PR: 5 Paths to Follow
Student to student - Notes on how to choose the public relations route that fits you
Photo source: Squarespace
With students feeling pressure to choose a career straight out of high school, I found myself feeling those pressures too. Not confidently knowing what major I wanted to commit to, I went undeclared my first year at California State University, Long Beach and then transferred to journalism. Over the course of my first semester, I found the versatile world of public relations, where I gained insight and showed me how I can stand out in any field I want to go into.
If you are someone who is curious and loves to explore different paths, public relations is the career where you can start to discover what your passion is over time. PR is a flexible and fast-changing industry that strengthens skills beyond the profession itself. Below are five interesting fields students should check out when deciding whether to go into public relations.
Entertainment/Music PR
What if you had the chance to work alongside your favorite artist, grow their social media following, work behind-the-scenes and help set up events? A career in music public relations might be a good fit.
Music PR and entertainment PR require high attention to detail in a fast-paced environment. With social media revolutionizing audience engagement through personalized content, PR professionals must keep up with trends, gather data analytics and create visual content.
For students attending CSU Long Beach, the Entertainment Publicity course (JOUR 335), explores these topics, along with event campaigns, talent relations, ethics and more.
This field will allow you to pitch ideas, write press releases, collaborate with others and more. These skills are generally taught in fundamental PR courses across universities.
As a former contributor for the student-run publication, Long Beach Current, I had the chance to attend a concert hosted by ASI Beach Pride. I interviewed the indie band, Triptides and got a glimpse of how the industry works and how preparation is done for these events.
Additionally, for my social media communication course, I analyzed how Spotify uses their X, Instagram and TikTok platforms to view their estimated reach, average of likes and created suggestions on what they can improve on. This gave me a deeper perspective on how music companies strategize and how PR plays an important role.
Anna Nguyen, a third-year public relations and creative writing major, said she would love to go into the music industry to focus on publicity services, digital marketing and event management.
Nguyen, who said she’s been a “fangirl” for the longest time, said she wants to contribute efforts back into the industry.
“Doing PR within the music industry would be a dream come true for me. I think more students should see their niche interests and hobbies as a tool,” said Nguyen. “It’s an exciting and evolving field that allows me to be creative and on my feet, which I love.”
Nonprofit PR
Do you want to create an impact for your community and be a voice behind a movement? Nonprofit public relations is a meaningful and accessible path you can also consider going into.
You can start off by volunteering to write material or pitch ideas. Whether it’s an environmental, hospitality, educational, recreational or another organization, you can get started with nonprofit PR right now as a student.
“Securing media coverage is one of the most effective ways to increase your visibility,” according to Forbes. Nonprofit PR also includes leadership, case study knowledge, collaborations and marketing. Another key skill needed for this industry is crisis management. In the case your organization faces a setback, you need to be transparent and address any concerns to ensure your clients’ reputability.
CSU Long Beach offers a media relations writing course (JOUR 374), where the main project students work on is a press kit for a non-profit organization of their choice. This is a great way to start off a portfolio as a student, and gain hands-on experience.
Madelyn Stone, a second-year public relations major and women’s gender & sexuality studies minor at CSU Long Beach, said wanting to help her city and community is why she wants to go into this industry.
Stone said that after seeing her uncle be part of nonprofit organizations like Stop AAPI Hate, she was shown that there is an opportunity for her to be involved the same way.
“Nonprofit work isn’t always glamorous, and it’s not always going to be the most rewarding financially, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t important work being done,” she said. “Being part of an organization can be rewarding in other ways.”
Government PR
Do you want to build trust between local, federal governments and the public? Government PR is a field that requires you to be transparent, consistent and accountable. You will be involved in political campaigns, public statements and be a communications contact for the public.
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, government public relations professionals write press releases on anything from health, energy or the environment. They also help clients communicate with the public, evaluate organization’s programs and draft speeches and interviews.
CSU Long Beach’s Strategic Communication course (JOUR 375) will prepare you to write proposals, speeches and crisis plans. The new Crisis Communication course (JOUR 390) for the fall 2025 semester will go in deeper to challenge you to learn and analyze the strategies and tactics for crisis plans and the different communication principles needed for private and public sectors.
