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Line manager vs senior manager

The differences between line managers and senior managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a line manager and a senior manager. Additionally, a senior manager has an average salary of $118,906, which is higher than the $56,406 average annual salary of a line manager.

The top three skills for a line manager include client facing, continuous improvement and service line. The most important skills for a senior manager are analytics, project management, and portfolio.

Line manager vs senior manager overview

Line ManagerSenior Manager
Yearly salary$56,406$118,906
Hourly rate$27.12$57.17
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs369,491372,801
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 56%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age4444
Years of experience66

What does a line manager do?

As line managers, they oversee other employees and the business operations while reporting to a higher manager. They play a significant role in the operation of the business from supervising and managing workers daily and acting as a link to upper management and employees. It is part of their responsibility to recruit and hire talent to fill team positions, provide training and learning to new hires, and ensuring that the employees are doing their jobs effectively and efficiently.

What does a senior manager do?

A senior manager is responsible for directing the overall efficiency of business operations. Senior managers monitor the performance of the staff, improve operational strategies, identify business opportunities, allocate budgets and resources, present reports to senior management, set goals to drive results on increasing the company's revenues and profitability. Senior managers must coordinate with various operations departments to maintain good feedback for the company, meeting client's expectations, and delivering the best results. They should have excellent communication and leadership skills to handle team members, as well as managing their needs and concerns.

Line manager vs senior manager salary

Line managers and senior managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Line ManagerSenior Manager
Average salary$56,406$118,906
Salary rangeBetween $27,000 And $116,000Between $86,000 And $163,000
Highest paying CityNew Brunswick, NJSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateNew JerseyNew Jersey
Best paying companyMicrosoftCornerstone Research
Best paying industry-Professional

Differences between line manager and senior manager education

There are a few differences between a line manager and a senior manager in terms of educational background:

Line ManagerSenior Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 56%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Line manager vs senior manager demographics

Here are the differences between line managers' and senior managers' demographics:

Line ManagerSenior Manager
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 64.7% Female, 35.3%Male, 67.5% Female, 32.5%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 6.3% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 14.9% Asian, 6.3% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between line manager and senior manager duties and responsibilities

Line manager example responsibilities.

  • Lead the team in successfully meeting FDA and GMP requirements.
  • Manage project developing integration and process flows for fab expansion doubling the area and moving to a larger wafer.
  • Manage team of database administrators, database technicians and systems administrators responsible for maintaining all production, development and QA systems.
  • Define and enforce GMP's to subordinates.
  • Train in FDA standards for food industry.
  • Establish and measure KPI's ensuring all departments maintain the highest levels of performance.
  • Show more

Senior manager example responsibilities.

  • Lead ISO project to achieve ISO compliance for the organization.
  • Implement a PeopleSoft Financials system and lead the integration team.
  • Manage the VMS, UNIX and NT operating systems and hardware.
  • Manage multiple trading application development and integration projects for TT's API customers.
  • Work with internal and external audit to manage SOX controls testing, compliance issues and corrective actions.
  • Coordinate and manage the monthly and quarterly close process, including quarterly check list for SOX compliance.
  • Show more

Line manager vs senior manager skills

Common line manager skills
  • Client Facing, 11%
  • Continuous Improvement, 7%
  • Service Line, 6%
  • Customer Satisfaction, 6%
  • Direct Reports, 5%
  • Process Improvement, 4%
Common senior manager skills
  • Analytics, 9%
  • Project Management, 6%
  • Portfolio, 5%
  • Business Development, 4%
  • Professional Development, 4%
  • Healthcare, 3%

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