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What Can You Do With a Public Relations Degree? Jobs (2026)
Key takeaway: A public relations degree leads primarily to work as a public relations specialist, with public relations manager as the advancement track and journalism as the adjacent field graduates move into and out of. Median annual wages are $74,750 for specialists, $146,910 for managers, and $62,200 for news analysts, reporters, and journalists, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS national medians. There is no licensure anywhere in this field, so what gets you hired is a portfolio of writing and campaign work.
Jobs you can get with a public relations degree
Public relations is the work of managing what an organization says publicly and how it is understood. Agencies, corporate communications departments, nonprofits, universities, hospitals, and government offices all staff it, and the occupational picture is compact.
| Occupation | Median annual wage |
|---|---|
| Public Relations Manager | $146,910 |
| Public Relations Specialist | $74,750 |
| News Analyst, Reporter, and Journalist | $62,200 |
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS national medians.
Public relations manager. PR managers own the communications strategy: deciding what the organization says and when, supervising specialists and outside agencies, briefing and preparing executives, managing budgets, and taking the lead when something goes wrong publicly. Crisis work is the part of the job that separates people who are good at it from people who are merely competent. The median of $146,910 is far above the specialist figure because this category concentrates senior in-house and agency leadership roles.
Public relations specialist. Specialists do the day-to-day work: writing press releases, pitches, statements, and talking points; building and maintaining relationships with reporters; coordinating events and announcements; drafting social and web content; and monitoring coverage. Writing quality and speed under deadline are the two things that determine how far you go. This is the entry point for nearly everyone in the field, and agency work in particular is where new graduates learn volume.
News analyst, reporter, and journalist. Reporters develop sources, conduct interviews, verify facts, and write to deadline for print, broadcast, and digital outlets. It matters to public relations graduates for two reasons: understanding how a newsroom decides what to cover is directly useful in PR, and movement between the two fields is common in both directions. At $62,200 it has the lowest median of the three and is a competitive field to break into.
What the degree level changes
Public relations has no license, no certification exam that gates entry, and no legal barrier to practicing. That puts the entire weight on what you can show an employer, and it is the most important thing to understand about planning a career here.
A bachelor’s in public relations is the standard entry credential, and it covers every occupation in the table. Employers hiring PR specialists expect a bachelor’s in public relations, communications, journalism, English, or marketing, and they treat those majors as roughly interchangeable. What they do not treat as interchangeable is the portfolio. Internships at an agency, a campus paper, a nonprofit communications office, or an in-house team produce the clips and campaign examples that decide who gets interviewed. A graduate with a modest GPA and three internships is in a stronger position here than a graduate with a strong GPA and none, and that is not true in every field.
The manager occupation is reached by promotion. Organizations hand communications strategy and crisis response to people who have demonstrated judgment under pressure, which takes years of specialist work to establish. A master’s in public relations is not required for it. Graduate study is genuinely useful for career changers entering communications from an unrelated background, for people targeting strategic or research-heavy corporate communications roles, and for those who want to teach. It is a weak substitute for experience if you already have a communications bachelor’s and simply want to advance.
The one voluntary credential worth knowing is the Accreditation in Public Relations, offered through the Universal Accreditation Board, which requires experience plus an examination. It is optional and carries modest weight compared with a track record, but some in-house and government communications roles value it.
Common questions
What jobs can you get with a public relations degree?
Most graduates start as public relations specialists at an agency, in a corporate communications department, or in a nonprofit, government, university, or hospital communications office. The advancement track leads to public relations manager, and movement into and out of journalism is common. Posted titles include communications coordinator, media relations specialist, account executive, and communications manager.
How much do public relations majors make?
Among the occupations tied to this degree, Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025 OEWS national medians report $146,910 for public relations managers, $74,750 for public relations specialists, and $62,200 for news analysts, reporters, and journalists. The manager figure reflects senior roles reached after years in the field, not an entry-level outcome.
Do you need a master’s in public relations?
No. A bachelor’s is the standard entry credential and no occupation here requires graduate study. A master’s is most useful for career changers coming from an unrelated field, for research-heavy strategic communications roles, and for teaching.
Do you need a certification to work in public relations?
No. The Accreditation in Public Relations is voluntary and requires experience plus an exam. Some in-house and government communications teams value it, but a portfolio of published work and campaign results carries considerably more weight with hiring managers.
Is a public relations degree worth it?
It is worth it when you use the program to build clips, campaign work, and internship experience, because that portfolio is what employers actually evaluate in an unlicensed field. The is a public relations degree worth it page weighs that against program cost.
Keep exploring
- Start at the online public relations degree hub to compare programs and formats.
- Compare levels: bachelor’s in public relations and master’s in public relations.
- Find programs near you on the public relations programs by state index.
- Related fields worth comparing: communications, strategic communications, and journalism.
Data verified: August 12, 2026. Salary, employment, and tuition figures on this page are sourced from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS May 2025; Employment Projections 2024–2034) and the U.S. Department of Education College Scorecard (2023 cohort). The source agency and data year are cited inline with every statistic.
Back to Online Public Relations Degrees: Programs & Careers (2026)