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The differences between senior project specialists and project team leads 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 team lead. Additionally, a project team lead has an average salary of $105,306, 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 team lead are project management, R, and project scope.
| Senior Project Specialist | Project Team Lead | |
| Yearly salary | $87,213 | $105,306 |
| Hourly rate | $41.93 | $50.63 |
| Growth rate | 11% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 111,859 | 125,539 |
| 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 team lead sets up the expectations for the team members. Project team leads are in charge of setting the direction for the team members. They see to it that the members will not stray from the team's goals. They lead and engage in project works. It is their job to maintain the dynamics of the team. It is their aim not to fail in their management and leadership skills. They need to have conflict and resolution skills, communication skills, attention to detail, and patience.
Senior project specialists and project team leads have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Project Specialist | Project Team Lead | |
| Average salary | $87,213 | $105,306 |
| Salary range | Between $67,000 And $112,000 | Between $80,000 And $137,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Idaho | California |
| Best paying company | Amazon | Citi |
| Best paying industry | Insurance | Finance |
There are a few differences between a senior project specialist and a project team lead in terms of educational background:
| Senior Project Specialist | Project Team Lead | |
| 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 team leads' demographics:
| Senior Project Specialist | Project Team Lead | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 50.0% Female, 50.0% | Male, 67.6% Female, 32.4% |
| 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% |