Public Relations Degrees
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Salaries For Degrees in Public Relations
Graduates in Public Relations can work in a variety of occupations. While no one can say with certainty what you personally will do with a degree in Public Relations, our survey panel picked the following occupations as likely options:
- Public relations specialists
- Public relations managers (Best salary!)
The median salary for people with a degree in Public Relations is highly dependent on individual negotiating skill, seniority in the field, policies at your employer, area, and more. The estimates we show on these pages are just that: estimates. Your individual experience will likely vary.
Where does this come from?
The Bureau of Labor Statistics, a unit of the US government, classifies all workers into some 800-odd occupational categories. We paid a army of freelancers to get their view on what type of degree a holder of each type of job would likely have majored in. For pairs which had a high degree of consensus, we created a link between the degree and the job.
From this, we calculated the average salary for Public Relations degrees and converted it into a lifetime value. We then compared it against other degrees at the same level of schooling (such as associate's, bachelor's, or master's), so that you can make informed educational and employment decisions.
What Can a Public Relations Student Expect to Learn?
Students who study for Public Relations degrees can expect to learn in depth about people, advertising and marketing. They will learn about the media and how to use it effectively to promote positive information and how to reduce the impact of negative publicity. They may be involved with individuals, companies, corporations, governments, products, or with different media channels. The work is interesting, sometimes a lot of fun, and it is always designed to have an influence upon a designated audience.
The main job of public relations specialists is to interpret and influence public opinion through the use of written or verbal communications. They are image creators, image savers and image protectors. Public relations professionals are employed by businesses, individuals, organizations and governments.
They work with products, people, policies and organizations. Their job can be involved with bringing new products to market, saving reputations, introducing new concepts to the public, overcoming bad press reports, or working within the office writing, reporting and collecting information.
While in school, the student of public relations will be exposed to a variety of learning. Course work will consist of job related skills, such as writing, editing and research. Basic principles and practices of public relations work would also include studies of media, promotions, ethics, research and culture. Writing and speaking skills are especially important. Much public relations work is centered on creating verbal and non-verbal messages designed to persuade an audience towards a particular acceptance of the message or point of view.
Additional Courses
Other interesting courses will apply generously to a career in public relations. Advertising, marketing principles and communications are at the core of public relations work and are valuable courses to add to the regular coursework required for public relations degrees.
Studying marketing strategy, statistics and research will help with many PR projects such as copywriting, project design and implementation. Separate courses can be taken to learn advertising copywriting, radio/television/video production and international marketing. Consumer behavior, psychology and packaging are also important background courses for those pursuing careers in public relations.
Many public relations professionals also must do media buying and budgeting for PR projects.
Starting a Career
There are many ways to enter a career in public relations. Becoming an intern is one common entry point. The student may be able to do this while still in school, or as part of a co-op program. Some companies will train their office personnel to help with things like press releases, media inquires and visitor relations.
There are many tasks that comprise public relations, from reception desk to telephone manners and basic office work related to public relations campaigns. Perhaps the best path to a career in PR is to complete a bachelor’s degree in either Communications or Public Relations. Follow this accomplishment up with an internship and build up a portfolio of project samples. On the business end of public relations, the career professional is expected to have knowledge of business communications, project management, organizational management and electronic communications. Personal and business ethics are doubly important in the world of public relations and business careers.
Online Schools Offering Accredited Public Relations Degree Programs
Many online schools do offer public relations courses and degrees. As usual, the largest and best known will have the greatest selection of courses and options for all online degrees, including public relations. The following online schools should be at the top of anyone’s list of better higher education online schools for public relations degrees:
Top Colleges & Universities Offering Campus-based Public Relations Degrees
Schools that feature excellent degree programs in electronics, media, communication arts, journalism and English usually will also have excellent programs for public relations. Check out the curriculum offered at the following famous offline schools:
- Michigan State University
- Boston University
- Ball State University
- Towson University
- Keene University
- New York University
- North Carolina State University
- Colorado State University
Famous People in Public Relations 
Public relations as a career has been around a long time in America, even dating back to the country’s very beginnings. Founding Fathers used their PR skills to obtain the sufficient number of states to ratify the U.S. Constitution. PR experts Paul Revere, Samuel Adams, James Madison, Benjamin Franklin, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay published the “Federalist Papers” in their press efforts to achieve this result.
In 1923, Edward L. Bernays (pictured right) published the first book about public relations as a profession. His book, Crystallizing Public Opinion, brought him recognition as the founder of modern public relations.
Ivy Ledbetter Lee, was another early practitioner of public relations who worked wonders using media and the press. Another of the most famous showmen and public relations experts of all time was, of course, P.T. Barnum.
The future for those seeking employment in public relations careers looks solid. Wages for salaried PR specialists range from $35,600 to $65,310 per year for at least half of those in this career.
It is an ideal career for those seeking part time work, and the highest paid PR experts can easily earn a six figure income.
