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Operations specialist vs project manager

The differences between operations specialists 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 $54,752 average annual salary of an operations specialist.

The top three skills for an operations specialist include customer service, logistics and basic math. The most important skills for a project manager are project management, project scope, and customer service.

Operations specialist vs project manager overview

Operations SpecialistProject Manager
Yearly salary$54,752$91,578
Hourly rate$26.32$44.03
Growth rate10%8%
Number of jobs109,181167,116
Job satisfaction44.17
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 57%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age4447
Years of experience--

What does an operations specialist do?

An operations specialist is responsible for optimizing the business' daily operations, ensuring smooth process flow to provide the best services to clients. Operations specialists' duties include analyzing business procedures, identifying opportunities for business improvement, tracking the department's metrics and activities, providing assistance to colleagues, suggesting strategies for operations efficiency, and managing customer's inquiries and complaints. An operations specialist must be an excellent team player and detail-oriented, as well as proven time-management and decision-making skills to meet clients' needs and support the business' objectives.

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.

Operations specialist vs project manager salary

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

Operations SpecialistProject Manager
Average salary$54,752$91,578
Salary rangeBetween $35,000 And $85,000Between $64,000 And $129,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateRhode IslandCalifornia
Best paying companyCoatue ManagementThe Citadel
Best paying industryGovernmentTechnology

Differences between operations specialist and project manager education

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

Operations SpecialistProject Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 57%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeWestern Carolina UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Operations specialist vs project manager demographics

Here are the differences between operations specialists' and project managers' demographics:

Operations SpecialistProject Manager
Average age4447
Gender ratioMale, 50.6% Female, 49.4%Male, 68.9% Female, 31.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 8.8% White, 70.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4%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 Percentage11%10%

Differences between operations specialist and project manager duties and responsibilities

Operations specialist example responsibilities.

  • Develop and implement VBA scripts to automate tasks in financial reporting.
  • Manage all international A/R functions, reporting, sales, expense analysis and marketing campaigns as well as all royalties.
  • Manage and process 100 FDA electronic and paper submissions including safety reports, new investigator reports, amendments, and protocols.
  • Demonstrate ability to manage and organize clinical setting for patients and families.
  • Personalize and manage a customer SQL network database to consolidate all incoming orders from different marketplaces.
  • Manage a variety of operational tasks for moderately complex securities transactions that require knowledge of vary systems and processes.
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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.
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Operations specialist vs project manager skills

Common operations specialist skills
  • Customer Service, 21%
  • Logistics, 4%
  • Basic Math, 4%
  • PowerPoint, 4%
  • Customer Satisfaction, 4%
  • Operational Procedures, 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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