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Arts, design & media

Public relations specialists

Typically requires Bachelor's degree

What is this page & how do I use it?

This is a research report for one career — the kind an analyst would write for a stock. The rating at the top is the neutral baseline (same for everyone); below it come the cases for and against, how the last official forecast for this career actually aged, and what the education path costs and pays.

How to use it: read the bulls-vs-bears case, then hit Score this career to weigh it against your other options with your own interests factored in.

CareerStar rating
MixedMedium uncertainty
top 31% of all 730 careers

Analyst take: Strong market prospects — +4.8% projected growth, moderate AI exposure (59/100).

49
/ 100
low riskhigh
top row = high reward

Moat (borrowed from investing — the water that defends a castle): how shielded this career is from AI. Narrow = some shelter, but AI can reach a real share of its tasks.

The small grid is a style box (borrowed from Morningstar’s fund reports): the blue square places this career on reward (top row = high) versus risk (left column = low), against all 730 careers. Medium uncertainty means the score leans partly on forward-looking bets like AI exposure, so treat the exact number loosely.

🐂 Bulls say
  • +Strong projected growth — outpaces 73% of careers (+4.8%).
  • +High pay — above 66% of careers ($69,780).
🐻 Bears say
  • High AI exposure — 59% of tasks are model-touchable (exposure ≠ job loss).
📜 Reality check — how the last forecast for this career fared

In 2014, the U.S. government projected +6.2% growth for this career by 2024. What actually happened: +31.2%. Reality beat the forecast — a reminder that every number on this page is an estimate, and this is how the last one aged. Full back-test →

Was this rating fair?
Projected growth
+4.8%
Median pay
$69,780
AI exposure
59/100
share of tasks exposed to AI — not job loss

Education & ROI — how to get here

Real outcomes for the college majors that feed this occupation, across 1,773 bachelor’s programs.

Median earnings
$33,628
1 year after graduating
Typical debt
$25,000
median federal debt
Pay-to-debt
1.3×
first-year pay ÷ debt
Feeder majors
Communication and Media StudiesBusiness/Corporate CommunicationsPublic Relations, Advertising, and Applied CommunicationConsumer Merchandising/Retailing Management
Selective schools offering these majors
Stanford University
CA · 4% admit rate
$87,833/yr
$124,080 grad pay
Harvard University
MA · 4% admit rate
$85,540/yr
$101,817 grad pay
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
MA · 5% admit rate
$82,730/yr
$143,372 grad pay
Northeastern University
MA · 5% admit rate
$84,641/yr
$92,538 grad pay
Brown University
RI · 5% admit rate
$87,648/yr
$93,487 grad pay
University of Pennsylvania
PA · 5% admit rate
$89,028/yr
$111,371 grad pay

Earnings & debt from the U.S. Dept. of Education College Scorecard; majors mapped to this occupation via the NCES CIP→SOC crosswalk. A grounded ROI snapshot, not a guarantee — pay varies widely by school and specialty.

What this work involves

creativedesignartmediawriting