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Project developer vs project manager

The differences between project developers 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 $89,766 average annual salary of a project developer.

The top three skills for a project developer include project development, renewable energy and project management. The most important skills for a project manager are project management, project scope, and customer service.

Project developer vs project manager overview

Project DeveloperProject Manager
Yearly salary$89,766$91,578
Hourly rate$43.16$44.03
Growth rate21%8%
Number of jobs303,850167,116
Job satisfaction-4.17
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age3947
Years of experience4-

What does a project developer do?

Project developers research aspects of each project to check that it follows all regulations and to complete the project on time and under the budget. They are responsible for overseeing various projects for their companies. They staff the project and make necessary purchases. Staffing could include hiring contractors and hiring new employees for the company. Their tasks are to report and resolve issues blocking work on project elements, develop project timeline and milestones with mitigation planning, and establish critical requirements of a project through stakeholder assessment.

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 developer vs project manager salary

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

Project DeveloperProject Manager
Average salary$89,766$91,578
Salary rangeBetween $67,000 And $119,000Between $64,000 And $129,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyAmazonThe Citadel
Best paying industryHospitalityTechnology

Differences between project developer and project manager education

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

Project DeveloperProject Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 68%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeStanford UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Project developer vs project manager demographics

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

Project DeveloperProject Manager
Average age3947
Gender ratioMale, 68.5% Female, 31.5%Male, 68.9% Female, 31.1%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.5% Unknown, 4.8% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 29.9% White, 52.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%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 Percentage8%10%

Differences between project developer and project manager duties and responsibilities

Project developer example responsibilities.

  • Develop detailed Unix shell and Perl scripts to automate complex but repetitive configuration management operations in ClearCase.
  • Fix existing bugs, including image polishing using Photoshop, CSS issues and JavaScript browser compatibility issues.
  • Handle JavaScript for validation of forms (and contents) and URL base redirection of pages.
  • Optimize and fine tune complex PL/SQL packages, SQL queries using TKPROF and other SQL tuning techniques.
  • Used JIRA to keep track of outstanding bugs to reduce downtime, increase productivity, and improve communication.
  • Used ASP.NET MVC with combination of AngularJS to do the web stuff and also bootstrap for responsive web design.
  • 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.
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Project developer vs project manager skills

Common project developer skills
  • Project Development, 13%
  • Renewable Energy, 12%
  • Project Management, 12%
  • HVAC, 5%
  • PowerPoint, 5%
  • C++, 4%
Common project manager skills
  • Project Management, 23%
  • Project Scope, 6%
  • Customer Service, 6%
  • Infrastructure, 5%
  • Status Reports, 4%
  • Risk Management, 3%

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