PUBLIC RELATIONS AS A PROFESSION

As a profession, public relations employment continues to grow robustly.  In 2012, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported: “Employment of public relations specialists is expected to grow 23 percent from 2010 to 2020, faster than the average for all occupations. Employment of public relations managers is expected to grow 16 percent from 2010 to 2020, about as fast as the average for all occupations.” The Bureau also noted that in May 2010, the median annual wage of public relations specialists was $52,090 and the median annual wage of public relations managers was $91,810.

The Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) recently cited a report by private-equity firm Veronhis Suhler Stevenson: “Annual U.S. spending on combined public relations and word-of-mouth marketing services will increase at a compound annual growth rate of 14 percent between 2010 and 2015, to $10.96 billion. Annual spending on traditional public relations services will increase at a compound annual growth rate of 8 percent, to $5.4 billion. There are more than 7,000 public relations firms in the United States. The public relations community is even larger when considering the public relations function within America’s corporations, government bodies, health care institutions, military branches, professional services firms, associations, nonprofit organizations, and other public and private entities.

With the public relations industry experiencing significant growth, the fundamentals of the profession, including the ability to develop strategic communication plans, build relationships with key constituents, maintain and enhance organizational reputations, improve customer response, and communicate effectively, will remain the foundations of the industry. Today’s PR professional will need to possess a combination of capabilities that enable them to be effective in the areas of marketing, management, social media, and production.

Possible professions with an M.A. in Public Relations:

• Corporate PR
• Agency PR
• Nonprofit PR
• Community Relations
• Media Relations
• Government Relations
• Lobbyist
• Entertainment, fashion, lifestyle PR
• Sports information
• Investor relations
• Environmental communication
• Faith-based PR
• Educational PR
• Consumer relations
• Business-to-business PR
• Crisis Management
• International relations