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The differences between commercial managers and general managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-8 years to become a commercial manager, becoming a general manager takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a commercial manager has an average salary of $100,167, which is higher than the $71,581 average annual salary of a general manager.
The top three skills for a commercial manager include project management, customer service and business development. The most important skills for a general manager are customer service, cleanliness, and food safety.
| Commercial Manager | General Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $100,167 | $71,581 |
| Hourly rate | $48.16 | $34.41 |
| Growth rate | 5% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 104,252 | 442,690 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.25 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Average age | 46 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 6 |
A commercial manager is in charge of devising strategies for optimal procedures. Their responsibilities typically revolve around liaising with clients to determine their needs, coordinating with different departments to gather necessary data, performing research and analysis to identify the strengths and weaknesses of existing systems, and developing new business plans for profit growth and efficient workflow. Furthermore, as a manager, it is essential to lead and encourage the staff to reach goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
A general manager is responsible for handling the overall operations in the business. General managers manage the staff tasks efficiently, monitor the productivity and efficiency of the work environment, implement new strategies to improve the business performance, recognize the team's best efforts, and effective allocation of budget resources. A general manager must have excellent communication, decision-making, and critical-thinking skills to identify areas of improvement in handling customer complaints, connecting with vendors and other lines of businesses that will direct the company towards its successful objectives.
Commercial managers and general managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Commercial Manager | General Manager | |
| Average salary | $100,167 | $71,581 |
| Salary range | Between $70,000 And $143,000 | Between $40,000 And $126,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Hawaii | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Cheniere Energy | NVIDIA |
| Best paying industry | Manufacturing | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a commercial manager and a general manager in terms of educational background:
| Commercial Manager | General Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Southern California | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between commercial managers' and general managers' demographics:
| Commercial Manager | General Manager | |
| Average age | 46 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 73.3% Female, 26.7% | Male, 70.7% Female, 29.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 4.1% White, 78.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 10% |