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Office manager vs project manager

The differences between office managers and project managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a project manager has an average salary of $91,578, which is higher than the $43,395 average annual salary of an office manager.

The top three skills for an office manager include customer service, patients and financial statements. The most important skills for a project manager are project management, project scope, and customer service.

Office manager vs project manager overview

Office ManagerProject Manager
Yearly salary$43,395$91,578
Hourly rate$20.86$44.03
Growth rate-8%8%
Number of jobs53,712167,116
Job satisfaction54.17
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 44%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age4747
Years of experience6-

What does an office manager do?

Office managers oversee the entire workplace. They maintain office processes and services to ensure that everything is running well. They manage office supplies by managing inventory and procurement procedures. They also device filing systems, create needed and relevant office policies, and ensure that all the policies are being followed. As a way to make sure that the office is in top shape, office managers supervise most of the logistical aspects inside the office. They also provide support to both management teams and the rest of the employees. They often act as the bridge between the two and would sometimes even assist in the training of new employees.

What does a project manager do?

Project managers oversee a specific project related to the organization's business. They manage the whole project from inception to evaluation. They initiate planning with involved departments, follow-through on the plans, ensure smooth execution of the plans, and evaluate the project for further improvements should these be needed. In line with this, project managers also ensure that the project is cost-efficient and well within the budget. They also manage the different work teams involved in the project and ensure that things are running smoothly on this aspect as well.

Office manager vs project manager salary

Office managers and project managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Office ManagerProject Manager
Average salary$43,395$91,578
Salary rangeBetween $30,000 And $62,000Between $64,000 And $129,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateNew YorkCalifornia
Best paying companyMoody'sThe Citadel
Best paying industryConstructionTechnology

Differences between office manager and project manager education

There are a few differences between an office manager and a project manager in terms of educational background:

Office ManagerProject Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 44%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeCalifornia State University - BakersfieldUniversity of Pennsylvania

Office manager vs project manager demographics

Here are the differences between office managers' and project managers' demographics:

Office ManagerProject Manager
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 13.5% Female, 86.5%Male, 68.9% Female, 31.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 10.4% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 18.4% Asian, 5.2% White, 60.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%Black or African American, 7.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 9.0% White, 65.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage8%10%

Differences between office manager and project manager duties and responsibilities

Office manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage international team development of RFP for new MPLS global network services.
  • Produce around $100k month sales/ billings, AIA documents, and manage customer accounts.
  • Monitor and manage the HVAC environment and nightly office cleaning performance for maximum comfort, appearance and functionality.
  • Manage PMO office functions including creation of strategic plan, marketing of services, and resource and project planning.
  • Manage production of an RFP to source $60m in software and services and manage a subset of the subsequent implementation.
  • Manage daily functions and systems to ensure patients receive appropriate accommodations under HIPAA guidelines.
    • Show more

Project manager example responsibilities.

  • Schedule and manage the GCP audit process.
  • Define, develop and manage metrics and KPIs systems for new product business group.
  • Manage the application process for the FDA medical device, minority and small business certifications.
  • Manage multiple projects and resources simultaneously while mentoring, coaching and implementing best practices, SOX and HIPAA compliance standards.
  • Lead teams using the Informatica ETL tool for the design and development of multiple financial and risk enterprise data warehouses.
  • Administer and manage Salesforce requirements.
    • Show more

Office manager vs project manager skills

Common office manager skills
  • Customer Service, 19%
  • Patients, 13%
  • Financial Statements, 6%
  • Office Operations, 4%
  • Office Equipment, 4%
  • Scheduling Appointments, 4%
Common project manager skills
  • Project Management, 23%
  • Project Scope, 6%
  • Customer Service, 6%
  • Infrastructure, 5%
  • Status Reports, 4%
  • Risk Management, 3%

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Updated January 8, 2025

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