2027 Public Relations Degree Underemployment Report: Which Graduates Are Most Likely to Work Below Their Education Level

How likely is it for Public Relations graduates to become underemployed?

Public relations graduates have a moderate-to-high underemployment risk because many PR-adjacent jobs use communication skills but do not necessarily require a bachelor's degree. Underemployment, in this context, means working in a role that does not typically require college-level training, such as general customer service, retail sales, office support, receptionist work, or low-skill social media posting with no campaign strategy responsibility.

The best current benchmark is the 2024 Strada Institute and Burning Glass Institute finding that 52% of bachelor's graduates were underemployed one year after graduation. That figure is not specific to PR, but it is highly relevant because public relations sits in a crowded entry-level labor market where employers often use portfolios, internships, writing tests, and tool experience to separate degree-level candidates from general applicants.

The underemployment risk is not the same for every PR graduate. The table below shows how risk usually differs by preparation level and job-search behavior, which matters more than the degree title alone.

For decision-making, the key question is not simply whether a PR degree is "worth it." It is whether the graduate can show evidence of degree-level public relations work before graduation. A PR degree is more protective when it produces campaign planning, earned media writing, stakeholder messaging, crisis communication practice, analytics reporting, and employer-supervised experience.

Is the college curricula for Public Relations keeping up with employer expectations?

Public relations curricula have improved at many schools, but employer expectations are moving faster than traditional coursework. Employers still value writing, ethics, media relations, and campaign strategy, but they increasingly expect graduates to understand analytics dashboards, social listening, SEO-informed content, influencer relations, AI-assisted drafting, and audience segmentation.

BLS job descriptions for public relations specialists emphasize writing, media communication, public image management, and audience outreach. The gap appears when courses teach the theory of messaging but do not require students to produce work under realistic deadlines, measure performance, or adapt messaging across platforms.

The table below summarizes common curriculum strengths and gaps. Use it to audit whether a PR program is preparing students for degree-level roles rather than broad communications support jobs.

A practical way to judge a program is to compare senior projects with actual entry-level PR job postings. If postings ask for analytics, CMS experience, social scheduling tools, and campaign reporting, but the program mostly assigns essays and exams, students should add internships, certificates, freelance projects, or student-agency work before graduation.

This same principle applies across professional degrees: students should compare curriculum to employer outcomes rather than relying on degree names alone, whether they are evaluating PR programs, business programs, or even specialized options such as SLP programs online.

How does underemployment for Public Relations graduates compare with other majors?

Public relations sits between highly occupation-specific majors and broad liberal arts majors. It is more career-directed than general English or humanities programs, but less protected than majors linked to licensed or technical occupations, such as nursing, accounting, engineering, or computer science.

The 2024 Strada Institute and Burning Glass Institute report found that graduates in fields with clear occupational pathways had lower underemployment risk than graduates in broad fields. For PR students, the lesson is straightforward: the more the degree behaves like a professional pathway with internships, technical tools, and employer-facing projects, the lower the risk of drifting into low-credential work.

The table below compares PR with adjacent and contrasting fields in a decision-focused way. It does not claim a single exact underemployment rate for PR, because outcomes vary by school, market, internship history, and portfolio quality.

The comparison does not mean PR is a weak major. It means PR is a proof-based field. Employers often hire the graduate who can demonstrate how they would support a campaign on day one, not simply the graduate with the highest number of communications credits.

What is the salary gap between underemployed Public Relations graduates and those in degree-level jobs?

The salary gap can be substantial because degree-level PR jobs are classified differently from common fallback roles. According to BLS May 2024 data, the median annual pay for public relations specialists was $69,780. By comparison, customer service representatives had a median annual pay of $39,680. That creates a $30,100 annual gap before taxes, benefits, overtime differences, and local cost-of-living adjustments.

The table below compares PR-aligned roles with common low-credential alternatives. The purpose is not to predict an individual salary, but to show the economic trade-off when a PR graduate works outside degree-level communications roles.

The financial risk is larger for graduates with student loans, rent pressure, or limited family support. A $30,100 annual gap equals about $2,508 per month before taxes, which can affect the ability to make loan payments, move to a stronger labor market, buy professional tools, attend networking events, or accept a lower-paid internship that leads to better PR experience.

Salary outcomes also vary by industry. PR work in corporate, technology, finance, healthcare, government affairs, and specialized agencies may pay differently from nonprofit, arts, education, or small local business roles. Graduates should compare job duties, learning value, and advancement potential rather than choosing only by the first salary number.

What barriers force Public Relations graduates into low-credential roles?

PR underemployment usually comes from a mix of labor market competition, weak proof of skills, and timing. A degree can open the door, but employers often want evidence that a graduate can protect a brand, communicate under pressure, and produce audience-specific work without extensive training.

The most common barriers are practical rather than mysterious. Students can reduce many of them before graduation if they know what hiring managers are screening for.