Michelle Munoz, a second-year public relations major at CSU Long Beach, said that having the ability to have a say in the way information is spread is important to her.
“I feel as if it would give me a purpose in a way [to be] able to make an impact and change things for the better,” Munoz said.
She also said students should try to explore this field at least once because it challenges you to think about your own ethics and what you stand for as an individual.
“Getting involved in local election campaigns early on will help me jump start onto this path,” she said. “I also learned how useful and unique having a public relations team is for government, so the possibility of finding a position that will allow me to help create change makes me feel excited for life after graduation.”
Beauty/Lifestyle PR
Do you want to be the creative force behind the next viral product or campaign? Beauty and lifestyle PR is all about brand collaborations, keeping up with influencers and beauty trends. This field will let your creativity thrive. From crafting campaigns, event sponsorships, product collaborations and content creation, you will stay entertained with the amount of opportunities that will be handed.
According to “How Lifestyle PR Lets You Tap Into The Latest Trends,” professionals should know what trends to spot and how to tailor them to their company’s brand because it will capture their audience’s attention. You also want to build relationships with journalists so you can pitch ideas and build credibility.
Beauty and lifestyle PR will challenge you to think strategically and let you learn about topics you may have not heard of before. It can be a rewarding career with creative growth and plenty of connections.
At CSU Long Beach, you can become familiar with the latest social media strategies many beauty companies use by taking the Digital Tools for Public Relations course (J470). In this course, the final project is a social media audit that requires you to create an audit for an existing company’s social media pages.
While taking this course, I relied on researching my company’s Instagram page to see what visuals they have used and what collaborations they have done.
Although my company of choice was not in the beauty and lifestyle field, learning this information will help you break down what influencers do, which content supports your company’s goals and how they engage with their followers.
Sophia Estrada-Padilla, a third-year public relations major at CSU Long Beach, said she wants to be in this industry to uplift and positively impact how people feel about themselves.
“It is more than appearances, it is about the overall impact,” she said. “Success to me looks like a positive impact. Campaigns, promoting and self love.”
Sports PR
Is your dream to work with sports teams, individual athletes or athletic organizations? Sports PR is a dynamic industry that involves a variety of tasks including managing social media, creating graphics, handling crisis management and providing media training. This rapidly evolving field will require you to think fast, stay on top of trends and plan events accordingly.
In an interview by Sports Career Finder, former Communications Manager for Palace Sports & Entertainment Jason Miller said on a typical work day, he would call sports reporters, visit arenas and write material for upcoming events.
Miller also said it is important to build your network and demonstrate your ability to write and communicate to have success in sports PR.
Electives such as the Sports Journalism course (JOUR 318) at CSU Long Beach, dive into the starting points needed for a career in sports. You will explore the history of sports reporting and interviewing, writing and editing for content. Plus, there are also featured guest speakers, which provides a great opportunity to gain real-world insight from professionals who work in this field everyday. You will hear about trends, challenges and gain practical advice to apply for your future career.
Sports PR can be combined into other areas as well. For instance, in my Media Design course, I created a graphic design related to a sports event. Graphic design is another important element in this industry because it helps create the visual aspect that attracts fans.
Sara Crespo, a third-year public relations major at CSU Long Beach, said she wants to combine her passion for sports with the national park and environment industry.
Crespo said these fields are two categories that many individuals spend time watching or walking in.
“I love the environment of sports and the people you get to meet and work with, especially if [we] love the same sports teams, you create a close-knit space where we have common likes and dislikes,” said Crespo. “The industry can be fast-paced just like sports games, so as someone who played sports, I have experience having to work fast and efficiently.”
Whether you are interested in the fields mentioned above or want to go into another interesting field, public relations gives you valuable experience applied to any position. This major is about your connections, stories and most importantly, passion. Public relations is about who you are representing and why it matters. It’s okay if you don’t have the answers yet. After all, you are here to learn these skills in your courses, connections and internships.
Isabela Zuniga
Public Relations Major, Spring 2026
