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Category supervisor vs department manager

The differences between category supervisors and department managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a category supervisor and a department manager. Additionally, a category supervisor has an average salary of $95,570, which is higher than the $67,160 average annual salary of a department manager.

The top three skills for a category supervisor include customer service, sales floor and merchandise flow. The most important skills for a department manager are inventory management, sales promotions, and cleanliness.

Category supervisor vs department manager overview

Category SupervisorDepartment Manager
Yearly salary$95,570$67,160
Hourly rate$45.95$32.29
Growth rate10%5%
Number of jobs55,713330,327
Job satisfaction-4
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Average age4343
Years of experience66

Category supervisor vs department manager salary

Category supervisors and department managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Category SupervisorDepartment Manager
Average salary$95,570$67,160
Salary rangeBetween $59,000 And $152,000Between $39,000 And $115,000
Highest paying City-New York, NY
Highest paying state-New Jersey
Best paying company-Ralph Lauren
Best paying industry-Manufacturing

Differences between category supervisor and department manager education

There are a few differences between a category supervisor and a department manager in terms of educational background:

Category SupervisorDepartment Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 46%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaSUNY College of Technology at Delhi

Category supervisor vs department manager demographics

Here are the differences between category supervisors' and department managers' demographics:

Category SupervisorDepartment Manager
Average age4343
Gender ratioMale, 8.8% Female, 91.2%Male, 51.8% Female, 48.2%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.5% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 18.0% Asian, 7.0% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%Black or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 16.8% Asian, 7.0% White, 61.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage9%9%

Differences between category supervisor and department manager duties and responsibilities

Category supervisor example responsibilities.

  • Manage relationships with primary suppliers including monitoring and purchasing commodities, forecasting, marketing initiatives and quality control.
  • Assist with and preform numerous responsibilities, including administrative, policy and procedures, personnel issues, payroll preparation and submission.
  • Demonstrate excellent customer sales lead (CSL) behaviors.
  • Conduct CSL and associate observations and provide feedback and coaching.
  • Perform analytical research of the syndicated market and/or retail data to effectively evaluate wine performance in the market.

Department manager example responsibilities.

  • Participate in company's ISO certification program, successfully achieving ISO [] and AS9100 certification.
  • Manage and delegate over lumber-building materials department including millwork department.
  • Manage electronics, wireless connection center, layaway and online order/pickup departments.
  • Develop schedules; manage payroll; multitask extensively to ensure competing requirements are complete.
  • Monitor and maximize sales and payroll by identifying sales opportunities and managing controllable expenses.
  • Manage geotechnical aspects of an EIR/EIS for a coastal development in an environmentally sensitive lagoon.
  • Show more

Category supervisor vs department manager skills

Common category supervisor skills
  • Customer Service, 21%
  • Sales Floor, 14%
  • Merchandise Flow, 10%
  • Sales Associates, 6%
  • Sales Leadership, 4%
  • Business Results, 4%
Common department manager skills
  • Inventory Management, 38%
  • Sales Promotions, 17%
  • Cleanliness, 13%
  • Customer Service, 8%
  • Sales Floor, 3%
  • Product Knowledge, 2%