Every occupation the official NCES/BLS crosswalk connects to communication programs, with BLS pay, the education each job usually needs, what the work involves, and where to go next.
Communication · CIP 09.01 series · 3 codes · 9 careers · Check one exact major, e.g. 09.0100 Communication, General, in the major to career finder
The official NCES/BLS crosswalk maps communication programs to 9 occupations that such programs typically prepare people for, including Public Relations Manager, Fundraising Manager and Fundraiser. BLS median pay across them runs from $47,340 (Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockeys) to $146,910 (Public Relations Manager) in May 2025. The crosswalk describes preparation, not what graduates actually go on to do.
Data Program → related occupations: these are jobs communication programs typically prepare people for (NCES/BLS crosswalk). Not a guaranteed outcome, and not a record of what graduates do.
Data Filter by the education the job usually needs or its preparation level; sort by pay or by number employed.
| Occupation | Most common education | Job Zone | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Public Relations Specialist | $74,750 | 283,380 | Bachelor's Degree | 4 |
| Fundraiser | $72,550 | 111,040 | Bachelor's Degree | 4 |
| Editor | $77,920 | 91,690 | n/a | 4 |
| Public Relations Manager | $146,910 | 74,850 | n/a | 4 |
| Writer | $76,910 | 47,940 | n/a | 4 |
| Journalist | $62,200 | 39,250 | n/a | 4 |
| Fundraising Manager | $125,470 | 38,810 | n/a | 4 |
| Communications Teachers, PostsecondaryPostsecondary teaching | $78,580 | 29,420 | Master's Degree | 5 |
| Broadcast Announcers and Radio Disc Jockeys | $47,340 | 21,240 | n/a | 4 |
No occupations match these filters.
Data The education column shows a typical entry level only where O*NET data supports one answer. Check the typical education for Public Relations Manager, one of the communication jobs above.
Data BLS national median annual wage, May 2025. These are pay levels of the occupations, not earnings of graduates.
Data The largest related occupations by employment (postsecondary teaching shown in the explorer).
Establish and maintain effective working relationships with clients, government officials, and media representatives and use these relationships to develop new business opportunities.
Assign, supervise, and review the activities of public relations staff.
Speaking · Reading Comprehension · Active Listening
Mapped from CIP 09.0100, 09.0101Develop strategies to encourage new or increased contributions.
Manage fundraising budgets.
Speaking · Critical Thinking · Social Perceptiveness
Mapped from CIP 09.0100Identify and build relationships with potential donors.
Secure commitments of participation or donation from individuals or corporate donors.
Speaking · Persuasion · Reading Comprehension
Mapped from CIP 09.0100Read news flashes to inform audiences of important events.
Announce musical selections, station breaks, commercials, or public service information, and accept requests from listening audience.
Speaking · Active Listening · Reading Comprehension
Mapped from CIP 09.0100, 09.0101Report news stories for publication or broadcast, describing the background and details of events.
Gather information and develop perspectives about news subjects through research, interviews, observation, and experience.
Active Listening · Reading Comprehension · Speaking
Career guide Salary How to become
Mapped from CIP 09.0100, 09.0102Respond to requests for information from the media or designate an appropriate spokesperson or information source.
Plan or direct development or communication of programs to maintain favorable public or stockholder perceptions of an organization's accomplishments, agenda, or environmental responsibility.
Active Listening · Speaking · Social Perceptiveness
Mapped from CIP 09.0100, 09.0101Data Related occupations grouped by government career field, with their pay range.
Data Other programs whose crosswalk occupations overlap with these.
Data A national median for federal-aid graduates of this field: a separate measure from the BLS job pay above.
See earnings by degree level, college spread and federal debt.
The NCES/BLS crosswalk relates instructional programs (CIP 2020) to occupations (SOC 2018) when programs in the CIP category typically prepare individuals directly for jobs in the occupation. This page uses the CIP program series below and shows every non-residual occupation mapped to them that has BLS wages and O*NET data; each occupation lists the CIP codes that map to it.
Searches this page answers include “what can you do with a communications degree”, “communications major jobs”, “communications degree jobs” (Ahrefs, U.S.).
