Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between lead contractors and project specialists 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 $65,993 average annual salary of a project specialist.
The top three skills for a lead contractor include project management, contract management and powerpoint. The most important skills for a project specialist are customer service, project management, and project proposals.
| Lead Contractor | Project Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $97,028 | $65,993 |
| Hourly rate | $46.65 | $31.73 |
| Growth rate | - | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 18,840 | 99,583 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
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.
A project specialist's role is to ensure that a project or program's completion is within the allotted time and budget. They are primarily responsible for devising plans and strategies to quicken the pace of production or processes involved, creating a comprehensive schedule, monitoring the progress and producing reports, tracking the budget and expenditures, and coordinating with all department personnel. Moreover, a project specialist may also schedule and attend meetings, all while adhering to the company's policies and standards.
Lead contractors and project specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Lead Contractor | Project Specialist | |
| Average salary | $97,028 | $65,993 |
| Salary range | Between $61,000 And $151,000 | Between $41,000 And $103,000 |
| Highest paying City | Livermore, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Parker Drilling Co | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Professional |
There are a few differences between a lead contractor and a project specialist in terms of educational background:
| Lead Contractor | Project Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | - | Western Carolina University |
Here are the differences between lead contractors' and project specialists' demographics:
| Lead Contractor | Project Specialist | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 62.1% Female, 37.9% | Male, 46.7% Female, 53.3% |
| 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, 6.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 70.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |