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The differences between disaster recovery specialists and business continuity managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a disaster recovery specialist and a business continuity manager. Additionally, a business continuity manager has an average salary of $81,325, which is higher than the $64,394 average annual salary of a disaster recovery specialist.
The top three skills for a disaster recovery specialist include grants management, infrastructure and business continuity. The most important skills for a business continuity manager are crisis management, business continuity, and business impact analysis.
| Disaster Recovery Specialist | Business Continuity Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $64,394 | $81,325 |
| Hourly rate | $30.96 | $39.10 |
| Growth rate | - | - |
| Number of jobs | 9,907 | 71,473 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A disaster recovery specialist helps businesses protect software, hardware, and data from different kinds of disasters. They are primarily in charge of creating recovery and continuity plans, helping companies run smoothly and efficiently despite issues brought by the disasters. Their duties also include performing research and analyses, obtaining data from different departments, coordinating with fellow specialists, conducting systems tests and inspections, and utilizing research findings to develop plans and recommendations. Moreover, a disaster recovery specialist may also train staff and provide technical support as necessary.
Business continuity managers are management professionals who create crisis management plans to keep an organization functioning after experiencing disruptive events. These managers are required to design and implement business continuity plans for all business offices to ensure that they always remain in a state of readiness. They must enhance integrated risk management principles while coordinating all activities for disaster recovery and business continuity exercises worldwide. Business continuity managers must also partner with other businesses to develop business recovery strategies.
Disaster recovery specialists and business continuity managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Disaster Recovery Specialist | Business Continuity Manager | |
| Average salary | $64,394 | $81,325 |
| Salary range | Between $42,000 And $97,000 | Between $55,000 And $118,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Albany, NY |
| Highest paying state | - | New York |
| Best paying company | - | Meta |
| Best paying industry | - | Education |
There are a few differences between a disaster recovery specialist and a business continuity manager in terms of educational background:
| Disaster Recovery Specialist | Business Continuity Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between disaster recovery specialists' and business continuity managers' demographics:
| Disaster Recovery Specialist | Business Continuity Manager | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 64.9% Female, 35.1% | Male, 72.5% Female, 27.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 70.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 70.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |