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The differences between project managers and operations 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 $76,894 average annual salary of an operations manager.
The top three skills for a project manager include project management, project scope and customer service. The most important skills for an operations manager are customer service, logistics, and continuous improvement.
| Project Manager | Operations Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $91,578 | $76,894 |
| Hourly rate | $44.03 | $36.97 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 167,116 | 343,868 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.17 | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Average age | 47 | 44 |
| Years of experience | - | 6 |
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.
Operations managers are in charge of running the main business of the organization. They ensure that the business is running smoothly from an operations standpoint. They make sure that the processes in place produce the necessary output by implementing quality control measures. They also manage finances and ensure that there is enough budget to keep the operations of the business running. They also ensure that the production of goods or services is cost-efficient. Operations managers also handle people-related concerns. They are responsible for interviewing candidates, choosing the ones to hire, and ensuring that individuals assigned to operations are properly trained.
Project managers and operations managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Project Manager | Operations Manager | |
| Average salary | $91,578 | $76,894 |
| Salary range | Between $64,000 And $129,000 | Between $47,000 And $123,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Delaware |
| Best paying company | The Citadel | McKinsey & Company Inc |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a project manager and an operations manager in terms of educational background:
| Project Manager | Operations Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 62% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between project managers' and operations managers' demographics:
| Project Manager | Operations Manager | |
| Average age | 47 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 68.9% Female, 31.1% | Male, 69.4% Female, 30.6% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 6.3% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |