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Project management specialist vs program/project manager

The differences between project management specialists and program/project managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a program/project manager has an average salary of $101,850, 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/project manager are project management, program management, and PMP.

Project management specialist vs program/project manager overview

Project Management SpecialistProgram/Project Manager
Yearly salary$81,204$101,850
Hourly rate$39.04$48.97
Growth rate11%16%
Number of jobs145,872243,017
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age4447
Years of experience4-

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/project manager do?

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 management specialist vs program/project manager salary

Project management specialists and program/project managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Project Management SpecialistProgram/Project Manager
Average salary$81,204$101,850
Salary rangeBetween $58,000 And $112,000Between $74,000 And $138,000
Highest paying CityBridgewater, NJSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateNew JerseyCalifornia
Best paying companyEnbridgeMeta
Best paying industryFinanceProfessional

Differences between project management specialist and program/project manager education

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

Project Management SpecialistProgram/Project Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 67%Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeStanford UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Project management specialist vs program/project manager demographics

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

Project Management SpecialistProgram/Project Manager
Average age4447
Gender ratioMale, 52.4% Female, 47.6%Male, 62.0% Female, 38.0%
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, 7.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage12%10%

Differences between project management specialist and program/project manager 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/project manager example responsibilities.

  • Plan and manage infrastructure installations and enterprise hardware and software upgrades of classify systems while balancing resources to manage troubleshooting/maintenance actions.
  • Facilitate daily scrum meetings and collaborate with product owners to prioritize and manage backlog.
  • Utilize SharePoint, the company's document repository engine to manage access and documentation reviews.
  • Manage, monitors and measures project portfolio status, recommending corrective action as necessary and communicate portfolio status to their management.
  • Promote to positions base on demonstrate skills in business analysis, project management, portfolio management and customer relationship management.
  • Provide program and project management support for applications and infrastructure systems monitoring as well as enhancements and maintenance of existing systems.
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Project management specialist vs program/project manager 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/project manager skills
  • Project Management, 18%
  • Program Management, 7%
  • PMP, 6%
  • Status Reports, 5%
  • Infrastructure, 4%
  • Portfolio, 4%

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