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The differences between senior managers, program management and project management leads 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 manager, program management, becoming a project management lead takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a senior manager, program management has an average salary of $132,993, which is higher than the $85,117 average annual salary of a project management lead.
The top three skills for a senior manager, program management include program management, project management and continuous improvement. The most important skills for a project management lead are project management, customer service, and portfolio.
| Senior Manager, Program Management | Project Management Lead | |
| Yearly salary | $132,993 | $85,117 |
| Hourly rate | $63.94 | $40.92 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 11% |
| Number of jobs | 263,686 | 158,441 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Average age | 47 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 6 |
A senior manager of product management is responsible for overseeing the product development procedures and techniques from conceptualization to final outputs, including budget limitations and deliverables within the required timeframes. Senior managers of product management implement quality control processes to identify potential inconsistencies and glitches, adjusting initial projected plans as needed. They coordinate with suppliers and third-party vendors to support the production, ensuring high-quality providers to avoid delays and complications on product management. A senior manager of product management also reports progress updates with the clients and manage product release to the target market.
A project management lead is in charge of overseeing all processes involved in the planning and delivery of projects in an organization. Their responsibilities typically revolve around coordinating departments and personnel involved in every project to ensure accuracy and timeliness, managing budget and expenditures, producing progress reports and presentations, assessing risks, and delivering optimal quality results. Furthermore, as a management lead, it is crucial to lead and encourage team members, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Senior managers, program management and project management leads have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Manager, Program Management | Project Management Lead | |
| Average salary | $132,993 | $85,117 |
| Salary range | Between $97,000 And $182,000 | Between $53,000 And $136,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | California | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Roku | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Internet | Energy |
There are a few differences between a senior manager, program management and a project management lead in terms of educational background:
| Senior Manager, Program Management | Project Management Lead | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 64% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between senior managers, program management' and project management leads' demographics:
| Senior Manager, Program Management | Project Management Lead | |
| Average age | 47 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 73.1% Female, 26.9% | Male, 59.2% Female, 40.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 10.2% Asian, 14.8% White, 62.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 11% |