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The differences between program leads and engineering program managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a program lead, becoming an engineering program manager takes usually requires More than 10 years. Additionally, an engineering program manager has an average salary of $122,604, which is higher than the $100,727 average annual salary of a program lead.
The top three skills for a program lead include project management, HR and work ethic. The most important skills for an engineering program manager are project management, program management, and software development.
| Program Lead | Engineering Program Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $100,727 | $122,604 |
| Hourly rate | $48.43 | $58.94 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 61,632 | 148,543 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 42 | 48 |
| Years of experience | 4 | - |
A program lead is responsible for managing a business program's operation from its conceptualization to implementation. Program leads must have excellent communication and researching skills to monitor current industry trends, adjusting program techniques and strategies to meet society's demands. They have a clear understanding of the organization's long-term goals and outline plans to define those objectives, bringing new programs to light following clients' specifications that would help the business grow revenues, maintain customer satisfaction, and keep its good reputation, and achieve profitability goals.
As an engineering program manager in the world of technology, it is their main responsibility to lead the development of important modules of new technology such as display, camera, touch ID, etc. It is their job to ensure that modules are correctly built according to specifications and given timeline. They drive day-to-day engineering related activities at the vendor's factory to meet overall program ideas. They are knowledgeable of the hardware process development and other features like display or camera design.
Program leads and engineering program managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Program Lead | Engineering Program Manager | |
| Average salary | $100,727 | $122,604 |
| Salary range | Between $59,000 And $171,000 | Between $95,000 And $157,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | California |
| Best paying company | Netflix | Meta |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between a program lead and an engineering program manager in terms of educational background:
| Program Lead | Engineering Program Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Business | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor |
Here are the differences between program leads' and engineering program managers' demographics:
| Program Lead | Engineering Program Manager | |
| Average age | 42 | 48 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 40.9% Female, 59.1% | Male, 83.5% Female, 16.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.0% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 15.5% Asian, 5.1% White, 62.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 14.0% White, 69.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 9% |