Shaping how the public sees companies, governments, and celebrities, and stepping in when there's a crisis.
Top pay: highest pay, longest training
Public Relations Manager: Leads how an organization talks to the public, the press, and its own employees. Typical pay $140k.
Chief Communications Officer: The top communications executive, guarding a company's reputation and advising the CEO. Typical pay $230k.
Crisis Communications Consultant: Gets called when a company or celebrity is in the middle of a scandal or disaster and helps them respond. Typical pay $140k.
Investor Relations Director: Explains a public company's performance and plans to investors and Wall Street analysts. Typical pay $175k.
Media Trainer: Coaches CEOs, athletes and politicians to handle tough interviews and speak confidently on camera. Typical pay $130k.
Executive Communications Manager: Writes and plans what a company's top executives say in speeches, emails, posts and interviews. Typical pay $150k.
Litigation PR Specialist: Manages the news coverage around a big lawsuit or criminal case, working with lawyers to protect a company's or person's reputation. Typical pay $140k.
Mid pay: solid pay, degree or apprenticeship
Speechwriter: Writes speeches for CEOs, politicians, university presidents, and other leaders. Typical pay $95k.
Public Relations Specialist: Writes press releases, pitches stories to reporters, and builds a positive public image for clients. Typical pay $75k.
Press Secretary: Speaks to the media on behalf of a politician, agency, police department, or sports team. Typical pay $82k.
Internal Communications Manager: Keeps a company's employees informed and connected: newsletters, town halls, and change announcements. Typical pay $95k.
Government Public Affairs Specialist: Communicates information from government agencies, the military, or public utilities to the public. Typical pay $85k.
Entertainment Publicist: Gets press coverage for actors, musicians, movies, and albums, and protects celebrities' reputations. Typical pay $70k.
Sports Information Director: Handles stats, media, and storytelling for a college or pro sports team. Typical pay $62k.
Online Reputation Manager: Protects how a person or company looks online, from Google results to reviews. Typical pay $75k.
Book Publicist: Gets authors and their new books in front of readers through reviews, podcasts, events and social media. Typical pay $62k.
Public Involvement Specialist: Explains big public projects like new highways, rail lines and dams to nearby residents and gathers their feedback so planners can respond. Typical pay $75k.
Starter: fastest way in
PR Coordinator: Supports a PR team by building media lists, tracking coverage, and drafting materials. Typical pay $50k.
Media Monitoring Analyst: Tracks what news outlets and social media are saying about a brand or person. Typical pay $48k.
Community Relations Coordinator: Builds good relationships between an organization and its neighbors through events and outreach. Typical pay $52k.
Factory & Brand Visitor Center Guide: Leads visitors through a company's factory or visitor center, like an ice cream plant, car factory or brewery, telling the brand's story. Typical pay $36k.
Press Release Wire Editor: Checks press releases before they go out on news wires like Business Wire, fixing errors and making sure company news is published at the exact right second. Typical pay $52k.
Career Universe is an early version. Pay, training and AI-risk figures are estimates to start your own research, not verified facts. The research was written with AI research assistants, checked by validation scripts and spot-checked by hand. Check anything important with schools, employers and official sources. How the numbers work.