Post job

Project designer vs project manager

The differences between project designers and project managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a project manager has an average salary of $91,578, which is higher than the $64,943 average annual salary of a project designer.

The top three skills for a project designer include revit, sketch and design concepts. The most important skills for a project manager are project management, project scope, and customer service.

Project designer vs project manager overview

Project DesignerProject Manager
Yearly salary$64,943$91,578
Hourly rate$31.22$44.03
Growth rate1%8%
Number of jobs60,364167,116
Job satisfaction-4.17
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 69%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age4247
Years of experience4-

What does a project designer do?

A Project Designer provides assistance in project design and development activities based on customer requirements. They develop solutions to client architectural complexities.

What does a project manager do?

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.

Project designer vs project manager salary

Project designers and project managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Project DesignerProject Manager
Average salary$64,943$91,578
Salary rangeBetween $47,000 And $89,000Between $64,000 And $129,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateNew MexicoCalifornia
Best paying companyAppleThe Citadel
Best paying industryManufacturingTechnology

Differences between project designer and project manager education

There are a few differences between a project designer and a project manager in terms of educational background:

Project DesignerProject Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 69%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorArchitectureBusiness
Most common collegeCornell UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Project designer vs project manager demographics

Here are the differences between project designers' and project managers' demographics:

Project DesignerProject Manager
Average age4247
Gender ratioMale, 66.5% Female, 33.5%Male, 68.9% Female, 31.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 1.5% Unknown, 4.1% Hispanic or Latino, 7.6% Asian, 4.6% White, 82.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%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 Percentage23%10%

Differences between project designer and project manager duties and responsibilities

Project designer example responsibilities.

  • Lead efforts to redesign and convert existing self-pace and instructor-le course materials into eLearning and web-base formats.
  • Provide 2D AutoCAD and 3D Sketchup drawings for client presentations.
  • Implement AIA layering standards and create file management standards for the office.
  • Calculate size of ductwork, hydronic piping, plumbing, and gas piping.
  • Time management, procedure, and field sketch expertise, must be absolute, and perfect.
  • Prepare and deliver construction documents using Revit and AutoCAD for each project on time and within budget.
  • Show more

Project manager example responsibilities.

  • Schedule and manage the GCP audit process.
  • Define, develop and manage metrics and KPIs systems for new product business group.
  • Manage the application process for the FDA medical device, minority and small business certifications.
  • Manage multiple projects and resources simultaneously while mentoring, coaching and implementing best practices, SOX and HIPAA compliance standards.
  • Lead teams using the Informatica ETL tool for the design and development of multiple financial and risk enterprise data warehouses.
  • Administer and manage Salesforce requirements.
  • Show more

Project designer vs project manager skills

Common project designer skills
  • Revit, 17%
  • Sketch, 8%
  • Design Concepts, 5%
  • Auto CAD, 5%
  • SketchUp, 5%
  • Design Development, 4%
Common project manager skills
  • Project Management, 23%
  • Project Scope, 6%
  • Customer Service, 6%
  • Infrastructure, 5%
  • Status Reports, 4%
  • Risk Management, 3%

Browse arts, entertainment, sports, and media jobs