English Language4.7 / 5
Administration and Management4.0 / 5
Customer and Personal Service4.0 / 5
Sales and Marketing3.9 / 5
Computers and Electronics3.5 / 5

Importance ratings on O*NET’s 1 to 5 scale. Higher means the occupation depends on it more.

Who tends to enjoy it

How strongly this occupation draws on each of the six Holland interest types, which is the same profile the career interests test compares you against.

Realistic0
Investigative29
Artistic61
Social49
Enterprising80
Conventional41

The same work abroad

Other countries classify jobs differently, so these are the closest matches through the international ISCO-08 standard, not exact equivalents.

European occupation titles (ESCO)

communication manager · DE Kommunikationsmanager/Kommunikationsmanagerin · FR directeur de la communication/directrice de la communication
public relations manager · DE Public-Relations-Manager/Public-Relations-Managerin · FR responsable des relations publiques
political affairs officer · DE Politikreferent/Politikreferentin · FR spécialiste des questions politiques
activism officer · DE Kampagnenleiter/Kampagnenleiterin · FR chargé de campagne/chargée de campagne
political campaign officer · DE Manager für politische Kampagnen/Managerin für politische Kampagnen · FR chargé de campagne politique/chargée de campagne politique
political party agent · DE Parteimitarbeiter/Parteimitarbeiterin · FR secrétaire et représentant officiel de parti politique/secrétaire et représentante officielle de parti politique

Closest UK occupation groups (SOC 2020)

Public relations professionals (2493)81,300 employed
Public relations and communications directors (1133)32,200 employed
Business, research and administrative professionals n.e.c. (2439)104,500 employed

Employment is the UK Annual Population Survey for April 2025 to March 2026, all workers in the group, which can be broader than this one occupation.

Pay across Europe, for the whole group

Median annual earnings of all employees in “Professionals”. This is the broad ISCO group this occupation falls in, not the occupation itself, so treat it as context for the wage level, not as a salary for this job.

Median annual earnings, Professionals, by country
Country	Median pay
Belgium	€61,714
Germany	€59,529
Ireland	€56,877
Austria	€55,374
Netherlands	€53,595
Sweden	€43,567
France	€41,515
Spain	€35,735
Italy	€33,649
Portugal	€26,072
Poland	€14,380

Eurostat Structure of Earnings Survey, businesses with ten or more employees outside public administration, in euro and not adjusted for the cost of living. Reference years differ between sources: the US, Japan and Europe figures on this page come from different survey years, so compare them as rough levels, not to the euro or yen.

Exposure to AI

This occupation sits in the higher third of the 774 occupations scored, with an exposure score of +1.28. The scores are standardized across those occupations, so 0 is the average and a score of 1 is about one standard deviation above it.

Our note on reading it: the dataset links AI applications to the abilities that occupations require, so the score reflects overlap between the two. It is a comparison between occupations, not a forecast about jobs. It does not say whether exposure means tasks are replaced or workers get more done with the tools, and it says little about one employer or one role.

Source: Felten, E., Raj, M., & Seamans, R. (2021). Occupational, industry, and geographic exposure to artificial intelligence: A novel dataset and its potential uses. Strategic Management Journal, 42(12), 2195-2217. Matched to this page by 6-digit SOC code (27-3031).

Is it a fit for you?

Interest is one input, alongside ability, pay and what is hiring near you. The career interests test takes about thirteen minutes and ranks occupations by how closely their profile matches yours.

Take the career interests test