APRs make more money. Like some of the other commenters, I’d love to see data on that. It’s certainly contrary to my experience, and I can tell you as president of an agency, APR/no APR would not weigh at all in my decision to either hire or determine salary. However, I’ll also fully recognize that might be different for someone in my position with an APR, and I’d like to hear from an agency head who does consider the APR in hiring/salary decisions.

Do “people” take you more seriously? Again, perhaps those that feel the designation is important will. My agency works with many companies as the outsourced PR department, so in those cases we don’t report to an in-house PR professional. In those cases, the APR designation certainly doesn’t cause anyone to take our staff any more or less seriously since not many outside of the PR industry — unlike the CPA examples many have used in the comments — are familiar with the designation and what is required to get it.

As far as respect from my peers, I have to side with those that have said “my peers in PRSA” may respect it, but not many others. In some cases, I have peers that are very active in IABC, which has it’s own certification, and they look for and recognize their own designation. Personally, I carefully examine experience, accomplishments and input from others in the industry far above any certification from any organization.

While I have APRs on my staff, I also have to note that I’ve never been asked for that information by any potential client, nor do I typically include that fact in new business pitches. I can also say I’ve never been told I didn’t get a piece of business because the company valued APRs and we didn’t note that.

In the end, I think this designation is a data point — and a positive one to be sure — but one that must be considered as a part of the whole person. I certainly don’t think it’s quite the deal maker (or deal breaker) this article implies.

It is customary to have at least five years working experience before pursuing an accreditation in public relations. The time you spend practicing public relations prior to that time will be valuable as you prepare for your portfolio, readiness review, and exam. Much of the knowledge, skills, and abilities you acquire will help you in the cases presented by panelists and the exam.

“During times where we should be walking by the CEO’s side, many PR pros are asked to sit on the sidelines.

The fact is, when times get tough PR people/budgets are among the first to get cut. During times where we should be walking by the CEO’s side, many PR pros asked to sit on the sidelines. There are myriad reasons for this dynamic – too many to cover in a comment. It’s not PRSA’s fault nor is it APR’s fault, but neither will solve the problem either.

I think we have to come to grips with the idea that the shortest distance between two points is NOT a straight line. We should borrow a page from the best publicly traded companies. One could argue that the CEO is primarily responsible to shareholders and for shareholder value. To deliver the best results for shareholders however, the CEO’s order of priorities are employees, customers, communities, then shareholders. The CEO understands that by placing shareholders fourth on the priority list, they will reap the greatest returns. As PR people, if we want to improve our reputation, we need to focus on the people that will get us there. Only after we do so successfully will a credentialing program of any kind stand a chance of being credible.

Not clear.

There is always the option of working within the structure of PRSA to effect changes. But that would require a lot of heavy lifting to change the orientation of many constituencies and the status quo. And of course, an APR would be needed for credibility there.

The criteria of what clients want is not necessarily a valid metric. Remember, many clients want non-credible “spin” (and will pay a lot for it) – not professionalism. Just like in hiring a good defense lawyer – not so much for “professionalism” – but to get the “results” that the client wants – regardless of the client’s behavior that got them there. Few would state that OJ’s legal “dream team” represented the best “professionalism” of the legal profession – but they got him off. That result, to this day, has caused a certain credibility issue for the judicial system – often stated as: the best justice money can buy.

To a certain extent, many of the perception problems with the practice of public relations stem from a similar use of pubic relations by clients – and the practitioners who are willing to support them.

Not clear how that can be changed.