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The differences between functional managers and general 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 functional manager, becoming a general manager takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a functional manager has an average salary of $113,849, which is higher than the $71,581 average annual salary of a general manager.
The top three skills for a functional manager include professional development, customer service and ERP. The most important skills for a general manager are customer service, cleanliness, and food safety.
| Functional Manager | General Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $113,849 | $71,581 |
| Hourly rate | $54.74 | $34.41 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 48,500 | 442,690 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.25 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Average age | 47 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 6 |
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.
A general manager is responsible for handling the overall operations in the business. General managers manage the staff tasks efficiently, monitor the productivity and efficiency of the work environment, implement new strategies to improve the business performance, recognize the team's best efforts, and effective allocation of budget resources. A general manager must have excellent communication, decision-making, and critical-thinking skills to identify areas of improvement in handling customer complaints, connecting with vendors and other lines of businesses that will direct the company towards its successful objectives.
Functional managers and general managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Functional Manager | General Manager | |
| Average salary | $113,849 | $71,581 |
| Salary range | Between $88,000 And $146,000 | Between $40,000 And $126,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Apple | NVIDIA |
| Best paying industry | Professional | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a functional manager and a general manager in terms of educational background:
| Functional Manager | General Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 58% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between functional managers' and general managers' demographics:
| Functional Manager | General Manager | |
| Average age | 47 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 67.2% Female, 32.8% | Male, 70.7% Female, 29.3% |
| 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, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 10% |