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Director vs senior director

The differences between directors and senior directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a director, becoming a senior director takes usually requires 8-10 years. Additionally, a senior director has an average salary of $152,047, which is higher than the $113,489 average annual salary of a director.

The top three skills for a director include healthcare, customer service and oversight. The most important skills for a senior director are healthcare, analytics, and patients.

Director vs senior director overview

DirectorSenior Director
Yearly salary$113,489$152,047
Hourly rate$54.56$73.10
Growth rate8%10%
Number of jobs230,711131,871
Job satisfaction5-
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 64%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Average age4039
Years of experience610

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.

What does a senior director do?

Senior directors are the top management who manage the overall corporate structure of a brand. These executives take responsibility for the planning, operations, and profitability of the company. They direct and control all the functions of businesses. Their jobs cover the advertising, marketing, sales, and promotions of products and services. They are the people behind the tactical and strategic management of every asset of the enterprise through different programs.

Director vs senior director salary

Directors and senior directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

DirectorSenior Director
Average salary$113,489$152,047
Salary rangeBetween $66,000 And $192,000Between $105,000 And $219,000
Highest paying CityNew York, NYSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateNew YorkCalifornia
Best paying companyMayo ClinicApple
Best paying industryFinancePharmaceutical

Differences between director and senior director education

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

DirectorSenior Director
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 64%Bachelor's Degree, 69%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeStanford UniversityUniversity of Georgia

Director vs senior director demographics

Here are the differences between directors' and senior directors' demographics:

DirectorSenior Director
Average age4039
Gender ratioMale, 53.2% Female, 46.8%Male, 66.6% Female, 33.4%
Race ratioBlack 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%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%
LGBT Percentage14%10%

Differences between director and senior director duties and responsibilities

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.
  • Show more

Senior director example responsibilities.

  • Lead the expansion for support of public sector business in EMEA and APAC.
  • Create and deliver pitch decks, while being task with managing RFP responses.
  • Organize scrum certification training, lead departmental reorganization around scrum teams and act as scrum coach.
  • Lead assessment, design, and implementation of operational governance capabilities for the EMEA & ASIA regions.
  • Manage ongoing ITIL certification program for UK operations as required by government regulation.
  • Help project managers understand financial responsibilities and lead them in increase product delivery and ROI.
  • Show more

Director vs senior director skills

Common director skills
  • Healthcare, 10%
  • Customer Service, 10%
  • Oversight, 7%
  • Project Management, 6%
  • Human Resources, 4%
  • Business Development, 4%
Common senior director skills
  • Healthcare, 6%
  • Analytics, 6%
  • Patients, 6%
  • Portfolio, 5%
  • Oversight, 5%
  • Project Management, 5%

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