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The differences between operations project managers and contract project managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become an operations project manager, becoming a contract project manager takes usually requires 6-8 years. Additionally, an operations project manager has an average salary of $90,352, which is higher than the $81,263 average annual salary of a contract project manager.
The top three skills for an operations project manager include project management, business operations and risk management. The most important skills for a contract project manager are project management, project scope, and contract project.
| Operations Project Manager | Contract Project Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $90,352 | $81,263 |
| Hourly rate | $43.44 | $39.07 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 210,582 | 159,765 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 44 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 8 |
An operations project manager is responsible for monitoring the performance of the project team, ensuring that the operations meet the clients' standards and internal regulations with maximum productivity and efficiency. Operations project managers manage the department's budget and allocate materials and resources accurately, maintaining a record of expenses and costs forecasting. They coordinate with the clients, discussing project adjustments or additional tasks as needed, and lead project execution and deliverables by determining the team's needs and concerns, and enforcing strategic procedures.
A contract project manager is an executive professional who provides project management and business analysis to fill the needs of an organization. Contract project managers are required to monitor and inspect contract projects to maintain a high level of safety and quality traffic control in highly variable conditions. They assist contract project administration with the review of project progress reports. Contract project managers must also manage the relationship between clients and the organization while monitoring the progress of the project to ensure that it complies with the terms of the corporate contract.
Operations project managers and contract project managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Operations Project Manager | Contract Project Manager | |
| Average salary | $90,352 | $81,263 |
| Salary range | Between $66,000 And $122,000 | Between $53,000 And $124,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Meta | PRO Unlimited |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Health Care |
There are a few differences between an operations project manager and a contract project manager in terms of educational background:
| Operations Project Manager | Contract Project Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | California Polytechnic State University-San Luis Obispo |
Here are the differences between operations project managers' and contract project managers' demographics:
| Operations Project Manager | Contract Project Manager | |
| Average age | 44 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 68.7% Female, 31.3% | Male, 66.1% Female, 33.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 3.7% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 17.6% Asian, 2.8% White, 70.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 4% |