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The differences between parks recreation directors and directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a parks recreation director, becoming a director takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a director has an average salary of $113,489, which is higher than the $48,942 average annual salary of a parks recreation director.
The top three skills for a parks recreation director include aquatics, recreation programs and flag football. The most important skills for a director are healthcare, customer service, and oversight.
| Parks Recreation Director | Director | |
| Yearly salary | $48,942 | $113,489 |
| Hourly rate | $23.53 | $54.56 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 7,782 | 230,711 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 42 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 6 |
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.
Directors work in show business, whether in a film, a television show, or a theatre production. They are responsible for bringing the material to life. They work with the writers to get a clear vision of how the production should look. They lead the production team in planning for the production, identifying filming or rehearsing schedules, casting for roles, and other aspects that need to be decided upon. Directors provide direction to the actors to ensure that the actors understand their role and will be able to effectively convey emotions to the audience. They also manage all other crew members and communicate their expectations clearly so that everyone on the set is working towards one vision.
Parks recreation directors and directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Parks Recreation Director | Director | |
| Average salary | $48,942 | $113,489 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $85,000 | Between $66,000 And $192,000 |
| Highest paying City | Cupertino, CA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Mississippi | New York |
| Best paying company | Icma-rc | Mayo Clinic |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Finance |
There are a few differences between a parks recreation director and a director in terms of educational background:
| Parks Recreation Director | Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Recreation Management | Business |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between parks recreation directors' and directors' demographics:
| Parks Recreation Director | Director | |
| Average age | 42 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 69.1% Female, 30.9% | Male, 53.2% Female, 46.8% |
| 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, 7.9% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 6.4% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 14% |