Life enrichment director vs recreation director

The differences between life enrichment directors and recreation directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a life enrichment director and a recreation director. Additionally, a recreation director has an average salary of $48,525, which is higher than the $42,073 average annual salary of a life enrichment director.

The top three skills for a life enrichment director include customer service, independent living and rehabilitation. The most important skills for a recreation director are community resources, therapeutic recreation, and nursing home.

Life enrichment director vs recreation director overview

	Life Enrichment Director	Recreation Director
Yearly salary	$42,073	$48,525
Hourly rate	$20.23	$23.33
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	16,448	8,479
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	4	4

What does a life enrichment director do?

The job of a life enrichment director is to develop and coordinate a successful volunteer program. As a life enrichment director, you will be planning and managing the resources to support the needs of an activity program. Typical duties will include developing and coordinating community events, in-house activities, and entertainment programs, developing annual activities budget, and assisting the marketing director in developing and coordinating all community relations and marketing events. You will also need to maintain a caring and professional attitude towards residents.

What does a recreation director do?

Recreation directors may take part in leading activities like canoeing, wilderness first-aid, rock climbing, camping, and resource management for this dynamic career. Responsibilities include implementation and success assurance of recreation programs, as well as management of schedules for activities and facilities. They also handle the recruitment, training, and supervision of staff and volunteers.

Life enrichment director vs recreation director salary

Life enrichment directors and recreation directors have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Life Enrichment Director	Recreation Director
Average salary	$42,073	$48,525
Salary range	Between $26,000 And $67,000	Between $30,000 And $77,000
Highest paying City	-	Milpitas, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Downtown United Soccer Club
Best paying industry	-	Education

Differences between life enrichment director and recreation director education

There are a few differences between a life enrichment director and a recreation director in terms of educational background:

	Life Enrichment Director	Recreation Director
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 63%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common major	Business	Recreation Management
Most common college	University of Southern California	Northwestern University

Life enrichment director vs recreation director demographics

Here are the differences between life enrichment directors' and recreation directors' demographics:

	Life Enrichment Director	Recreation Director
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 15.0% Female, 85.0%	Male, 48.0% Female, 52.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 5.1% White, 62.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 12.2% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 15.1% Asian, 5.1% White, 61.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between life enrichment director and recreation director duties and responsibilities

Life enrichment director example responsibilities.

Manage staff and volunteer recruitment, resident assessments, charting, MDS documentation and program implementation.
Manage comprehensive regulatory documentation, including assessments, MDS and progress notes.
Manage resident and facility accounts, budgets, social security applications, and Medicare and Medicaid benefits.
Provide strong leadership and guidance to staff for general programs, events and facility maintenance.
Co-Facilitate Alzheimer's family support group.
Establish leadership skills while implementing events and presentations.

Recreation director example responsibilities.

Manage recreation staff and programming for assist living and rehabilitation and skil nursing facilities.
Organize and provide staff training material regarding Alzheimer's disease.
Conduct monthly resident council meetings, daily initial evaluations, standard MDS and interdisciplinary care plan documentation.
Advance technical knowledge of all office equipment including Microsoft office and POS systems.
Expand programming, develop outdoor adventure programs, and maintain current city programs.
Design and layout seasonal brochure, create flyers, signs and periodically upload recreation information to town website.

Life enrichment director vs recreation director skills

Common life enrichment director skills

Customer Service, 14%
Independent Living, 12%
Rehabilitation, 11%
Community Events, 11%
Term Care, 10%
Social Work, 4%

Common recreation director skills

Community Resources, 15%
Therapeutic Recreation, 14%
Nursing Home, 14%
Customer Service, 10%
Provides Supervision, 7%
Recreation Programs, 5%

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Life Enrichment Director vs Recreation Director

Updated January 8, 2025

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