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The differences between development managers and senior development managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 8-10 years to become a development manager, becoming a senior development manager takes usually requires 6-8 years. Additionally, a senior development manager has an average salary of $141,487, which is higher than the $110,678 average annual salary of a development manager.
The top three skills for a development manager include project management, customer service and patients. The most important skills for a senior development manager are java, software development, and cloud.
| Development Manager | Senior Development Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $110,678 | $141,487 |
| Hourly rate | $53.21 | $68.02 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 111,137 | 148,732 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Average age | 39 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 10 | 8 |
A development manager is responsible for assisting existing clients or potential clients of the services they need. A development manager serves as the initial point of contact for the clients to answer their inquiries and concerns before proceeding with a contract. Development managers usually arrange meetings with clients, analyze business opportunities, improve marketing initiatives to attract clients, research the industry's latest trends, create proposals, and assist in training new staff members. A development manager must have excellent communication and leadership skills to handle staff performance and build professional relationships with clients.
A senior development manager oversees the daily operations of a company's product development team. They mostly have administrative duties, such as spearheading projects and programs, streamlining project requirements, establishing objectives and timelines, setting budgets and guidelines, delegating responsibilities among teams, and monitoring their progress, coordinating every team's efforts to ensure an effective workflow. Being a senior development manager takes years of experience, which they utilize to lead and guide teams in a joint effort to reach project goals and deliver profitable products.
Development managers and senior development managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Development Manager | Senior Development Manager | |
| Average salary | $110,678 | $141,487 |
| Salary range | Between $76,000 And $159,000 | Between $106,000 And $188,000 |
| Highest paying City | Richmond, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld | Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Hospitality |
There are a few differences between a development manager and a senior development manager in terms of educational background:
| Development Manager | Senior Development Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 70% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | Carnegie Mellon University |
Here are the differences between development managers' and senior development managers' demographics:
| Development Manager | Senior Development Manager | |
| Average age | 39 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 60.5% Female, 39.5% | Male, 71.9% Female, 28.1% |
| Race ratio | Black 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, 6.6% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 13.6% White, 64.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 11% |