Early childhood development manager vs center director

The differences between early childhood development managers and center directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both an early childhood development manager and a center director. Additionally, a center director has an average salary of $106,505, which is higher than the $34,197 average annual salary of an early childhood development manager.

The top three skills for an early childhood development manager include technical assistance, child development and early childhood development. The most important skills for a center director are customer service, oversight, and proficiency testing.

Early childhood development manager vs center director overview

	Early Childhood Development Manager	Center Director
Yearly salary	$34,197	$106,505
Hourly rate	$16.44	$51.20
Growth rate	8%	8%
Number of jobs	50,213	62,348
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 42%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	4	4

Early childhood development manager vs center director salary

Early childhood development managers and center directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Early Childhood Development Manager	Center Director
Average salary	$34,197	$106,505
Salary range	Between $24,000 And $47,000	Between $65,000 And $172,000
Highest paying City	-	Newark, DE
Highest paying state	-	Rhode Island
Best paying company	-	Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between early childhood development manager and center director education

There are a few differences between an early childhood development manager and a center director in terms of educational background:

	Early Childhood Development Manager	Center Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 42%	Bachelor's Degree, 61%
Most common major	Early Childhood Education	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Early childhood development manager vs center director demographics

Here are the differences between early childhood development managers' and center directors' demographics:

	Early Childhood Development Manager	Center Director
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 12.7% Female, 87.3%	Male, 29.0% Female, 71.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.1% Asian, 4.3% White, 64.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 4.0% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 4.4% White, 64.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	16%	16%

Differences between early childhood development manager and center director duties and responsibilities

Early childhood development manager example responsibilities.

Lead program development for an early childhood education initiative.
Have assumed both lead and floating positions, ensuring proper implementation of Montessori and safety guidelines in every classroom.
Connect administrative leadership with a trainer for the implementation of the ASQ and ASQ-SE.
Administer competency assessments and formal CDA observations.
Have assumed both lead and floating positions, ensuring proper implementation of Montessori and safety guidelines in every classroom.

Center director example responsibilities.

Manage programs provide by SDE, DMH, DHS.
Design, implement and manage day-to-day operation of the 21st CCLC grant support afterschool program.
Manage daily operations of NAEYC accredit childcare center.
Manage daily operation for a family-own business with responsibility for sales, production, and administrative functions including payroll.
Manage delivery of quality early childhood education programs by establishing an environment of learning and maintaining the integrity of the programs.
Lead a staff of 76 FTE's.

Early childhood development manager vs center director skills

Common early childhood development manager skills

Technical Assistance, 42%
Child Development, 25%
Early Childhood Development, 18%
Community Partnerships, 3%
Mental Health, 3%
Professional Development, 3%

Common center director skills

Customer Service, 12%
Oversight, 8%
Proficiency Testing, 6%
Center Management, 6%
State Regulations, 6%
Federal Regulations, 6%

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Early Childhood Development Manager
Early Childhood Development Manager vs Center Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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