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The differences between program leads and project managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a program lead has an average salary of $100,727, which is higher than the $91,578 average annual salary of a project manager.
The top three skills for a program lead include project management, HR and work ethic. The most important skills for a project manager are project management, project scope, and customer service.
| Program Lead | Project Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $100,727 | $91,578 |
| Hourly rate | $48.43 | $44.03 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 61,632 | 167,116 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.17 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 42 | 47 |
| 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.
Project managers oversee a specific project related to the organization's business. They manage the whole project from inception to evaluation. They initiate planning with involved departments, follow-through on the plans, ensure smooth execution of the plans, and evaluate the project for further improvements should these be needed. In line with this, project managers also ensure that the project is cost-efficient and well within the budget. They also manage the different work teams involved in the project and ensure that things are running smoothly on this aspect as well.
Program leads and project managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Program Lead | Project Manager | |
| Average salary | $100,727 | $91,578 |
| Salary range | Between $59,000 And $171,000 | Between $64,000 And $129,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New York | California |
| Best paying company | Netflix | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between a program lead and a project manager in terms of educational background:
| Program Lead | Project Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between program leads' and project managers' demographics:
| Program Lead | Project Manager | |
| Average age | 42 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 40.9% Female, 59.1% | Male, 68.9% Female, 31.1% |
| 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, 7.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 9.0% White, 65.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 8% | 10% |