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The differences between program leads and program instructors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a program lead and a program instructor. Additionally, a program lead has an average salary of $100,727, which is higher than the $42,380 average annual salary of a program instructor.
The top three skills for a program lead include project management, HR and work ethic. The most important skills for a program instructor are patients, K-12, and math.
| Program Lead | Program Instructor | |
| Yearly salary | $100,727 | $42,380 |
| Hourly rate | $48.43 | $20.38 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 61,632 | 92,369 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Average age | 42 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 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.
A program instructor is responsible for facilitating indoor and outdoor programs with various goals and objectives catering to different participants. Program instructors must have excellent communication skills, especially on gaining the participants' attention and engaging them to join the activities prepared for the day. They also maintain a safe and creative learning environment for everyone, observing each participant's behavior and interests, developing group cooperation, and fostering personal development. A program instructor reiterates safety procedures and regulations during the program for everyone's strict compliance and immediately addresses conflicts soon as they arise.
Program leads and program instructors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Program Lead | Program Instructor | |
| Average salary | $100,727 | $42,380 |
| Salary range | Between $59,000 And $171,000 | Between $29,000 And $60,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Urban Honolulu, HI |
| Highest paying state | New York | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Netflix | Los Alamos National Laboratory |
| Best paying industry | - | Education |
There are a few differences between a program lead and a program instructor in terms of educational background:
| Program Lead | Program Instructor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Most common major | Business | Psychology |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between program leads' and program instructors' demographics:
| Program Lead | Program Instructor | |
| Average age | 42 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 40.9% Female, 59.1% | Male, 39.7% Female, 60.3% |
| 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, 7.3% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 11.2% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 16% |