By: Diana Eads

There are many reasons why a public relations career might appeal to adult learners. Some people may wonder what an adult learner is. An adult learner describes anyone who is not a student in the traditional sense. It could be someone who has decided to go back to school after being out for several years because they want to finally finish it up and earn a college degree. It could also be someone who has an opportunity to get a promotion at work, but first they must learn some new skills. There are many reasons why people decide to go back to school. Becoming an adult learner can be challenging at times, but it also has many advantages. By going back to school after you have had some time to experience life, you will likely have an advantage over younger students because you will have gained real world experience. You have held jobs and had to meet deadlines. You know what it’s like to have to properly manage your time in order to get many things done. You will have developed a level of maturity that will help you to be able to handle yourself in most situations. All of the things you have learned during your adulthood can help you out immensely in college.
Public relations is a very hard field to succeed in but once you do, you will have achieved a lot. To be a great PR professional, you need to possess a strong variety of skills. If you are new to studying PR, it definitely helps if you have already achieved some of these skills. This is why an adult learner is a great candidate for studying and excelling in public relations. Below is a list of some of the skills needed to excel in public relations as well as some of the reasons why this career might appeal to adult learners.

Communication Skills

You must have very strong communication skills in order to be a great PR professional. This includes verbal and logical thinking, public speaking, and written communications skills. Most adult learners will probably have experience with some or all of these communication skills already because they can be developed over time by working at many different jobs. Having all of this communication experience can be an advantage to adult learners if they are interested in a public relations career.

Social Media

In the public relations profession, you must be familiar with all types of social media and have the skills to know how to use them. According to a study done by Regis College, nearly 70% of all U.S. adults have at least one social media account and the average American user has seven. This proves that most adults are very familiar with how to use social media, so this is a plus for them if they were to choose a public relations career.

Time Management & Multitasking

As a PR professional, you must be able to juggle multiple clients or projects at the same time, so you must be good at multitasking. Most adults have had jobs that have deadlines and that require them to do many things at once. Lots of adults also have to drive their children to and from various events in addition to their jobs, which has helped them learn to manage their time well. These various job and life experiences that they have had will benefit them in a public relations career.

Relationship Building Skills

The ability to build relationships is definitely one of the most important skills needed to be a great public relations specialist. It will help you build up your professional network by possessing this skill. Adult learners will have already created many contacts throughout their lives and careers which is a very good thing. This could give them a head start above other entry level public relations professionals.

As you can see, all of the various job experiences that an adult learner has had and all the life lessons they have learned could help them immensely on the path to becoming a very successful public relations professional. You can study this profession online which makes it very nice because it can allow you to continue to work as you are learning. The nature of this industry is always changing, and when it does, it evens the playing field in terms of experience. Lastly, if a working professional gains expertise specific to an industry, that expertise can almost always be applied in a PR setting in that same industry. Your knowledge in that industry doesn’t become irrelevant if you do PR in that industry. These are the reasons why I believe PR might appeal to adult learners.

References
https://online.regiscollege.edu/blog/does-social-media-create-isolation/
https://www.curzonpr.com/theprinsider/pr-pro-public-relations-professional-skills/
https://www.sreb.org/general-information/who-adult-learner