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The differences between assistant directors and program managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a program manager has an average salary of $96,084, which is higher than the $63,063 average annual salary of an assistant director.
The top three skills for an assistant director include customer service, CPR and child care. The most important skills for a program manager are project management, program management, and oversight.
| Assistant Director | Program Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $63,063 | $96,084 |
| Hourly rate | $30.32 | $46.19 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 25,087 | 197,556 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 40 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 6 | - |
Assistant directors are employees in show business who directly support directors. They may be working on a film, television show, or theatre production. Assistant directors are the second-in-command on the set. They take over for the director when he/she or she is unable to work. Assistant directors should be familiar with the script and the scenes. They are usually heavily involved in the conception of the production. They ensure that the plans are executed well by assisting in the selection of the cast and crew, production sets, and other set providers. They also make sure that shoot days or performance days go without a hitch by ironing out all the details in advance and preparing alternatives.
A program manager is responsible for monitoring the project's progress, improving and developing new strategies, and coordinate various projects across the organization to ensure the success of the business objective. Program managers also manage the program's expenses, ensuring that the projects adhere to the budget goals without compromising the quality and accuracy of the result. A program manager should regularly connect with the different teams of every project under the program to keep track of the processes and procedures for the timely delivery of the product.
Assistant directors and program managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Assistant Director | Program Manager | |
| Average salary | $63,063 | $96,084 |
| Salary range | Between $37,000 And $105,000 | Between $65,000 And $141,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Mayer Brown | Meta |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between an assistant director and a program manager in terms of educational background:
| Assistant Director | Program Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between assistant directors' and program managers' demographics:
| Assistant Director | Program Manager | |
| Average age | 40 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 38.3% Female, 61.7% | Male, 52.9% Female, 47.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 6.4% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 14% | 10% |