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The differences between project leaders and leaders can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a project leader, becoming a leader takes usually requires 1-2 years. Additionally, a project leader has an average salary of $98,559, which is higher than the $86,964 average annual salary of a leader.
The top three skills for a project leader include project management, work ethic and C++. The most important skills for a leader are customer service, strong time management, and excellent interpersonal.
| Project Leader | Leader | |
| Yearly salary | $98,559 | $86,964 |
| Hourly rate | $47.38 | $41.81 |
| Growth rate | 9% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 221,165 | 172,293 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 44 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 2 |
A project leader is responsible for supervising the team and managing the distribution of tasks to ensure the project's success with the highest efficiency and accuracy. Duties of a project leader include motivating the team, managing the team's needs and concerns, providing effective strategies to improve the team's performance, creating reports, monitoring the team's progress, and maintaining the coordination between team members. A project leader should have exceptional leadership skills to handle the team's operation and identify areas of improvement to deliver excellent results.
Leaders pave the way for a company to achieve certain goals. They are in charge of bringing the organization to greater heights. They set the direction of the organization, much like how a captain sets the sails of the ship. They are responsible for coming up with main strategies and alternatives should there be challenges along the way. Leaders ensure that the company is guided by its vision and mission and that the employees emulate company values. They do so through leading by example. Leaders should have strategic skills, decision-making skills, and interpersonal skills.
Project leaders and leaders have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Project Leader | Leader | |
| Average salary | $98,559 | $86,964 |
| Salary range | Between $70,000 And $138,000 | Between $49,000 And $153,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Portland, ME |
| Highest paying state | California | Maine |
| Best paying company | Boston Consulting Group | Eli Lilly and Company |
| Best paying industry | Professional | - |
There are a few differences between a project leader and a leader in terms of educational background:
| Project Leader | Leader | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between project leaders' and leaders' demographics:
| Project Leader | Leader | |
| Average age | 44 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 69.0% Female, 31.0% | Male, 49.8% Female, 50.2% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 8.8% Asian, 12.0% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 11.9% Unknown, 4.2% Hispanic or Latino, 17.0% Asian, 5.0% White, 61.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 6% |