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The differences between senior project specialists and project managers & leader can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a senior project specialist and a project manager & leader. Additionally, a project manager & leader has an average salary of $102,092, which is higher than the $87,213 average annual salary of a senior project specialist.
The top three skills for a senior project specialist include project management, powerpoint and status reports. The most important skills for a project manager & leader are project management, infrastructure, and post implementation.
| Senior Project Specialist | Project Manager & Leader | |
| Yearly salary | $87,213 | $102,092 |
| Hourly rate | $41.93 | $49.08 |
| Growth rate | 11% | - |
| Number of jobs | 111,859 | 190,600 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
The job of a senior project specialist is to manage a portfolio of projects and ensure that these projects achieve quality development outcomes. You will perform a variety of duties that include providing day-to-day support to teams, preparing and reviewing requests for project-related activities, and overseeing the project's financial aspects by reviewing monthly invoices. In addition, you will monitor monthly costs and track contract expenditures against total obligated funds and budget. As a senior project specialist, it is also your responsibility to recruit short- and long-term personnel.
A project manager & leader is responsible for monitoring the overall project management and staff operations, ensuring the efficiency and accuracy of project deliverables to meet the client's requirements, and achieving the highest customer satisfaction. Project managers/leaders implement strategic procedures to minimize costs while maximizing operational productivity. They identify business opportunities by analyzing the current market trends to develop services that would meet the clients' demands and the public's interests. A project manager & leader also handles the department budget, allocating adequate resources, and maintaining an organized delegation of tasks for the employees.
Senior project specialists and project managers & leader have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Project Specialist | Project Manager & Leader | |
| Average salary | $87,213 | $102,092 |
| Salary range | Between $67,000 And $112,000 | Between $74,000 And $139,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Idaho | California |
| Best paying company | Amazon | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Insurance | Health Care |
There are a few differences between a senior project specialist and a project manager & leader in terms of educational background:
| Senior Project Specialist | Project Manager & Leader | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between senior project specialists' and project managers & leader' demographics:
| Senior Project Specialist | Project Manager & Leader | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 50.0% Female, 50.0% | Male, 72.0% Female, 28.0% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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% |