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The differences between planning managers and operations managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 8-10 years to become a planning manager, becoming an operations manager takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a planning manager has an average salary of $98,486, which is higher than the $76,894 average annual salary of an operations manager.
The top three skills for a planning manager include project management, customer service and strong analytical. The most important skills for an operations manager are customer service, logistics, and continuous improvement.
| Planning Manager | Operations Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $98,486 | $76,894 |
| Hourly rate | $47.35 | $36.97 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 137,190 | 343,868 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 39 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 10 | 6 |
Planning managers perform various duties and responsibilities for an organization. These include planning and monitoring a project or department's budget, production schedule, and inventory, creating reports of new plans, programs, and regulations, and ensuring development proposals comply with requirements and regulations. Additionally, planning managers are expected to serve as an intermediary between developers, government entities, businesses, and communities. They also oversee site plans, rezoning, and special-use permits, set schedules for the project, and supervise other personnel such as developers and consultants.
Operations managers are in charge of running the main business of the organization. They ensure that the business is running smoothly from an operations standpoint. They make sure that the processes in place produce the necessary output by implementing quality control measures. They also manage finances and ensure that there is enough budget to keep the operations of the business running. They also ensure that the production of goods or services is cost-efficient. Operations managers also handle people-related concerns. They are responsible for interviewing candidates, choosing the ones to hire, and ensuring that individuals assigned to operations are properly trained.
Planning managers and operations managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Planning Manager | Operations Manager | |
| Average salary | $98,486 | $76,894 |
| Salary range | Between $71,000 And $135,000 | Between $47,000 And $123,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Delaware |
| Best paying company | ZS | McKinsey & Company Inc |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a planning manager and an operations manager in terms of educational background:
| Planning Manager | Operations Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between planning managers' and operations managers' demographics:
| Planning Manager | Operations Manager | |
| Average age | 39 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 64.1% Female, 35.9% | Male, 69.4% Female, 30.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |