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The differences between senior development managers and software development project managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-8 years to become a senior development manager, becoming a software development project manager takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a senior development manager has an average salary of $141,487, which is higher than the $106,633 average annual salary of a software development project manager.
The top three skills for a senior development manager include java, software development and cloud. The most important skills for a software development project manager are project management, scrum, and software development.
| Senior Development Manager | Software Development Project Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $141,487 | $106,633 |
| Hourly rate | $68.02 | $51.27 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 21% |
| Number of jobs | 148,732 | 331,412 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 47 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 4 |
A senior development manager oversees the daily operations of a company's product development team. They mostly have administrative duties, such as spearheading projects and programs, streamlining project requirements, establishing objectives and timelines, setting budgets and guidelines, delegating responsibilities among teams, and monitoring their progress, coordinating every team's efforts to ensure an effective workflow. Being a senior development manager takes years of experience, which they utilize to lead and guide teams in a joint effort to reach project goals and deliver profitable products.
Software development project managers are responsible for scheduling, planning, and delivering software and web projects. The managers must have knowledge of project estimation techniques and the ability to motivate team members. These managers plan out the blueprints for software projects like allocating resources, laying out communication strategies, and indicating test and maintenance. Also, they participate and supervise each stage of the project, ensure each project stays on schedule and adheres to the deadline, and discuss potential projects with clients, software developers, and executives.
Senior development managers and software development project managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Development Manager | Software Development Project Manager | |
| Average salary | $141,487 | $106,633 |
| Salary range | Between $106,000 And $188,000 | Between $76,000 And $148,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Newark, NJ |
| Highest paying state | California | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld | Barclays |
| Best paying industry | Hospitality | Finance |
There are a few differences between a senior development manager and a software development project manager in terms of educational background:
| Senior Development Manager | Software Development Project Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 70% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between senior development managers' and software development project managers' demographics:
| Senior Development Manager | Software Development Project Manager | |
| Average age | 47 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 71.9% Female, 28.1% | Male, 74.6% Female, 25.4% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.6% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 13.6% White, 64.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 4.6% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 8.4% Asian, 29.8% White, 52.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 8% |