It is the responsibility of the public relations department to manage communications with the media, consumers, investors, employees and the public, and they are often a spokespeople for the company. A PR manager writes press releases and spends their time responding to information requests from journalist or pitch stories to the media.  PR Managers engage in promoting or creating good will for their clients — groups, individuals or organizations.

Typically a public relations manager coordinates their companies’ public relations activities. In small firms the owner or chief executive officer might assume all of the public relations responsibilities, but in large firms, an executive vice president directs overall advertising, marketing, promotions, sales, and public relations policies. Anyone interested in becoming a public relations manager should be highly motivated, creative, resistant to stress, flexible, and decisive. The ability to write and communicate well is very important. They must then select favorable publicity materials and release the information through various communications media including wire services or social media networks.

Average Salary: $83,711 to $89,430

Average Hours (per week): 50 hrs per week average but with substantial travel and long hours – often including evenings and weekends.

Union: No.

Certifications: This job requires a college graduate degree and also related experience, Certification is particularly important in a competitive job market. The number of managers who seek certification is expected to grow, and there are numerous management certification programs today based on education and job performance. The Public Relations Society of America offers a certification program for public relations practitioners based on years of experience and performance on an examination.

Training Period: Most employers prefer college graduates with experience in related occupations.

Strongest Market(s): About 48 percent of public relations managers in 2008 were employed in service-providing industries — professional, scientific, and technical services; public and private educational services; finance and insurance; government and healthcare. Others work for communications firms and financial institutions.

Today there is also a trend towards public relations jobs being dispersed throughout the United States, but traditionally PR jobs have been concentrated in large metro areas like New York, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago, and Washington, D.C.

Entry Level Salary: $43,325 to $71,808. Many managers earn bonuses equal to 10 percent or more of their salaries.

Top Salary: $98,430

Job Growth Forecast: Employment is projected to grow on an average basis, although competition is tough. Public relations employment for managers is expected to increase by 13 percent through 2018, spurred by competition for a growing number of foreign and domestic goods and services that will be competing.

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