Public Relations Specialists

Promote or create an intended public image for individuals, groups, or organizations. May write or select material for release to various communications media. May specialize in using social media.

Most important skills

Active Listening
Speaking
Reading Comprehension
Writing
Social Perceptiveness
Critical Thinking
Coordination
Time Management

Key knowledge

Communications and Media
English Language
Administration and Management
Customer and Personal Service
Sales and Marketing
Computers and Electronics
Administrative
Personnel and Human Resources

What the work involves

Respond to requests for information from the media or designate an appropriate spokesperson or information source.
Establish or maintain cooperative relationships with representatives of community, consumer, employee, or public interest groups.
Confer with production or support personnel to produce or coordinate production of advertisements or promotions.
Arrange public appearances, lectures, contests, or exhibits for clients to increase product or service awareness or to promote goodwill.
Study the objectives, promotional policies, or needs of organizations to develop public relations strategies that will influence public opinion or promote ideas, products, or services.
Confer with other managers to identify trends or key group interests or concerns or to provide advice on business decisions.
Consult with advertising agencies or staff to arrange promotional campaigns in all types of media for products, organizations, or individuals.
Coach client representatives in effective communication with the public or with employees.

Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Enterprising, Artistic, Social.

Qualifications and licensing

Most common education: Bachelor's Degree (90.9% of respondents)
Related experience: Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (31.8%)
On-the-job training: Over 1 month, up to and including 3 months (27.3%)
Preparation level: O*NET job zone 4: Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
Licensing: Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.

Check before planning

Licensing for Public Relations Specialists is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.

Limits

Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0

Work environment

How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).

Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.

Rankings compare typical U.S. occupation-level work conditions; individual jobs and employers vary. Data: O*NET 31.0 Work Context and BLS wages (May 2025).
Condition	Level	Compared with other occupations	Most common answer (O*NET survey)
Contact with others	Moderate	Higher on contact with others than 54% of occupations compared	52% of surveyed respondents chose “Constant contact with others”
Dealing with the public	High	Higher on dealing with the public than 64% of occupations compared	32% of surveyed respondents chose “Important”
Teamwork	High	Higher on teamwork than 71% of occupations compared	55% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important”
Freedom to make decisions	Low	Lower on freedom to make decisions than 75% of occupations compared	67% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom”
Time pressure	Very high	Higher on time pressure than 93% of occupations compared	64% of surveyed respondents chose “Every day”
Conflict situations	High	Higher on conflict situations than 71% of occupations compared	45% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week”
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people	High	Higher on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 66% of occupations compared	50% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week”
Consequence of error	Moderate	Lower on consequence of error than 57% of occupations compared	38% of surveyed respondents chose “Fairly serious”

Work-pressure profile

Time pressure: very high
Conflict situations: high
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: high
Consequence of error: moderate

Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.

Full answer distributions

Contact with others

No contact with others: 0%
Occasional contact with others: 0%
Contact with others about half the time: 9.52%
Contact with others most of the time: 38.1%
Constant contact with others: 52.38%

n = 21, Occupational Expert 08/2022