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Creative project manager vs project manager

The differences between creative project managers and project managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a project manager has an average salary of $91,578, which is higher than the $75,415 average annual salary of a creative project manager.

The top three skills for a creative project manager include digital marketing, creative projects and creative services. The most important skills for a project manager are project management, project scope, and customer service.

Creative project manager vs project manager overview

Creative Project ManagerProject Manager
Yearly salary$75,415$91,578
Hourly rate$36.26$44.03
Growth rate10%8%
Number of jobs159,224167,116
Job satisfaction-4.17
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 80%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age3947
Years of experience10-

What does a creative project manager do?

Creative Project Managers oversee specific projects in the company. They work in the creative industry, usually with artists. These artists include graphic designers, art directors, photographers, and the like. They ensure project completion and proper coordination between different teams. Due to the nature of the creative industry, they should adapt to changes and be flexible. Creative Project Managers are expected to have extensive experience working in the creative industry and with different artists in the industry. This experience would help them navigate and complete projects.

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.

Creative project manager vs project manager salary

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

Creative Project ManagerProject Manager
Average salary$75,415$91,578
Salary rangeBetween $51,000 And $110,000Between $64,000 And $129,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateRhode IslandCalifornia
Best paying companyMetaThe Citadel
Best paying industryTechnologyTechnology

Differences between creative project manager and project manager education

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

Creative Project ManagerProject Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 80%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorGraphic DesignBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of Wisconsin - MadisonUniversity of Pennsylvania

Creative project manager vs project manager demographics

Here are the differences between creative project managers' and project managers' demographics:

Creative Project ManagerProject Manager
Average age3947
Gender ratioMale, 41.5% Female, 58.5%Male, 68.9% Female, 31.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%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 Percentage10%10%

Differences between creative project manager and project manager duties and responsibilities

Creative project manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage a team of .Net and PHP developers.
  • Manage creative team (editorial and design) copywriting, proofreading
  • Manage creative team to develop packaging, hang tags and POS assets for all products.
  • Manage migration of the defect/change request intake process from SharePoint to JIRA workflow management system.
  • Manage multiple digital and rich media advertising campaign creative, teams & lifecycles including conception, production, QA and implementation.
  • Manage leading fashion editorial photography studio, including set and lighting design.
  • 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

Creative project manager vs project manager skills

Common creative project manager skills
  • Digital Marketing, 9%
  • Creative Projects, 8%
  • Creative Services, 5%
  • PowerPoint, 4%
  • Client Facing, 4%
  • Project Management Software, 4%
Common project manager skills
  • Project Management, 23%
  • Project Scope, 6%
  • Customer Service, 6%
  • Infrastructure, 5%
  • Status Reports, 4%
  • Risk Management, 3%

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