Professional development director vs training manager

The differences between professional development directors and training managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a professional development director and a training manager. Additionally, a professional development director has an average salary of $100,545, which is higher than the $73,453 average annual salary of a training manager.

The top three skills for a professional development director include professional development, oversight and adult learning. The most important skills for a training manager are customer service, leadership, and brainstorming.

Professional development director vs training manager overview

	Professional Development Director	Training Manager
Yearly salary	$100,545	$73,453
Hourly rate	$48.34	$35.31
Growth rate	7%	7%
Number of jobs	103,723	121,521
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Average age	45	45
Years of experience	4	4

What does a professional development director do?

A professional development director spearheads and develops training services and professional development programs to enhance the skills and abilities of employees in a company, paving the way for career growth. They have the responsibility to set goals and objectives, establish guidelines and timelines, coordinate teams and managers, liaise with external agencies, and oversee procedures from planning to execution. Moreover, as a professional development director, it is essential to lead staff while implementing policies and regulations, developing new ones as needed.

What does a training manager do?

A training manager is responsible for directing new staff with the tasks and training programs, leading the business to its growth and profitable development. Training managers' duties include supervising the staff's performance and improvement, facilitating knowledge assessment and developmental training, sharing strategic plans and techniques, creating effective training manuals, monitoring training expenses, and evaluating areas of improvement. A training manager must have excellent leadership and communication skills, as well as extensive experience on how to improve the team's performance and enhance their capabilities.

Professional development director vs training manager salary

Professional development directors and training managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Professional Development Director	Training Manager
Average salary	$100,545	$73,453
Salary range	Between $46,000 And $216,000	Between $45,000 And $119,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Oregon	California
Best paying company	Baker McKenzie	Microsoft
Best paying industry	-	Government

Differences between professional development director and training manager education

There are a few differences between a professional development director and a training manager in terms of educational background:

	Professional Development Director	Training Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 64%	Bachelor's Degree, 58%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Northwestern University

Professional development director vs training manager demographics

Here are the differences between professional development directors' and training managers' demographics:

	Professional Development Director	Training Manager
Average age	45	45
Gender ratio	Male, 34.2% Female, 65.8%	Male, 52.8% Female, 47.2%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.3% Unknown, 5.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 4.1% White, 62.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%	Black or African American, 11.2% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.0% Asian, 4.1% White, 62.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5%
LGBT Percentage	18%	18%

Differences between professional development director and training manager duties and responsibilities

Professional development director example responsibilities.

Extend product revenue by delivering new products for managing configuration of Linux platforms.
Prepare powerpoint to production specifications covering research base on SLIFE learning challenges and key program components for effective instruction of SLIFE.
Supervise certified nursing assistants with bed placement for post-op patients and maintain paperwork require for house clinician.
Implement train-the-trainer programs using SMEs that save the company money by eliminating outside vendors.
Engage in personnel hiring decisions, interview candidates, and identify SMEs for specialize consulting work.
Provide executive oversight and leadership for HR/Payroll best practices driving organizational change.

Training manager example responsibilities.

Assist in running multi-unit stores as needed, while still achieving sales plan at home store :
Calculate and lead team in analyzing business metrics, allowing for focuse store visits with positive ROI.
Manage and process information for owner/user agencies to include DoD facilities that require compliance with the NISPOM.
Train sales associates on how to market new products with existing store inventory, and manage all POS transactions.
Manage elearning program development from concept through implementation.
Supervise all restaurant operations including service, quality, cleanliness, sanitation, training, scheduling, and inventory control.

Professional development director vs training manager skills

Common professional development director skills

Professional Development, 10%
Oversight, 9%
Adult Learning, 7%
K-12, 7%
Curriculum Development, 6%
Staff Development, 5%

Common training manager skills

Customer Service, 19%
Leadership, 8%
Brainstorming, 7%
Food Safety, 4%
Payroll, 4%
Cash Control, 3%

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Professional Development Director
Professional Development Director vs Training Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

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