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The differences between project directors and program/project managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a project director has an average salary of $107,396, which is higher than the $101,850 average annual salary of a program/project manager.
The top three skills for a project director include project management, oversight and customer satisfaction. The most important skills for a program/project manager are project management, program management, and PMP.
| Project Director | Program/Project Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $107,396 | $101,850 |
| Hourly rate | $51.63 | $48.97 |
| Growth rate | - | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 116,968 | 243,017 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A project director is an individual responsible for supervising workers from various departments given specific tasks to complete a given project. They create a budget to complete a job while monitoring the amount of money spent to ensure that overspending is avoided. They provide presentations to investors, business partners, and company executives to inform them about their progress and development. Project directors must have several years of experience and obtain at least a bachelor's degree in business economics or a related field to be hired.
The program manager and project manager are two important positions within a company that are thought to be similar. However, program managers direct diverse projects and programs while project managers head the team who is responsible for ensuring a project is completed on time and within budget. Program managers are responsible for the conveyance of the company goals and generally act as a customer interface that helps clients get their desired update and change of a project. Project managers, on the other hand, focus on the project's schedule, scope, and resources needed to complete it on time.
Project directors and program/project managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Project Director | Program/Project Manager | |
| Average salary | $107,396 | $101,850 |
| Salary range | Between $70,000 And $162,000 | Between $74,000 And $138,000 |
| Highest paying City | Las Vegas, NV | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | California |
| Best paying company | Fried Frank | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Professional |
There are a few differences between a project director and a program/project manager in terms of educational background:
| Project Director | Program/Project Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between project directors' and program/project managers' demographics:
| Project Director | Program/Project Manager | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 56.2% Female, 43.8% | Male, 62.0% Female, 38.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 8.8% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 7.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |