Project administrator vs department administrator

The differences between project administrators and department administrators can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a project administrator has an average salary of $52,862, which is higher than the $49,768 average annual salary of a department administrator.

The top three skills for a project administrator include project management, purchase orders and customer service. The most important skills for a department administrator are patient care, patients, and financial reports.

Project administrator vs department administrator overview

	Project Administrator	Department Administrator
Yearly salary	$52,862	$49,768
Hourly rate	$25.41	$23.93
Growth rate	-8%	5%
Number of jobs	141,253	84,441
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Average age	47	43
Years of experience	-	2

What does a project administrator do?

A project administrator is an individual who assists the project manager in the preparation, reporting, and analysis of projects. Project administrators are given tasks with administrative responsibilities such as managing the budget for supply orders, coordinating meetings with contractors, and doing site visits. They are involved with hiring staff members for a project and creating employee guidelines based on talents, skills, and abilities. Project administrators are also responsible for providing reports on the project's progress to the top management.

What does a department administrator do?

Department administrators are professionals who are responsible for performing administrative and clerical tasks for a specific department within an organization. These administrators are required to prepare financial statements for clients while evaluating revisions through feedback with stakeholders. They must work with the human resources department to recruit and identify workers for retraining and skill upgrades. Department administrators must also develop and streamline departmental policies and processes so that they can ensure efficiency, productivity, and accountability.

Project administrator vs department administrator salary

Project administrators and department administrators have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Project Administrator	Department Administrator
Average salary	$52,862	$49,768
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $83,000	Between $34,000 And $72,000
Highest paying City	Baltimore, MD	South San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	Maryland	Alaska
Best paying company	Urban Institute	MacArthur Foundation
Best paying industry	Construction	Energy

Differences between project administrator and department administrator education

There are a few differences between a project administrator and a department administrator in terms of educational background:

	Project Administrator	Department Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 54%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	California State University - Bakersfield

Project administrator vs department administrator demographics

Here are the differences between project administrators' and department administrators' demographics:

	Project Administrator	Department Administrator
Average age	47	43
Gender ratio	Male, 25.0% Female, 75.0%	Male, 30.3% Female, 69.7%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 7.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%	Black or African American, 8.8% Unknown, 5.1% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 8.8% White, 64.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	10%	9%

Differences between project administrator and department administrator duties and responsibilities

Project administrator example responsibilities.

Lead organization in achieving ISO 9000 certification, which lead to future certification under both ISO 14001 and OHSAS 18001.
Manage and execute the SharePoint business integration implementation project and become the corporate governance portal administrator.
Manage quality assurance checks for FDA and internal audits which result in no documentation/information error and successful completion of the audits.
Create and execute SQL to query DB2 databases.
Compose, prepare, proofread, edit and publish department correspondence.
Coordinate in creation and execution of QA and testing processes, test strategies and plans.

Department administrator example responsibilities.

Manage calendars, correspondence, logs, reports and maintain documentation in Prolog.
Lead implementation of local area network and upgrade of scheduling, billing and A/R software.
Manage patient records ensuring confidentiality and compliance with all HIPAA regulations.
Initiate and manage the implementation of facilities management oversight of external properties.
Direct Medicaid health plan management division activities (manage care program operations, quality improvement, and contract administration).
Verify vendor quotes and resolve invoice discrepancies.

Project administrator vs department administrator skills

Common project administrator skills

Project Management, 12%
Purchase Orders, 8%
Customer Service, 7%
PowerPoint, 6%
Data Entry, 5%
Assist Project, 4%

Common department administrator skills

Patient Care, 10%
Patients, 10%
Financial Reports, 7%
Human Resources, 6%
Payroll, 6%
Departmental Policies, 5%

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Project Administrator
Project Administrator vs Department Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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