Post job

Business developer vs project manager

The differences between business developers and project managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a business developer has an average salary of $101,635, which is higher than the $91,578 average annual salary of a project manager.

The top three skills for a business developer include healthcare, CRM and customer service. The most important skills for a project manager are project management, project scope, and customer service.

Business developer vs project manager overview

Business DeveloperProject Manager
Yearly salary$101,635$91,578
Hourly rate$48.86$44.03
Growth rate10%8%
Number of jobs193,469167,116
Job satisfaction-4.17
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age4447
Years of experience--

What does a business developer do?

A business developer specializes in conducting in-depth business analysis and crafting various strategies that would not just help a business grow, but also strengthen client base and brand awareness. One of their primary responsibilities revolves around identifying areas in need of improvement. They come up with new services that will boost customer satisfaction, examining the potential for revenue and figuring out new opportunities from trends or other pre-existing programs within the company. All of this is conducted according to the vision, mission, and policies of the organization.

What does a project manager do?

Project managers oversee a specific project related to the organization's business. They manage the whole project from inception to evaluation. They initiate planning with involved departments, follow-through on the plans, ensure smooth execution of the plans, and evaluate the project for further improvements should these be needed. In line with this, project managers also ensure that the project is cost-efficient and well within the budget. They also manage the different work teams involved in the project and ensure that things are running smoothly on this aspect as well.

Business developer vs project manager salary

Business developers and project managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Business DeveloperProject Manager
Average salary$101,635$91,578
Salary rangeBetween $66,000 And $156,000Between $64,000 And $129,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyAppleThe Citadel
Best paying industryManufacturingTechnology

Differences between business developer and project manager education

There are a few differences between a business developer and a project manager in terms of educational background:

Business DeveloperProject Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 72%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeWestern Carolina UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Business developer vs project manager demographics

Here are the differences between business developers' and project managers' demographics:

Business DeveloperProject Manager
Average age4447
Gender ratioMale, 65.8% Female, 34.2%Male, 68.9% Female, 31.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 70.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%Black or African American, 7.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 9.0% White, 65.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage11%10%

Differences between business developer and project manager duties and responsibilities

Business developer example responsibilities.

  • Manage all marketing and sales duties in Asia and Caribbean markets.
  • Manage pipeline within SalesForce and maintain accurate prospect/client information.
  • Manage logistics, control engineering and design, order placement, vendor relationships, customer utilization and technology.
  • Provide enterprise-wide e-business leadership for platform and product development, e-commerce & CRM solutions, and end-to-end customer acquisition strategies.
  • Establish a social media presence through Facebook & LinkedIn to increase marketability and develop a virtual community for the organization.
  • Implement the company from UK in Switzerland.
  • Show more

Project manager example responsibilities.

  • Schedule and manage the GCP audit process.
  • Define, develop and manage metrics and KPIs systems for new product business group.
  • Manage the application process for the FDA medical device, minority and small business certifications.
  • Manage multiple projects and resources simultaneously while mentoring, coaching and implementing best practices, SOX and HIPAA compliance standards.
  • Lead teams using the Informatica ETL tool for the design and development of multiple financial and risk enterprise data warehouses.
  • Administer and manage Salesforce requirements.
  • Show more

Business developer vs project manager skills

Common business developer skills
  • Healthcare, 10%
  • CRM, 8%
  • Customer Service, 7%
  • Work Ethic, 4%
  • Linkedin, 3%
  • Sales Process, 3%
Common project manager skills
  • Project Management, 23%
  • Project Scope, 6%
  • Customer Service, 6%
  • Infrastructure, 5%
  • Status Reports, 4%
  • Risk Management, 3%

Browse business and financial jobs