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The differences between parks recreation directors and group leaders 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 a group leader. Additionally, a group leader has an average salary of $100,480, 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 group leader are customer service, OSHA, and center management.
| Parks Recreation Director | Group Leader | |
| Yearly salary | $48,942 | $100,480 |
| Hourly rate | $23.53 | $48.31 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 7,782 | 56,173 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
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.
A group leader is responsible for overseeing and distributing fair tasks to the members, ensuring clear instructions and procedures. Group leaders are mainly the ones leading the team towards their success. Duties of a group leader also include setting the team's expectations, providing necessary resources to make the task successful, and sharing regular updates on the team's performance. A group leader requires to have strong leadership and problem-solving skills to manage team concerns and resolve complaints quickly and efficiently.
Parks recreation directors and group leaders have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Parks Recreation Director | Group Leader | |
| Average salary | $48,942 | $100,480 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $85,000 | Between $57,000 And $174,000 |
| Highest paying City | Cupertino, CA | Madison, MS |
| Highest paying state | Mississippi | Mississippi |
| Best paying company | Icma-rc | Federal Reserve Bank |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | - |
There are a few differences between a parks recreation director and a group leader in terms of educational background:
| Parks Recreation Director | Group Leader | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| 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 group leaders' demographics:
| Parks Recreation Director | Group Leader | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 69.1% Female, 30.9% | Male, 51.6% Female, 48.4% |
| 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, 11.3% Unknown, 5.7% Hispanic or Latino, 15.8% Asian, 5.2% White, 61.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |