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The differences between information technology project leads and project leaders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both an information technology project lead and a project leader. Additionally, an information technology project lead has an average salary of $102,491, which is higher than the $98,559 average annual salary of a project leader.
The top three skills for an information technology project lead include project management, software development and status reports. The most important skills for a project leader are project management, work ethic, and C++.
| Information Technology Project Lead | Project Leader | |
| Yearly salary | $102,491 | $98,559 |
| Hourly rate | $49.27 | $47.38 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 9% |
| Number of jobs | 181,020 | 221,165 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Information technology (IT) project leads are professionals who manage a team of IT professionals that work on the IT projects of an organization. These project leads are required to handle all issues regarding the project and financial management as well as review business and product requirements with the technical development team to address production issues. They must collaborate with the technical and application team leaders so that they can ensure the appropriate development of infrastructure architecture. IT project leads must also participate in negotiations with the software suppliers and IT consulting firms.
A project leader is responsible for supervising the team and managing the distribution of tasks to ensure the project's success with the highest efficiency and accuracy. Duties of a project leader include motivating the team, managing the team's needs and concerns, providing effective strategies to improve the team's performance, creating reports, monitoring the team's progress, and maintaining the coordination between team members. A project leader should have exceptional leadership skills to handle the team's operation and identify areas of improvement to deliver excellent results.
Information technology project leads and project leaders have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Information Technology Project Lead | Project Leader | |
| Average salary | $102,491 | $98,559 |
| Salary range | Between $75,000 And $139,000 | Between $70,000 And $138,000 |
| Highest paying City | New York, NY | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | California |
| Best paying company | Citi | Boston Consulting Group |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Professional |
There are a few differences between an information technology project lead and a project leader in terms of educational background:
| Information Technology Project Lead | Project Leader | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Computer Science | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between information technology project leads' and project leaders' demographics:
| Information Technology Project Lead | Project Leader | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 65.6% Female, 34.4% | Male, 69.0% Female, 31.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |