Program manager vs manager, program management

The differences between program managers and managers, program management can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a manager, program management has an average salary of $112,937, which is higher than the $96,084 average annual salary of a program manager.

The top three skills for a program manager include project management, program management and oversight. The most important skills for a manager, program management are project management, risk management, and process improvement.

Program manager vs manager, program management overview

	Program Manager	Manager, Program Management
Yearly salary	$96,084	$112,937
Hourly rate	$46.19	$54.30
Growth rate	12%	16%
Number of jobs	197,556	271,873
Job satisfaction	5	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	-	8

What does a program manager do?

A program manager is responsible for monitoring the project's progress, improving and developing new strategies, and coordinate various projects across the organization to ensure the success of the business objective. Program managers also manage the program's expenses, ensuring that the projects adhere to the budget goals without compromising the quality and accuracy of the result. A program manager should regularly connect with the different teams of every project under the program to keep track of the processes and procedures for the timely delivery of the product.

What does a manager, program management do?

A program management manager is an individual who guides project managers and oversees and coordinates an organization's projects, products, and other strategic initiatives. The day-to-day responsibilities of a program manager include planning the overall program, managing the program's budget and the main program documents, and defining the program governance. The requirements to qualify for the program manager position including possessing a good managerial, business, and problem-solving skills and possessing a bachelor's or master's degree in business, management, or a related field.

Program manager vs manager, program management salary

Program managers and managers, program management have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Program Manager	Manager, Program Management
Average salary	$96,084	$112,937
Salary range	Between $65,000 And $141,000	Between $82,000 And $155,000
Highest paying City	San Francisco, CA	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	California	California
Best paying company	Meta	Meta
Best paying industry	Technology	Technology

Differences between program manager and manager, program management education

There are a few differences between a program manager and a manager, program management in terms of educational background:

	Program Manager	Manager, Program Management
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Carnegie Mellon University

Program manager vs manager, program management demographics

Here are the differences between program managers' and managers, program management' demographics:

	Program Manager	Manager, Program Management
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 52.9% Female, 47.1%	Male, 58.3% Female, 41.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 12.7% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	10%	11%

Differences between program manager and manager, program management duties and responsibilities

Program manager example responsibilities.

Lead managed services provider engagement of onshore and offshore interactive development and QA for pharmaceutical marketing department.
Lead multiple team workshops and initiate RFP proposals.
Manage the work process across projects as per PMI standards.
Develop, manage, and oversee EMBA study abroad in-residencies to Asia.
Manage content updates for all salesforce marketing materials, print and digital.
Manage the service level expectations with client agencies by monitoring and assessment establish KPIs, agreements and contracts.

Manager, program management example responsibilities.

Used SQL to manage data in the regional data base.
Collaborate consistently with internal and client teams to manage SDLC.
Manage integration, configuration, and deployment of package SaaS and custom systems.
Champion and lead successful lean six sigma projects that result in $100K+ savings per year.
Manage the relationship with the vendor whose development teams are scrum orient and locate in multiple countries.
Lead project delivery of joint marketing system for business partners in Europe, Africa, Asia-Pacific and the Americas.

Program manager vs manager, program management skills

Common program manager skills

Project Management, 11%
Program Management, 11%
Oversight, 6%
Customer Service, 4%
Infrastructure, 3%
Excellent Organizational, 3%

Common manager, program management skills

Project Management, 13%
Risk Management, 7%
Process Improvement, 4%
Oversight, 4%
Infrastructure, 4%
Continuous Improvement, 4%

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Program Manager vs Manager, Program Management

Updated January 8, 2025

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