How to Become a Public Relations Specialist

At first glance, learning how to become a public relations specialist can seem surprisingly opaque. Should you get a PR degree? Should you work your way into PR through related roles? What industry do you want to do PR for?

Today we’ll be addressing this problem head-on and discussing the most common paths people take to becoming a public relations specialist. We’ll be discussing everything from education requirements to becoming a master of PR and what it means to be good at this job.

How to Become a Public Relations Specialist

Generally speaking, if you want to get into PR, then you’ll need a good blend of academic preparation and practical portfolio building. While a dedicated PR degree offers a more direct route, employers regularly opt for graduates of journalism, marketing, English, or politics degrees, just to name a few. You can also enter the industry via an apprenticeship, allowing you to gain qualifications while working.

Not that you actually need a degree at all. While a degree makes life a lot easier, what employers are really looking for in a PR specialist is experience and skills.

Can you pitch an idea? Are you able to work in a team? Do you write persuasively?

Ultimately, whether you’re qualified or not, breaking into this industry relies on proving you can write for media consumption. That means building a strong portfolio is essential.

If you take the degree path, then you can use pieces you wrote during your studies. If you take a less formal route, then you’ll have to assemble a portfolio from scratch. It’s always best if the work in your portfolio has a professional or educational context, but you can absolutely just put a piece together to show what you can do. 

In a choice between two candidates, an employer will always pick the one with better quality work, even if that work was only made as a portfolio piece.

All that said, if you can find internships, work experience, or freelance gigs, then it’s strongly recommended. The fact that you were able to go out and find work for yourself already shows a strong level of independence and familiarity with the industry.

What Makes a Good PR Specialist?

Succeeding in public relations is, at its core, about communication and persuasive writing. The job hinges on your ability to spot a good trending story and connect it to your client’s messaging. You need to write clean, effective copy under tight deadlines, whether you’re drafting a quick pitch to a national journalist or preparing a formal corporate statement.

Resilience during high-pressure situations is equally vital. When negative publicity strikes, a good specialist maintains composure, formulates a clear response strategy, and protects the brand’s reputation. Strong interpersonal skills allow you to build genuine trust with media contacts over time. Additionally, modern PR professionals rely on digital literacy to track media coverage, monitor campaign performance, and analyse audience engagement metrics.

PR Career Paths

While first breaking into PR can be a lot to wrap your head around, once you’re in, career progression becomes a lot simpler.

Early on, you’ll probably be working for an agency. Some companies do hire in-house PR, but agency opportunities are far more common. They’re also a better place to learn on the job as you’ll be managing lots of clients at the same time. This will give you insight into how different brands cultivate different reputations.

Most PR specialists start out as assistants while they learn the ropes, working under someone more experienced. At this level, you can expect to earn around £26K, moving up to £30-40K once you start taking charge of clients yourself.

At this point, you’ll also be looking at moving into management, which comes with lots of its own challenges. You’ll be responsible for things like team leadership and crisis management. At the absolute top end, the best PR specialists in London can earn around £60K-£90K.