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Project team lead vs project manager

The differences between project team leads and project managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a project team lead has an average salary of $105,306, which is higher than the $91,578 average annual salary of a project manager.

The top three skills for a project team lead include project management, R and project scope. The most important skills for a project manager are project management, project scope, and customer service.

Project team lead vs project manager overview

Project Team LeadProject Manager
Yearly salary$105,306$91,578
Hourly rate$50.63$44.03
Growth rate10%8%
Number of jobs125,539167,116
Job satisfaction-4.17
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age4447
Years of experience6-

What does a project team lead do?

A project team lead sets up the expectations for the team members. Project team leads are in charge of setting the direction for the team members. They see to it that the members will not stray from the team's goals. They lead and engage in project works. It is their job to maintain the dynamics of the team. It is their aim not to fail in their management and leadership skills. They need to have conflict and resolution skills, communication skills, attention to detail, and patience.

What does a project manager do?

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 team lead vs project manager salary

Project team leads and project managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Project Team LeadProject Manager
Average salary$105,306$91,578
Salary rangeBetween $80,000 And $137,000Between $64,000 And $129,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyCitiThe Citadel
Best paying industryFinanceTechnology

Differences between project team lead and project manager education

There are a few differences between a project team lead and a project manager in terms of educational background:

Project Team LeadProject Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 66%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeStanford UniversityUniversity of Pennsylvania

Project team lead vs project manager demographics

Here are the differences between project team leads' and project managers' demographics:

Project Team LeadProject Manager
Average age4447
Gender ratioMale, 67.6% Female, 32.4%Male, 68.9% Female, 31.1%
Race ratioBlack 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, 7.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 9.0% White, 65.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage11%10%

Differences between project team lead and project manager duties and responsibilities

Project team lead example responsibilities.

  • Manage UAT, build test plans, regression testing, compile results, training.
  • Lead the program integration effort for a major conversion / upgrade of ERP software for military aircraft production programs.
  • Design SharePoint Wiki sites, and manage SharePoint environment.
  • Manage RFP large scale network/infrastructure relate expansion, integration, and/or decommissioning projects.
  • Lead team that develop an integrate database with a web-base user interface that allow repair crews in locating information and equipment.
  • Design and implement SQL data table setup and program financial and payroll system interfaces.
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Project manager example responsibilities.

  • Schedule and manage the GCP audit process.
  • Define, develop and manage metrics and KPIs systems for new product business group.
  • Manage the application process for the FDA medical device, minority and small business certifications.
  • Manage multiple projects and resources simultaneously while mentoring, coaching and implementing best practices, SOX and HIPAA compliance standards.
  • Lead teams using the Informatica ETL tool for the design and development of multiple financial and risk enterprise data warehouses.
  • Administer and manage Salesforce requirements.
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Project team lead vs project manager skills

Common project team lead skills
  • Project Management, 15%
  • R, 8%
  • Project Scope, 6%
  • Logistics, 6%
  • Database, 5%
  • HVAC, 5%
Common project manager skills
  • Project Management, 23%
  • Project Scope, 6%
  • Customer Service, 6%
  • Infrastructure, 5%
  • Status Reports, 4%
  • Risk Management, 3%

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