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The differences between lead contractors and contracts administrators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a lead contractor has an average salary of $97,028, which is higher than the $52,876 average annual salary of a contracts administrator.
The top three skills for a lead contractor include project management, contract management and powerpoint. The most important skills for a contracts administrator are contract administration, customer service, and contract management.
| Lead Contractor | Contracts Administrator | |
| Yearly salary | $97,028 | $52,876 |
| Hourly rate | $46.65 | $25.42 |
| Growth rate | - | -6% |
| Number of jobs | 18,840 | 58,038 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 44 | 48 |
| Years of experience | - | 6 |
A lead contractor is someone who is in charge of designing, building, and the engineering elements of a construction project. Lead contractors serve as the prime subcontractors to a development entity. They direct contract administration for the services and commodities as the team leads. It is part of their responsibilities to be goal-oriented with consistent meetings and create project management-related objectives. Also, they implement failure analysis and its modes and project management practices while they develop the failure analysis program.
Contract administrators create and manage legal contracts from which the company participates. They ensure that all entities to the contract will accomplish their obligations, as indicated in the contract. They usually work for larger organizations that might be involved with different or highly complex contracts. These organizations spread across a range of industries, including government, construction, and healthcare. Their responsibilities include addressing any conflicts of questions regarding the contract, analyzing the possible risks posed by contracts, and working alongside the legal and procurement teams.
Lead contractors and contracts administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Contractor | Contracts Administrator | |
| Average salary | $97,028 | $52,876 |
| Salary range | Between $61,000 And $151,000 | Between $35,000 And $78,000 |
| Highest paying City | Livermore, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | California | Maryland |
| Best paying company | Parker Drilling Co | Ngam Advisors, L.P. |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a lead contractor and a contracts administrator in terms of educational background:
| Lead Contractor | Contracts Administrator | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between lead contractors' and contracts administrators' demographics:
| Lead Contractor | Contracts Administrator | |
| Average age | 44 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 62.1% Female, 37.9% | Male, 32.2% Female, 67.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 70.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 9.2% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 7.7% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 7% |