What is the Salary Potential with a Degree in Communications?

Updated on August 3, 2021

Salary potential is often the biggest concern for individuals choosing a degree, and since there are so many various career opportunities with a degree in communications degree, many ask what the salary potential is in this field. This is not an easily answered question because a communications degree qualifies students for many different jobs. Communications is a broad field that's used in many industries and offers jobs to holders of various degree levels. Here is some information on possible salaries and jobs with a degree in communications.

Careers Available with a Communications Degree

Graduates of the communications degree program can choose from many options. Some possible careers along with the average annual wage according to 2018 reports by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and PayScale include:

  • Writers and authors – $62,170

  • Editors – $59,480

  • Technical writers – $71,850

  • Public relations specialists – $60,000

  • Camera operators – $58,990

  • Social media director – $79,700

  • Media supervisor – $75,800

  • Interactive/digital producer – $74,200

  • Director of marketing and communications – $85,400

Factors that Affect Salary Potential

When trying to determine the salary potential for any specific career, several factors must be considered because wage or salary potential is generally affected by different factors.

  • Degree level – Generally, the higher the degree, the better the wages are going to be.

  • Relevant work experience – A communications specialist with relevant work experience will usually get a higher wage because less training is required.

  • Certifications – While not all communications jobs require certification, some of them offer voluntary certification, which is a great way for a candidate to demonstrate expertise and knowledge in specific or various areas in this field. Employers look highly on certifications

  • Employer – The type of employer or company will affect salary potential. A large well-known company is generally going to pay higher wages than a small company.

  • Location – Location plays a big part in determining salary potential. Wages can vary greatly from city to city or state to state.

Salary Potential in Different States

To give an idea of how salaries can vary from state, here are some examples of wages in different states for the most common communications jobs.

Here are wages from the five top-paying states for technical writers as of May 2018:

  • California – $91,310

  • Massachusetts – $89,630

  • Washington – $86,470

  • District of Columbia – $86,120

  • Virginia – $85,450

Wages from the five top-paying states for editors as of May 2018 include:

  • District of Columbia – $89,710

  • Massachusetts – $89,280

  • New York – $83,070

  • Hawaii – $78,390

  • California – $78,150

The wages from the five top-paying states for writers and authors as of May 2018 are:

  • District of Columbia – $101,690

  • California – $96,910

  • New York – $86,380

  • New Jersey – $81,160

  • Connecticut – $78,440

Here are wages from the five top-paying states for public relations specialists as of May 2018:

  • District of Columbia – $107,490

  • Virginia – $78,410

  • New Jersey – $75,670

  • New York – $74,000

  • Connecticut – $73,600

Related Resource: 25 Most Affordable Online Master's Communications and Public Relations Degrees

One of the many things that make a communications degree so valuable and popular is that graduates can find jobs in some of the fastest-growing occupations, and fast-growing occupations generally garnish the highest wages. A degree in communications is not only a good idea because of the many possibilities but also because the work can be rewarding, challenging and also constantly changing.

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