Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between senior engineering managers and directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes More than 10 years to become a senior engineering manager, becoming a director takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a senior engineering manager has an average salary of $155,753, which is higher than the $113,489 average annual salary of a director.
The top three skills for a senior engineering manager include java, architecture and cloud. The most important skills for a director are healthcare, customer service, and oversight.
| Senior Engineering Manager | Director | |
| Yearly salary | $155,753 | $113,489 |
| Hourly rate | $74.88 | $54.56 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 70,918 | 230,711 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 48 | 40 |
| Years of experience | - | 6 |
Senior engineering managers are the leaders who oversee and supervise a team of engineers. These executives are the ones who develop, modify, create, and test solutions to technical-related problems. They direct and coordinate the production, quality assurance, maintenance, operations, or testing in industrial plants. It is part of their job to handle the research and development of new procedures and products. They are also involved in improving the advance scientific research and manufacturing processes of the company.
Directors work in show business, whether in a film, a television show, or a theatre production. They are responsible for bringing the material to life. They work with the writers to get a clear vision of how the production should look. They lead the production team in planning for the production, identifying filming or rehearsing schedules, casting for roles, and other aspects that need to be decided upon. Directors provide direction to the actors to ensure that the actors understand their role and will be able to effectively convey emotions to the audience. They also manage all other crew members and communicate their expectations clearly so that everyone on the set is working towards one vision.
Senior engineering managers and directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Engineering Manager | Director | |
| Average salary | $155,753 | $113,489 |
| Salary range | Between $110,000 And $218,000 | Between $66,000 And $192,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | New York |
| Best paying company | Airbnb | Mayo Clinic |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Finance |
There are a few differences between a senior engineering manager and a director in terms of educational background:
| Senior Engineering Manager | Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Business |
| Most common college | University of Michigan - Ann Arbor | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between senior engineering managers' and directors' demographics:
| Senior Engineering Manager | Director | |
| Average age | 48 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 89.9% Female, 10.1% | Male, 53.2% Female, 46.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 2.9% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 8.2% Asian, 17.6% White, 66.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 5.6% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 6.4% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 14% |