By Pace Robbins
Studio 100, in Grady College, home of PRSSA meetings amongst other clubs, seen in its rare state of emptiness.
Many people, especially non-PR majors, don’t really know what PR is. Honestly, a lot of PR majors also don’t know when they first choose this major.
However, public relations is so much broader, so much more strategic, and so much more impactful than we often realize.
One of my mentors once told me, “Advertising is what people say to your face, and PR is what they say behind your back.”
In my opinion, that pretty much captures the essence of PR. Public relations is about shaping the conversations people have about a brand, person, or organization.
What Careers Are in PR?
For those who don’t know how they want to use PR once they graduate, I hope this helps. Here’s a brief list of six real-world career paths for PR majors. Feel free to expand upon this with personal research for your own future!
Career Path #1: Corporate PR
Typically referred to as “in-house”, Corporate PR is all about managing a company’s messaging, reputation and communication from within the organization.
Corporate PR is ideal for those who love structure, prefer working on one brand deeply and enjoy writing within clear guidelines.
Career Path #2: Public Affairs, Government and Nonprofit PR
Public Affairs/Government and Nonprofit PR is pretty self-explanatory; it encompasses the communication side of politics, policy and cause; including campaigns, government agencies, advocacy groups, and nonprofits.
If you want to translate complicated policies into language real humans (like constituents or donors) can understand, this might be a great path for you.
Career Path #3: Social Media and Digital Strategy
Social media and digital strategy, also self-explanatory, lives fully online: content creation, influencer partnerships, analytics and keeping brands relevant on platforms that change every 10 seconds is the gist of this area of PR.
Social media and digital strategy is perfect for anyone who is tech-savvy, chronically online, loves to make graphics, write captions, track trends, pitch to influencers, etc.
Career Path #4: Agency PR
Agency PR is utilized within PR firms. These firms work with multiple clients on branding and communications. Typically referred to as “accounts”, PR agents work on a team and collaborate with certain brands or client “accounts” to create campaigns, social media design, etc. Agencies get some creative freedom, however, these freedoms are under the parameters of their clients and the specific agency’s guidelines.
This area is great if you crave structure and want a good set of mentors, like a solid manager and team, but you also want to work on multiple “clients” rather than only one, like in a corporation.
Career Path #5: Entertainment & Sports PR
At a school like UGA, where school spirit is one of the strongest pillars of our university, it’s no surprise that many students end up in sports or entertainment communications. Entertainment and sports PR involves managing publicity for athletes, artists, teams, performers, or events.
If you love pop culture, live events, sports, red carpets, and the general fun but chaotic vibe of entertainment, this path gives you a front-row seat to some of the most visible storytelling in PR.
Career Path #6: Advertising, Marketing, and Journalism
A PR degree doesn’t limit you only to PR, it prepares you to move fluidly across the broader communications world. Many PR majors end up in advertising, marketing or journalism roles because PR teaches strong writing, audience understanding, and strategic messaging which are all skills that every communication field desperately needs.
This could look like copywriting, brand strategy, media planning, editorial writing, content production or helping shape how stories appear in the news.
The Real Heart of PR
The mystique of public relations is that it’s relatively undefinable. It can be frustrating because there’s no single “true path”; most PR pros end up doing several things at once across their career journey.
PR doesn’t always have a one-way path. That’s also the beauty of it – the possibilities are endless. Public relations, like all communication work, is timeless.
