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Chief of staff vs director

The differences between chiefs of staff and directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes More than 10 years to become a chief of staff, becoming a director takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a chief of staff has an average salary of $130,835, which is higher than the $113,489 average annual salary of a director.

The top three skills for a chief of staff include PET, team support and project management. The most important skills for a director are healthcare, customer service, and oversight.

Chief of staff vs director overview

Chief Of StaffDirector
Yearly salary$130,835$113,489
Hourly rate$62.90$54.56
Growth rate6%8%
Number of jobs124,272230,711
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age5240
Years of experience-6

What does a chief of staff do?

A chief of staff primarily supports an executive through performing various administrative tasks. Most of their responsibilities revolve around collaborating with other executive support personnel to devise strategies that will help the company, responding to inquiries and correspondence, approving communications letters, managing schedules, setting appointments, and serving as an advisor to the executive. Furthermore, when it comes to issues and disputes, the chief of staff must be quick to conduct research and perform damage control to help the executive and the company rise from the occasion.

What does a director do?

Directors work in show business, whether in a film, a television show, or a theatre production. They are responsible for bringing the material to life. They work with the writers to get a clear vision of how the production should look. They lead the production team in planning for the production, identifying filming or rehearsing schedules, casting for roles, and other aspects that need to be decided upon. Directors provide direction to the actors to ensure that the actors understand their role and will be able to effectively convey emotions to the audience. They also manage all other crew members and communicate their expectations clearly so that everyone on the set is working towards one vision.

Chief of staff vs director salary

Chiefs of staff and directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

Chief Of StaffDirector
Average salary$130,835$113,489
Salary rangeBetween $85,000 And $200,000Between $66,000 And $192,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CANew York, NY
Highest paying stateCaliforniaNew York
Best paying companyLyftMayo Clinic
Best paying industryStart-upFinance

Differences between chief of staff and director education

There are a few differences between a chief of staff and a director in terms of educational background:

Chief Of StaffDirector
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 63%Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaStanford University

Chief of staff vs director demographics

Here are the differences between chiefs of staff' and directors' demographics:

Chief Of StaffDirector
Average age5240
Gender ratioMale, 62.0% Female, 38.0%Male, 53.2% Female, 46.8%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 7.8% White, 76.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%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%
LGBT Percentage12%14%

Differences between chief of staff and director duties and responsibilities

Chief of staff example responsibilities.

  • Lead headquarters (HQ) operations staff.
  • Manage the G3's fiscal year budget planning, formulation, and execution.
  • Supervise the G2 administrative section and maintain and manage the G2 budget and material resources.
  • Manage the predeployment training and the deployment process to receiving commands, and subsequent redeployment and deactivation.
  • Manage budgets of $75,000 to $22 million paying keen attention to cost containment and ROI.
  • Credit for managing and improving the HAZMAT program, which serve as a benchmark example for the base community.
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Director example responsibilities.

  • Manage water metering programs for NYC and national portfolio.
  • Collaborate with the CPA to manage financials and reporting / distribution to physicians.
  • Manage OEM manufacturing partners for making bulk solutions, product fills and final packaging.
  • Lead company's first deep-fill structural project, bring company into EPA compliance, establish effective QA-QC program.
  • Develop company website entirely as well as wrote and manage the SEO and upkeep for overall site maintenance.
  • Manage the company's hotel portfolio operations and assets, including renovation, new build, conversions, and rebranding.
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Chief of staff vs director skills

Common chief of staff skills
  • PET, 15%
  • Team Support, 11%
  • Project Management, 8%
  • Oversight, 7%
  • Direct Reports, 6%
  • Marketing Campaigns, 6%
Common director skills
  • Healthcare, 10%
  • Customer Service, 10%
  • Oversight, 7%
  • Project Management, 6%
  • Human Resources, 4%
  • Business Development, 4%

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