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The differences between senior project managers and project directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a senior project manager has an average salary of $110,947, which is higher than the $107,396 average annual salary of a project director.
The top three skills for a senior project manager include project management, program management and portfolio. The most important skills for a project director are project management, oversight, and customer satisfaction.
| Senior Project Manager | Project Director | |
| Yearly salary | $110,947 | $107,396 |
| Hourly rate | $53.34 | $51.63 |
| Growth rate | 16% | - |
| Number of jobs | 183,210 | 116,968 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | - | - |
Senior project managers are experienced employees assigned to oversee a specific project in the organization. They manage the project from conception to execution. They are onboard the project from the ideation phase, providing valuable insights to ensure the success of the project. Senior project managers are also in charge of managing the budget, ensuring that the expected timelines are followed, adjusting strategies when needed, and guiding project team members. It is important for senior project managers to be good leaders and communicators. They should be able to balance the interests of all the stakeholders involved in the project. They should have good interpersonal skills and decision-making skills.
A project director is an individual responsible for supervising workers from various departments given specific tasks to complete a given project. They create a budget to complete a job while monitoring the amount of money spent to ensure that overspending is avoided. They provide presentations to investors, business partners, and company executives to inform them about their progress and development. Project directors must have several years of experience and obtain at least a bachelor's degree in business economics or a related field to be hired.
Senior project managers and project directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Project Manager | Project Director | |
| Average salary | $110,947 | $107,396 |
| Salary range | Between $82,000 And $148,000 | Between $70,000 And $162,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Las Vegas, NV |
| Highest paying state | California | Nevada |
| Best paying company | Roku | Fried Frank |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a senior project manager and a project director in terms of educational background:
| Senior Project Manager | Project Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between senior project managers' and project directors' demographics:
| Senior Project Manager | Project Director | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 71.4% Female, 28.6% | Male, 56.2% Female, 43.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 8.8% White, 65.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% | Black or African American, 7.5% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 8.8% White, 65.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |