Project administrator vs program administrator

The differences between project administrators and program 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 $50,715 average annual salary of a program administrator.

The top three skills for a project administrator include project management, purchase orders and customer service. The most important skills for a program administrator are customer service, oversight, and patients.

Project administrator vs program administrator overview

	Project Administrator	Program Administrator
Yearly salary	$52,862	$50,715
Hourly rate	$25.41	$24.38
Growth rate	-8%	5%
Number of jobs	141,253	119,898
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
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 program administrator do?

Program administrators are responsible for planning, directing, and coordinating their organization's program or service. Their duties and responsibilities may vary depending on the industry they work at, such as educational, community, and social services. Among these duties are selecting and supervising the staff to manage a certain program or project, managing the program's budget, and evaluating the success of a program. To become successful in this role, a program administrator must have in-depth knowledge of project management disciplines, leadership skills, and decision-making and problem-solving skills.

Project administrator vs program administrator salary

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

	Project Administrator	Program Administrator
Average salary	$52,862	$50,715
Salary range	Between $33,000 And $83,000	Between $34,000 And $73,000
Highest paying City	Baltimore, MD	Urban Honolulu, HI
Highest paying state	Maryland	Hawaii
Best paying company	Urban Institute	Meta
Best paying industry	Construction	Government

Differences between project administrator and program administrator education

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

	Project Administrator	Program Administrator
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 60%	Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	Stanford University

Project administrator vs program administrator demographics

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

	Project Administrator	Program Administrator
Average age	47	43
Gender ratio	Male, 25.0% Female, 75.0%	Male, 30.6% Female, 69.4%
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, 64.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage	10%	9%

Differences between project administrator and program 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.

Program administrator example responsibilities.

Manage monetary, laptop and training supports for members living with HIV.
Manage overall document inventory and wiki updates via SharePoint.
Manage CRM and SharePoint systems for online recruiting technology company.
Manage co-op vendor and provide overall program direction for Toyota dealers and regional offices nationwide.
Develop and implement administrative procedures for new mental health management unit providing day services to elderly patients.
Invoice clients using QuickBooks software.

Project administrator vs program administrator skills

Common project administrator skills

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

Common program administrator skills

Customer Service, 7%
Oversight, 7%
Patients, 6%
Project Management, 6%
PowerPoint, 4%
Client Facing, 4%

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Project Administrator
Project Administrator vs Program Administrator

Updated January 8, 2025

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