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The differences between general directors and general managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a general director, becoming a general manager takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a general director has an average salary of $109,550, which is higher than the $71,581 average annual salary of a general manager.
The top three skills for a general director include digital marketing, SEO and lead generation. The most important skills for a general manager are customer service, cleanliness, and food safety.
| General Director | General Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $109,550 | $71,581 |
| Hourly rate | $52.67 | $34.41 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 74,664 | 442,690 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.25 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Average age | 48 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
A general director is required to oversee all the business operations of their company, including its financial performance and investments. Part of a general director's job is to supervise executives and delegate work to them. They may also be required to assess problematic situations and developments and resolve them. Moreover, they must ensure that their company is constantly moving towards both its long-term and short-term goals.
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.
General directors and general managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| General Director | General Manager | |
| Average salary | $109,550 | $71,581 |
| Salary range | Between $69,000 And $172,000 | Between $40,000 And $126,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sunnyvale, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Regeneron | NVIDIA |
| Best paying industry | Health Care | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a general director and a general manager in terms of educational background:
| General Director | General Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 55% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between general directors' and general managers' demographics:
| General Director | General Manager | |
| Average age | 48 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 71.1% Female, 28.9% | Male, 70.7% Female, 29.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.9% Unknown, 3.5% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 2.7% White, 76.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | 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 | 17% | 10% |