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The differences between senior project directors and project managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a senior project director has an average salary of $99,266, which is higher than the $91,578 average annual salary of a project manager.
The top three skills for a senior project director include project management, business operations and product development. The most important skills for a project manager are project management, project scope, and customer service.
| Senior Project Director | Project Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $99,266 | $91,578 |
| Hourly rate | $47.72 | $44.03 |
| Growth rate | - | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 86,779 | 167,116 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.17 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
A senior project director spearheads and oversees projects in a company, aiming for smooth workflow and significant results. Their responsibilities typically include setting goals, establishing guidelines and timelines, managing staff, coordinating managers, liaising with external business partners, and monitoring the progress of all operations, resolving issues should any arise. They must also produce progress reports and present them to the executives. Moreover, as a senior project director, it is essential to lead and encourage staff to reach goals while promoting the company's policies and regulations.
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.
Senior project directors and project managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Project Director | Project Manager | |
| Average salary | $99,266 | $91,578 |
| Salary range | Between $67,000 And $146,000 | Between $64,000 And $129,000 |
| Highest paying City | Seattle, WA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Alaska | California |
| Best paying company | Amazon | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a senior project director and a project manager in terms of educational background:
| Senior Project Director | Project Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 71% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between senior project directors' and project managers' demographics:
| Senior Project Director | Project Manager | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 58.5% Female, 41.5% | Male, 68.9% Female, 31.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.6% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | 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 Percentage | 10% | 10% |