Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between parks recreation directors and orientation 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 an orientation leader. Additionally, a parks recreation director has an average salary of $48,942, which is higher than the $33,848 average annual salary of an orientation leader.
The top three skills for a parks recreation director include aquatics, recreation programs and flag football. The most important skills for an orientation leader are role model, group discussions, and orientation program.
| Parks Recreation Director | Orientation Leader | |
| Yearly salary | $48,942 | $33,848 |
| Hourly rate | $23.53 | $16.27 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 7,782 | 32,073 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| 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.
An orientation leader helps new students adjust to life in universities or colleges. They are primarily responsible for sharing campus advice, facilitating campus tours, assisting incoming students in class and organization registrations, introducing university opportunities, and discussing essential matters with students and their families. Furthermore, an orientation leader usually works with faculty members and staff, coordinating with them, especially when handling students' programs. Aside from serving as a role model, an orientation leader must also share various academic and social resources to help the freshmen.
Parks recreation directors and orientation leaders have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Parks Recreation Director | Orientation Leader | |
| Average salary | $48,942 | $33,848 |
| Salary range | Between $28,000 And $85,000 | Between $10,000 And $105,000 |
| Highest paying City | Cupertino, CA | - |
| Highest paying state | Mississippi | - |
| Best paying company | Icma-rc | - |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | - |
There are a few differences between a parks recreation director and an orientation leader in terms of educational background:
| Parks Recreation Director | Orientation Leader | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Most common major | Recreation Management | Psychology |
| Most common college | California State University - Long Beach | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between parks recreation directors' and orientation leaders' demographics:
| Parks Recreation Director | Orientation Leader | |
| Average age | 42 | 42 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 69.1% Female, 30.9% | Male, 39.3% Female, 60.7% |
| 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, 5.9% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 5.1% White, 61.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 8% |