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Project management specialist vs program management consultant

The differences between project management specialists and program management consultants can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a project management specialist and a program management consultant. Additionally, a program management consultant has an average salary of $101,157, which is higher than the $81,204 average annual salary of a project management specialist.

The top three skills for a project management specialist include PMP, powerpoint and status reports. The most important skills for a program management consultant are customer service, project management, and management program.

Project management specialist vs program management consultant overview

Project Management SpecialistProgram Management Consultant
Yearly salary$81,204$101,157
Hourly rate$39.04$48.63
Growth rate11%11%
Number of jobs145,872177,578
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age4444
Years of experience44

What does a project management specialist do?

A project management specialist is an individual who manages an entire project and serves as a point of contact for a client or customer. Project management specialists must provide detailed cost analysis and timetable reports to keep projects on schedule and budget. They must ask for frequent updates from all staff assigned so that they can identify potential problems that may keep projects from being completed on time. Project management specialists must also prepare progress reports of projects and create presentations for senior management.

What does a program management consultant do?

A program management consultant is responsible for analyzing project requirements based on clients' specifications, developing quality improvement techniques, and reviewing project deliverables. Program management consultants work closely with the project team to identify project initiatives and resolve complexities that may arise. They also inspect the resources and materials to be utilized during the project and determine cost-reduction processes without compromising quality and efficiency. A program management consultant coordinates with the clients for progress updates and informs them of any plan adjustments as needed.

Project management specialist vs program management consultant salary

Project management specialists and program management consultants have different pay scales, as shown below.

Project Management SpecialistProgram Management Consultant
Average salary$81,204$101,157
Salary rangeBetween $58,000 And $112,000Between $74,000 And $137,000
Highest paying CityBridgewater, NJWashington, DC
Highest paying stateNew JerseyMaryland
Best paying companyEnbridgeeBay
Best paying industryFinanceTechnology

Differences between project management specialist and program management consultant education

There are a few differences between a project management specialist and a program management consultant in terms of educational background:

Project Management SpecialistProgram Management Consultant
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeStanford UniversityNorthwestern University

Project management specialist vs program management consultant demographics

Here are the differences between project management specialists' and program management consultants' demographics:

Project Management SpecialistProgram Management Consultant
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 52.4% Female, 47.6%Male, 60.6% Female, 39.4%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 8.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 8.9% Asian, 11.8% White, 66.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 8.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 13.4% White, 64.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage12%12%

Differences between project management specialist and program management consultant duties and responsibilities

Project management specialist example responsibilities.

  • Plan and manage all development and production activities for the company s new cardiac rhythmic management (CRM) extrusion line.
  • Manage user authorization in SharePoint.
  • Manage change management activation and stabilization activities for ERP project within all sites.
  • Manage a team responsible for designing service-orient application architecture, standards and best practices guidelines, security and data access frameworks.
  • Update, create stories, and modify VDS tasks in JIRA.
  • Facilitate project meetings, including setting the agenda, meeting logistics and documentation of meetings.
  • Show more

Program management consultant example responsibilities.

  • Manage all aspects of budget, logistics, resources, facilitation, execution, reporting, and documentation.
  • Manage logistics for faculty, support staff and participants including travel, housing, site selection, and equipment needs.
  • Manage group SharePoint site as administrator\designer implementing InfoPath forms, macro designs, and maintenance.
  • Manage multiple software development tracts to successfully deploy business analytics functionality to multiple business owners and end-users at Microsoft.
  • Design architecture of business process in order to fully vet requirement needs.
  • Define document architecture and library structure, maintain security, and oversee day to day administration.
  • Show more

Project management specialist vs program management consultant skills

Common project management specialist skills
  • PMP, 9%
  • PowerPoint, 7%
  • Status Reports, 7%
  • Program Management, 6%
  • Customer Service, 6%
  • Project Management Tools, 5%
Common program management consultant skills
  • Customer Service, 9%
  • Project Management, 9%
  • Management Program, 7%
  • Healthcare, 7%
  • HR, 5%
  • Scrum, 4%

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