Manager, project management vs manager, program management

The differences between managers, project management and managers, program management can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a manager, program management has an average salary of $112,937, which is higher than the $102,925 average annual salary of a manager, project management.

The top three skills for a manager, project management include project management, risk management and portfolio. The most important skills for a manager, program management are project management, risk management, and process improvement.

Manager, project management vs manager, program management overview

	Manager, Project Management	Manager, Program Management
Yearly salary	$102,925	$112,937
Hourly rate	$49.48	$54.30
Growth rate	16%	16%
Number of jobs	263,655	271,873
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	-	8

What does a manager, project management do?

The role of a project management manager involves the planning, execution, monitoring, control, and closure of projects. Project managers oversee the scope of the entire project, the team, success or failure, and its resources. They facilitate productivity and commitment, remove obstacles, and motivate their team members. Their skills should include leadership, critical thinking, communication, negotiating, and risk management. They should also know about cost management, scheduling, and task management.

What does a manager, program management do?

A program management manager is an individual who guides project managers and oversees and coordinates an organization's projects, products, and other strategic initiatives. The day-to-day responsibilities of a program manager include planning the overall program, managing the program's budget and the main program documents, and defining the program governance. The requirements to qualify for the program manager position including possessing a good managerial, business, and problem-solving skills and possessing a bachelor's or master's degree in business, management, or a related field.

Manager, project management vs manager, program management salary

Managers, project management and managers, program management have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Manager, Project Management	Manager, Program Management
Average salary	$102,925	$112,937
Salary range	Between $73,000 And $144,000	Between $82,000 And $155,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Ropes & Gray	Meta
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	Technology

Differences between manager, project management and manager, program management education

There are a few differences between a manager, project management and a manager, program management in terms of educational background:

	Manager, Project Management	Manager, Program Management
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 69%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Carnegie Mellon University

Manager, project management vs manager, program management demographics

Here are the differences between managers, project management' and managers, program management' demographics:

	Manager, Project Management	Manager, Program Management
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 61.9% Female, 38.1%	Male, 58.3% Female, 41.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 9.0% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 12.7% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	10%	11%

Differences between manager, project management and manager, program management duties and responsibilities

Manager, project management example responsibilities.

Manage budgets and resources of various project groups to successfully implement ERP & CRM application.
Counsele application team leads in maximizing available migration windows for defect resolution.
Facilitate efforts on prioritizing bugs find during QA testing and manage remediation efforts.
Manage and monitor compliance with FDA validate system requirements, documentation creation and SDLC methodologies.
Manage services portfolio releases and delivery enablement process for major cloud and big data professional services offerings.
Lead digital initiative developments that integrate with current infrastructure, delivering timely market penetration to enhance organizational competitiveness.

Manager, program management example responsibilities.

Used SQL to manage data in the regional data base.
Collaborate consistently with internal and client teams to manage SDLC.
Manage integration, configuration, and deployment of package SaaS and custom systems.
Champion and lead successful lean six sigma projects that result in $100K+ savings per year.
Manage the relationship with the vendor whose development teams are scrum orient and locate in multiple countries.
Lead project delivery of joint marketing system for business partners in Europe, Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Americas.

Manager, project management vs manager, program management skills

Common manager, project management skills

Project Management, 20%
Risk Management, 7%
Portfolio, 5%
Customer Service, 3%
Process Improvement, 3%
On-Time Delivery, 3%

Common manager, program management skills

Project Management, 13%
Risk Management, 7%
Process Improvement, 4%
Oversight, 4%
Infrastructure, 4%
Continuous Improvement, 4%

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Manager, Project Management
Manager, Project Management vs Manager, Program Management

Updated January 8, 2025

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