Map audiences and pick channels
Name each group the news is for, choose channels, and tell staff how to reach each one.
Career profile
Public Relations Manager
Public relations managers lead the staff and plans behind how an organization talks to outsiders.
Before any news goes out, you decide who should hear it, what each group needs explained, and how your staff will respond.
A day in the life
Edit a writer's media pitch
Tighten the main idea of a writer's media pitch, flag thin details, and return it with your edits.
Prep a spokesperson for interviews
Ahead of a press interview, coach the spokesperson on your organization's stance and rehearse likely reporter questions.
Fix a message that isn't landing
Track coverage and audience reactions, and when one question keeps recurring, rewrite that explanation and update the plan.
Quick facts
Degree + related experience
United States · 2025–2035
$146,910 median
United States · 2025
5.7% projected growth
United States · 2025–2035
Quick orientation
Preparation, pay & outlook
Preparation
Degree + related experienceTypically a bachelor’s degree and at least five years of related work.
Pay
$146,910 medianAnnual pay for public relations managers in 2025.
Outlook
5.7% projected growthAbout 6,100 openings a year on average during 2025–2035.
Fit, tradeoffs & changing tools
You might like this if…
- You enjoy improving someone else’s writing.
- You can give clear feedback without making it personal.
- You like building relationships that take time.
Things to weigh
- Overlapping events and deadlines can mean stressful, long workdays.
- You’re responsible for the quality of other people’s work as well as your own.
Where AI may help
Artificial intelligence (AI) can help draft text, summarize coverage, and monitor public responses.
What people still lead
You set the purpose, check facts and tone, and remain accountable for what gets published.
What we can’t predict yet
How much drafting and routine audience contact moves to automated systems will depend on their reliability and how much control organizations delegate.
Pay in context
Earnings
These are management wages; you usually build related experience before reaching this role.
The midpoint and spread
The 2025 median was $146,910 a year—about $70.63 an hour using 2,080 hours. The lowest-paid 10% earned $82,410 or less; the highest-paid 10% earned $284,990 or more. Those thresholds aren’t starting and senior salaries.
Workplace type matters
Median annual pay was $171,250 in management of companies and enterprises, compared with $116,650 in educational services. These are industry-wide figures, not offers from individual employers.
Openings include replacement needs
Employment is projected to grow 5.7% during 2025–2035, with about 6,100 openings annually. Openings include replacing people who leave the occupation, so they exceed the number of newly created jobs.
Getting started
Study communications, then build experience
- What the route involves
- Earn a bachelor’s degree in public relations, communications, or business, then gain experience in work such as public relations specialist.
- What it can lead to
- Build the subject knowledge and work record typically expected for management.
- What to check
- The degree alone does not replace related experience.
Move from an adjacent communications field
- What the route involves
- Build communications, marketing, or media experience that includes writing, client relationships, and leading work.
- What it can lead to
- Some agency management roles consider this broader experience.
- What to check
- Employers differ in which experience and education combinations they accept.
Management usually comes after related work. These routes describe preparation, not immediate entry from school.
After entry
Career paths
This starts where the entry routes leave off: early work, growing capability, and advancement or specialization.
Get established
Learn your team’s work, review drafts consistently, and keep communication spending within budget.
Handle harder situations
Develop crisis communication plans and learn to coordinate a response when an issue threatens the organization’s reputation.
Lead across the organization
Aim for broader communications leadership: advise senior leaders and coordinate plans across departments, as a university communications director may do.
Where you can work
Public relations agency
You may lead several client accounts at once, balancing staff time and budgets while helping win new business.
- Office
University communications office
You coordinate with faculty, administrators, and department communicators to explain research and campus priorities. Some leadership roles also help guide emergency communications.
- Office
Try it
See whether the job clicks before you commit to the path.
Imagine a school event has been canceled. Write a short announcement, identify who needs it first, and divide follow-up work between two teammates. Ask a friend what remains unclear, then revise. Notice whether you enjoy planning the response as much as writing it.
Stay safe: Keep it fictional; don’t publish it as a real school announcement.
Sources
- O*NET OnLine. Public Relations Managers. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- O*NET OnLine / U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. National Wages: Public Relations Managers. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Occupational projections and worker characteristics. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Public Relations and Fundraising Managers. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- Public Relations Society of America. Promise & Pitfalls: The Ethical Use of AI for Public Relations Practitioners. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- Method Communications. Account Director, B2B Tech PR. Accessed 2026-10-04.
- Oregon State University. Integrated Marketing and Communications Director. Accessed 2026-10-04.