Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between functional managers and application managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 6-8 years to become both a functional manager and an application manager. Additionally, an application manager has an average salary of $122,748, which is higher than the $113,849 average annual salary of a functional manager.
The top three skills for a functional manager include professional development, customer service and ERP. The most important skills for an application manager are customer service, project management, and application development.
| Functional Manager | Application Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $113,849 | $122,748 |
| Hourly rate | $54.74 | $59.01 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 48,500 | 125,760 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 8 |
A functional manager handles resources in a certain department like IT, engineering, PR, or marketing. Generally, they direct the technical work of employees from that functional part who are working on the project. They share responsibility with the project manager for directing the work of employees. They assign specific employees to the team and discuss with the project manager regarding resources to improved staff utilization. In addition, they also participate in the initial planning until activities are assigned and recommend possible changes to the project, including corrective actions.
An application manager is in charge of overseeing software applications and systems within a company, ensuring efficiency and quality. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around conducting research and analysis to identify company needs, assessing existing applications to determine their strengths and weaknesses, and implementing solutions to optimize the quality of services. They may also conduct regular maintenance checks to ensure the efficiency of applications, performing corrective measures when necessary. Furthermore, as an application manager, it is essential to coordinate with the information technology staff, encouraging them to reach goals and new heights.
Functional managers and application managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Functional Manager | Application Manager | |
| Average salary | $113,849 | $122,748 |
| Salary range | Between $88,000 And $146,000 | Between $93,000 And $160,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | Roku |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Finance |
There are a few differences between a functional manager and an application manager in terms of educational background:
| Functional Manager | Application Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | Carnegie Mellon University |
Here are the differences between functional managers' and application managers' demographics:
| Functional Manager | Application Manager | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 67.2% Female, 32.8% | Male, 71.1% Female, 28.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.6% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 12.7% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 10.2% Asian, 13.5% White, 64.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |