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The differences between application development directors and application managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both an application development director and an application manager. Additionally, an application development director has an average salary of $151,898, which is higher than the $122,748 average annual salary of an application manager.
The top three skills for an application development director include application development, architecture and java. The most important skills for an application manager are customer service, project management, and application development.
| Application Development Director | Application Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $151,898 | $122,748 |
| Hourly rate | $73.03 | $59.01 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 100,053 | 125,760 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 8 |
The applications development director focuses on ensuring the smooth and productive development process of strategies and applications used in a company. The development director manages a team of developers who will improve, upgrade, and, if needed, replace existing systems and applications currently used in the company. The development director's role is essential for continuing the company's productivity, which is why this position is only open for people with relevant experience in application development and managerial skills. A development director's added tasks are to work with all related departments in the company, collate their application needs, and integrate those inputs to come up with an application that resolves all company problems.
An application manager is in charge of overseeing software applications and systems within a company, ensuring efficiency and quality. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around conducting research and analysis to identify company needs, assessing existing applications to determine their strengths and weaknesses, and implementing solutions to optimize the quality of services. They may also conduct regular maintenance checks to ensure the efficiency of applications, performing corrective measures when necessary. Furthermore, as an application manager, it is essential to coordinate with the information technology staff, encouraging them to reach goals and new heights.
Application development directors and application managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Application Development Director | Application Manager | |
| Average salary | $151,898 | $122,748 |
| Salary range | Between $116,000 And $198,000 | Between $93,000 And $160,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | ServiceNow | Roku |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Finance |
There are a few differences between an application development director and an application manager in terms of educational background:
| Application Development Director | Application Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Business |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | Carnegie Mellon University |
Here are the differences between application development directors' and application managers' demographics:
| Application Development Director | Application Manager | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 84.0% Female, 16.0% | Male, 71.1% Female, 28.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 13.4% White, 64.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 10.2% Asian, 13.5% White, 64.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |