Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between assistant shop managers and dept managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both an assistant shop manager and a dept manager. Additionally, a dept manager has an average salary of $50,222, which is higher than the $36,722 average annual salary of an assistant shop manager.
The top three skills for an assistant shop manager include sales floor, payroll and loss prevention. The most important skills for a dept manager are customer service, sales floor, and pallet jack.
| Assistant Shop Manager | Dept Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $36,722 | $50,222 |
| Hourly rate | $17.65 | $24.15 |
| Growth rate | - | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 81,755 | 221,313 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 44% | Bachelor's Degree, 32% |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
An assistant shop manager works together with the shop manager in overseeing shop operations, ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently. They usually perform administrative support tasks such as preparing and processing documentation and invoices, maintaining records, handling calls and correspondence, managing schedules, and updating databases. There are also instances when they must liaise and negotiate with suppliers and distributors, building positive relationships in the process. Moreover, in the absence of the manager, an assistant shop manager may take over their duties for the time being to maintain smooth workflow operations.
A department manager is responsible for monitoring the operations of the assigned department, ensuring the maximum productivity and optimal performance of the staff. Department managers also coordinate with business partners, clients, and customers, as well as identifying business opportunities to drive more revenues and increase profitability. They handle department budgets and maintain the proper allocation of resources to support project management and deliverables. A department manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills, managing the staff's needs, and providing excellent support.
Assistant shop managers and dept managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Assistant Shop Manager | Dept Manager | |
| Average salary | $36,722 | $50,222 |
| Salary range | Between $29,000 And $45,000 | Between $28,000 And $87,000 |
| Highest paying City | Richmond, CA | Bay Shore, NY |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | Rhode Island |
| Best paying company | Bath & Body Works | UPMC |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Retail |
There are a few differences between an assistant shop manager and a dept manager in terms of educational background:
| Assistant Shop Manager | Dept Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 44% | Bachelor's Degree, 32% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | SUNY College of Technology at Delhi | SUNY College of Technology at Delhi |
Here are the differences between assistant shop managers' and dept managers' demographics:
| Assistant Shop Manager | Dept Manager | |
| Average age | 43 | 43 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 68.7% Female, 31.3% | Male, 52.5% Female, 47.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 17.4% Asian, 7.0% White, 61.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 17.2% Asian, 6.7% White, 61.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 9% |