Parks recreation director vs activities/volunteer

The differences between parks recreation directors and activities/volunteers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a parks recreation director and an activities/volunteer. Additionally, a parks recreation director has an average salary of $48,942, which is higher than the $32,875 average annual salary of an activities/volunteer.

The top three skills for a parks recreation director include aquatics, recreation programs and flag football. The most important skills for an activities/volunteer are community resources, senior care, and financial statements.

Parks recreation director vs activities/volunteer overview

	Parks Recreation Director	Activities/Volunteer
Yearly salary	$48,942	$32,875
Hourly rate	$23.53	$15.81
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	7,782	4,126
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age	42	42
Years of experience	4	4

What does a parks recreation director do?

A parks recreation director manages and leads the operations of a park's recreation department. You will be responsible for department oversight, budget management and requisition, coordination with other town council departments, recreation publicity campaigns, and overseeing capital expenditure. Parks recreation directors are the policy and strategy leads for city parks and submit regular reports to the council parks boards. Staff recruitment and supervision, community engagement in recreation activities, and ensuring policy compliance are other core duties.

What does an activities/volunteer do?

An activity volunteer is responsible for supporting community activities for the benefit of the citizens and social development in general. Activity volunteers assist in fundraising activities, coordinating with other organizations for sponsorship, recruiting target audience, planning the program outline, and releasing promotional materials, press releases, and media marketing. Activity volunteers must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially on negotiating with suppliers and vendors for the activity materials with minimal costs. They should also be able to address the participants' inquiries and concerns and resolve any issues that may arise during the activity preparation.

Parks recreation director vs activities/volunteer salary

Parks recreation directors and activities/volunteers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Parks Recreation Director	Activities/Volunteer
Average salary	$48,942	$32,875
Salary range	Between $28,000 And $85,000	Between $26,000 And $40,000
Highest paying City	Cupertino, CA	-
Highest paying state	Mississippi	-
Best paying company	Icma-rc	-
Best paying industry	Automotive	-

Differences between parks recreation director and activities/volunteer education

There are a few differences between a parks recreation director and an activities/volunteer in terms of educational background:

	Parks Recreation Director	Activities/Volunteer
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 71%	Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common major	Recreation Management	Business
Most common college	California State University - Long Beach	Duke University

Parks recreation director vs activities/volunteer demographics

Here are the differences between parks recreation directors' and activities/volunteers' demographics:

	Parks Recreation Director	Activities/Volunteer
Average age	42	42
Gender ratio	Male, 69.1% Female, 30.9%	Male, 38.0% Female, 62.0%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.0% Unknown, 5.8% Hispanic or Latino, 15.3% Asian, 5.1% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 5.1% White, 62.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage	8%	8%

Differences between parks recreation director and activities/volunteer duties and responsibilities

Parks recreation director example responsibilities.

Manage recreation staff and programming for assist living and rehabilitation and skil nursing facilities.
Perform minor first aid and CPR as needed.
Acquire MDS data for the use of the clinical reimbursement team, as well as assessed patients.
Examine injure persons and administer first aid or cardiopulmonary resuscitation, if necessary, using training and medical supplies and equipment.
Maintain written and personal communication with general public and local community through ongoing PowerPoint presentations, weekly newsletters and monthly newspaper.

Activities/volunteer example responsibilities.

Address and resolve customer's complaints grievances regarding medical billing and treatments, consisting of Medicare and manage care claims.
Develop, coordinate, manage a diverse and balance activity program for general residence and specialize Alzheimer unit.
Create the first alumni database used to engage past alumni with the current fraternity members.
Provide overall leadership and management of the Alzheimer's neighborhood within an assisted-living community for senior citizens.
Train on proper administration of CPR.
Submit resident activity records to MDS.

Parks recreation director vs activities/volunteer skills

Common parks recreation director skills

Aquatics, 17%
Recreation Programs, 8%
Flag Football, 6%
Recreational Facilities, 5%
CPR, 5%
Program Development, 4%

Common activities/volunteer skills

Community Resources, 20%
Senior Care, 18%
Financial Statements, 14%
Memory Care, 13%
Local Schools, 12%
Budget Targets, 11%

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Parks Recreation Director vs Activities/Volunteer

Updated January 8, 2025

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