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The differences between project lead engineers and project managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a project lead engineer has an average salary of $106,946, which is higher than the $91,578 average annual salary of a project manager.
The top three skills for a project lead engineer include project management, renewable energy and project execution. The most important skills for a project manager are project management, project scope, and customer service.
| Project Lead Engineer | Project Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $106,946 | $91,578 |
| Hourly rate | $51.42 | $44.03 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 98,018 | 167,116 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.17 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 42 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | - |
Project lead engineers are engineering professionals who are responsible for leading other professionals in completing a particular project. These engineers must develop a project management framework to be implemented throughout the organization based on the inputs from internal stakeholders and team members. They are required to train junior team members so that they can provide proper technical support functions. Project lead engineers must also prepare and review cost estimates for a variety of projects during bidding, construction, and post-construction phases.
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 lead engineers and project managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Project Lead Engineer | Project Manager | |
| Average salary | $106,946 | $91,578 |
| Salary range | Between $78,000 And $146,000 | Between $64,000 And $129,000 |
| Highest paying City | Cupertino, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Technology |
There are a few differences between a project lead engineer and a project manager in terms of educational background:
| Project Lead Engineer | Project Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between project lead engineers' and project managers' demographics:
| Project Lead Engineer | Project Manager | |
| Average age | 42 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 86.8% Female, 13.2% | Male, 68.9% Female, 31.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.3% Unknown, 3.9% Hispanic or Latino, 10.4% Asian, 15.2% White, 66.1% 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 Percentage | 4% | 10% |