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The differences between airport operations specialists and traffic managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an airport operations specialist and a traffic manager. Additionally, a traffic manager has an average salary of $61,734, which is higher than the $42,256 average annual salary of an airport operations specialist.
The top three skills for an airport operations specialist include safety inspections, non-emergency situations and federal aviation administration. The most important skills for a traffic manager are project management, traffic management, and account executives.
| Airport Operations Specialist | Traffic Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $42,256 | $61,734 |
| Hourly rate | $20.32 | $29.68 |
| Growth rate | 6% | -3% |
| Number of jobs | 63,594 | 14,997 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
Airport operations specialists and traffic managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Airport Operations Specialist | Traffic Manager | |
| Average salary | $42,256 | $61,734 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $62,000 | Between $37,000 And $102,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Jose, CA | San Carlos, CA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | Virginia |
| Best paying company | Jefferson County Sheriffs Dept | AbbVie |
| Best paying industry | Government | - |
There are a few differences between an airport operations specialist and a traffic manager in terms of educational background:
| Airport Operations Specialist | Traffic Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 53% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Aviation | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY Farmingdale | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between airport operations specialists' and traffic managers' demographics:
| Airport Operations Specialist | Traffic Manager | |
| Average age | 45 | 45 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 64.3% Female, 35.7% | Male, 47.9% Female, 52.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.1% White, 59.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 18.6% Asian, 6.1% White, 59.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 5% | 5% |