• No internship or agency-style experience: PR employers often treat internships, student-run firms, campus media, nonprofit campaigns, and client projects as proof that the graduate understands deadlines and stakeholder expectations.
• Portfolio lacks outcomes: A press release sample is useful, but a campaign summary with goals, audience insight, distribution plan, and performance metrics is stronger.
• Weak analytics confidence: Graduates who cannot discuss engagement, traffic, impressions, conversions, sentiment, or reporting may lose out to marketing or digital communications candidates.
• Overreliance on social media familiarity: Personal use of Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, or X is not the same as brand strategy, content calendars, community management, or reporting.
• Limited local hiring volume: Some regions have fewer agency, corporate, nonprofit, and government communications teams, so graduates may need to target remote roles or metro markets.
• Late job-search start: Waiting until after graduation can leave students competing with candidates who already have referrals, internship offers, and active portfolios.

One mistake is assuming that more education automatically fixes underemployment. A master's degree or business credential can help in specific career pivots, but it may not solve a missing portfolio or internship gap. If the goal is leadership, corporate communication, or business-side PR strategy, compare cost and employer value carefully before choosing a program such as an affordable executive MBA.

How can Public Relations graduates position their resumes for degree-level positions?

A PR resume should not read like a list of classes. It should read like evidence that the candidate can support campaigns, write for real audiences, and measure communication outcomes. This is especially important because applicant tracking systems and recruiters often scan for role-specific keywords before reading the full portfolio.

Graduates should build the resume around target roles such as PR assistant, account coordinator, communications associate, media relations assistant, social media coordinator, public affairs assistant, or content communications specialist. Then they should align each bullet with the work those roles actually require.

1. Start with a role-specific summary: Mention PR writing, media outreach, campaign support, analytics, and industry focus instead of using a broad "communications graduate" statement.
2. Use a portfolio link near the top: Include press releases, pitches, campaign plans, social calendars, writing samples, analytics summaries, and crisis-response exercises.
3. Convert coursework into employer language: Replace "completed PR campaigns course" with "developed audience research, message map, media pitch, and campaign evaluation plan for a nonprofit client."
4. Quantify results when possible: Use metrics from internships, student organizations, campus campaigns, newsletters, event promotions, or social media projects.
5. Add tool keywords honestly: Include platforms only when you can explain how you used them, such as Google Analytics, Canva, Adobe Express, Meltwater, Cision, Hootsuite, Sprout Social, WordPress, Mailchimp, or social platform analytics.
6. Show writing range: Employers want to see that you can adapt tone across press materials, executive statements, web copy, social captions, internal updates, and stakeholder emails.

Common resume mistakes include leading with unrelated service jobs, hiding internships under "activities," using vague bullets like "helped with social media," and failing to include a portfolio. A better resume makes the PR connection obvious within the first few seconds.

Are there certifications that Public Relations graduates can secure to qualify for degree-level roles?

Certifications can help PR graduates reduce underemployment risk when they fill a specific skill gap. They are not a substitute for internships or portfolio work, but they can strengthen a resume when employers want digital, analytics, content, or platform fluency.

The table below lists certification areas that are most useful for entry-level PR and communications roles. Costs and formats change, so students should verify current pricing and renewal rules before enrolling.

Certifications are most valuable when paired with portfolio proof. For example, a social media certificate is stronger when the graduate can also show a content calendar, campaign brief, audience rationale, and results report.

Graduates sometimes compare certificates with graduate degrees. If the problem is a narrow skills gap, a certificate is usually faster. If the goal is management, finance-facing communication, or broader business leadership, then business programs may be relevant; however, comparing options such as MBA programs easy to get into should come after confirming that target employers actually reward the credential.

What steps can Public Relations students take to improve their chances of securing degree-level roles?

Students can reduce underemployment risk by treating college as a four-year evidence-building process. The goal is to graduate with a targeted portfolio, employer references, tool fluency, and a clear job-search strategy, not just a transcript.

The strongest approach is to build employability in stages. The sequence below helps students move from exploration to degree-level job readiness.

1. Choose a PR direction early: Decide whether you are targeting agency PR, corporate communications, nonprofit communications, public affairs, healthcare communication, tech PR, crisis communication, or social media strategy.
2. Audit job postings every semester: Save 10 entry-level postings and compare their requirements with your courses, projects, tools, and internship experience.
3. Complete at least one high-quality internship: Prioritize roles with writing, media, campaign, analytics, event, or stakeholder responsibilities over vague office support.
4. Build a portfolio before senior year: Include a press release, media pitch, campaign plan, social media calendar, analytics report, crisis response sample, and one long-form writing sample.
5. Join a student-run agency or PRSSA chapter if available: These can provide client-style projects, leadership experience, and alumni connections.
6. Learn measurement tools: Practice with web analytics, platform insights, media monitoring concepts, UTM links, reporting dashboards, and basic spreadsheet analysis.
7. Network before applying: Ask alumni and local PR professionals for informational interviews, portfolio feedback, and referral advice.
8. Apply before graduation: Start three to six months before finishing the degree, because PR hiring often moves through internships, referrals, and coordinator pipelines.
9. Evaluate fallback jobs carefully: If a role does not build PR evidence, set a short exit timeline and keep applying to degree-level roles.

Students should also be realistic about degree ROI. Additional education can be valuable, but it should match the career target. A PR graduate pursuing corporate leadership might eventually compare business options, including an MBA AACSB online, while a graduate missing entry-level PR evidence may get a faster return from internships, certifications, portfolio projects, and networking.