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The differences between project management specialists and project managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a project manager has an average salary of $91,578, 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 project manager are project management, project scope, and customer service.
| Project Management Specialist | Project Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $81,204 | $91,578 |
| Hourly rate | $39.04 | $44.03 |
| Growth rate | 11% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 145,872 | 167,116 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.17 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | - |
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.
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 management specialists and project managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Project Management Specialist | Project Manager | |
| Average salary | $81,204 | $91,578 |
| Salary range | Between $58,000 And $112,000 | Between $64,000 And $129,000 |
| Highest paying City | Bridgewater, NJ | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | California |
| Best paying company | Enbridge | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Technology |
There are a few differences between a project management specialist and a project manager in terms of educational background:
| Project Management Specialist | Project Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 67% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between project management specialists' and project managers' demographics:
| Project Management Specialist | Project Manager | |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 52.4% Female, 47.6% | Male, 68.9% Female, 31.1% |
| Race ratio | Black 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, 7.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 9.0% White, 65.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 12% | 10% |