Job Description

The career that I would like to have after I graduate from college is a public relations specialist. What does a public relations specialist do you ask? Well, they do many things. A public relations specialist takes care of having good relations with the "public". Many companies, governments, and even schools have public relation specialists, to let the public know what is going on in their working atmosphere. Public relations also has to do with building relationships with "representitives of community, consumer, employee, and public interest groups and those in print and broadcast journalism." If not for public relations at hospitals, we wouldn't know that for example, if a celebrity was there and that a fatality had occurred. They also design press releases to the media to print a certain piece of information that will advise the public about an issue. When you see a special bulletin on the television, read a newspaper article, or read a story in a magazine, most of the time those started out in the hands of a public relations specialist. Many public relations specialists for organizations also prepare speeches to address a certain crowd of people. In addition, they also prepare reports and plans for projects for the future. Public relations specialists are kind of like secretaries but are vital for the success of the organization in which they are representing.

Working Environment

A public relations specialist works with many poeple. After all, that's what the job requires, being able to communicate wiht the public. They work inside usually in a main building of some sort. Sometimes the job requires to go out of town to arrange certain functions like conventions and other big events. Public relations specialist work of an average 35-40 hours per week; If there is a crises occurring, people working with public relations may work well into their shift.

Job Outlook

The outlook of this job that I plan to have, has a good future. However, there is a lot of competition for this job among journalism majors, advertising majors, and a number of other similar jobs. One problem with this job is that many companies are letting many people go due to the number of things that a computer can do now-a-days. Mainly though, this problem will balance out because many people leave the profession, retire, or other circumstances.

Salaries

The average salaries of public relations specialists were about $23,000 a year in 1994. In public relation firms and other corporations the average was about $29,000 to about $36,000. Managers received a sum of approximately $46,000. The public relations specialists who were employed with the government in 1994 generally received $47,708 annually.

Jobs Similar

Other jobs similar to this job are:lobbyists, advertising managers, radio and television announcers and broadcasters, and police officers. Radio and television announcers are very similar to a Public Relations Specialist. For one thing, both jobs inform the public on vital information that they should know. Radio and television workers may work alone in an air-conditioned studio, or with many people. They let people know about community activities and what is currently going on in their neighborhood. Just like public relations specialists, this job is highly competitive. The difference between these jobs though is that a public relations specialist does not cover all of the news for an area and usually does not go on T.V. to announce what is going on with their organization. A public relations specialist creates a story or an idea and the broadcaster announces it. Station managers hire newscasters on how well they can report information and how well their "television appearance" is. Non-experienced persons usually are researchers or have other low income jobs and then work their way up the scale. Radio broadcasters make about the same money as a public relations specialist, from about $23,000 to about $39,291 In 1994, sports announcers made from $26,663 to $75,029. In the television industry, anchors (people who deliver the news) made about $24,935 to $199,741. The average was about $65,520 in 1994. Meteorologists, or weathercasters, made about $52,562, and sports broadcasters made approximately $48,704.

Job Requirements

There are no specific requirements to start a public relations career, but usually someone with a college degree and some other forms of experience, such as internship usually get the better jobs because they are much more prepared than someone without those standards. There were at least 200 colleges/universities and somewhere around 100 graduate schools offered degrees in communications. Helpful courses to take in college are:advertising, journalism, business administration, political science, psychology, sociology, and creative writing, and computer science is also helpful to build up typing skills.

Other Information

A pamphlet is available for five dollars on "Where Shall I go to Study Advertising and Public Relations?" from:Public Relations Society of America, Inc., 33 Irving Place, New York, NY 10003-2376. To find current information on public relations jobs, write to: PR Reporter, P.O. Box 600, Exeter, NH 03833.

Last year I had the chance to volunteer at my school to help out our public relations coordinator. I helped write cable announcements and find any articles about my school in the local newspapers.

Colleges

There are many colleges that offer degrees in communications and public relations. Colleges in Florida, where I plan to go to college, that offer the type of degree that I want are: Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Florida State University, University of Central Florida, University of Florida, and the University of North Florida. The two main colleges that I am interested in is the University of Florida, located in Gainesville, and the University of Central Florida, situated in Orlando. The University of Florida is located about 90 miles north of the city of Orlando. It is the seventh biggest university in the United States. Many National Merit Scholars attend school there. Most of the college students enrolled in the University of Florida scored higher than the United States average on entrance to college examinations. The school is racially mixed with over 3,000 students out of the 40,000 that go there, from all over the planet. The libraries at the University of Florida are some of the research centers in the state of Florida. The campus is over 2,000 acres and there are almost 900 buildings. The dorms in the university can house at least 6,000 college students plus there are fraternity and sorority houses too!!!! Currently at University of Florida, the cost for an in-state resident is $1,830, not including room and board. Some famous celebrities who went to the University of Florida are Lawton Chiles, the current governor of Florida, Forrest Sawyer, an anchor on the ABC news, and Emmitt Smith, a famous football player.

Another university that I am interested in is the University of Central Florida. It opened its doors in late 1968 and was known as "Florida Technological University". Ten years later the name was changed to the "University of Central Florida". The University of Central Florida is one of the most preferred colleges to go to in Florida, not just beause it is located in a major city, Orlando, but of the high SAT scores that they receive from interested high school students. The campus is 1,445 acres wide and 73 buildings are located on it. Currently there are an estimated 27,500 students studying at the fairly new university. It costs about $1,924.30 to go to school there if you are a Florida resident. (not including room and board)