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The differences between directors, applications and technical 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 director, applications, becoming a technical manager takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a director, applications has an average salary of $155,871, which is higher than the $116,619 average annual salary of a technical manager.
The top three skills for a director, applications include cloud, project management and customer service. The most important skills for a technical manager are project management, infrastructure, and architecture.
| Director, Applications | Technical Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $155,871 | $116,619 |
| Hourly rate | $74.94 | $56.07 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 75,822 | 116,732 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 47 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 2 |
An application director is responsible for designing and reviewing software applications to support business requirements and network solutions. Applications directors strategize efficient techniques in developing systems, assist the design teams, and conduct quality checks to the outputs to ensure its accuracy and adherence to guidelines and project procedures. They review applications request, manage and allocate budget and resources, and determine the timetable of deliverables. An application director must have excellent technical skills to support the team in resolving application discrepancy and analyzing technology standards.
A technical manager is responsible for maintaining the company's information systems database and analyzing technology system matters to ensure its efficiency and accuracy in supporting business operations. Technical managers perform network checks regularly to assess any possible malfunctions that might compromise the company's cybersecurity. They carefully analyze business and clients' specifications on working with systems integration, responding to end-users' concerns and inquiries. A technical manager must have excellent knowledge of the information technology systems industry, as well as a strong command on network codes to conduct adjustments and manage network infrastructure.
Directors, applications and technical managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Director, Applications | Technical Manager | |
| Average salary | $155,871 | $116,619 |
| Salary range | Between $120,000 And $200,000 | Between $84,000 And $161,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Okta | A.T. Kearney |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a director, applications and a technical manager in terms of educational background:
| Director, Applications | Technical Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | Carnegie Mellon University |
Here are the differences between directors, applications' and technical managers' demographics:
| Director, Applications | Technical Manager | |
| Average age | 47 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 77.6% Female, 22.4% | Male, 83.7% Female, 16.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 12.7% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 8.0% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 6.4% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 14% |