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The differences between service managers and service advisors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a service manager, becoming a service advisor takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a service manager has an average salary of $74,009, which is higher than the $46,308 average annual salary of a service advisor.
The top three skills for a service manager include POS, performance reviews and cash handling. The most important skills for a service advisor are customer service, product knowledge, and basic math.
| Service Manager | Service Advisor | |
| Yearly salary | $74,009 | $46,308 |
| Hourly rate | $35.58 | $22.26 |
| Growth rate | 6% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 341,785 | 222,424 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 33% |
| Average age | 44 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 12 |
Service managers are employees who oversee the departments related to providing services to customers. They ensure that service delivery agreements are met by employees in the department. Service managers meet with stakeholders to set service delivery metrics and department goals. They then create strategies to reach these metrics and goals. They are responsible for cascading such goals and metrics to their employees and ensuring that the employees understand what they need to do. Service managers should have a deep understanding and appreciation of the company and its business so that they can create strategies that are in line with the company's identity. They should also be familiar with the customer profiles of the company. Service managers are also responsible for creating department reports and sharing these with stakeholders.
Service Advisors specialize in customer service in a car dealership or automotive shop. Acting as a front-desk representative, it is the Service Advisor's responsibility to greet clients and offer assistance, provide necessary and accurate information to customers regarding the automotive issues and needed repairs, respond to inquiries, and introduce the clients to the available mechanics. Moreover, Service Advisors must inform clients regarding the costs and warranties, keep the clients updated with the status of the repairs, coordinate with suppliers, and as well as manage the schedule of the mechanics.
Service managers and service advisors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Service Manager | Service Advisor | |
| Average salary | $74,009 | $46,308 |
| Salary range | Between $47,000 And $116,000 | Between $26,000 And $79,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | New York, NY |
| Highest paying state | New York | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Latham & Watkins | BP America Inc |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Finance |
There are a few differences between a service manager and a service advisor in terms of educational background:
| Service Manager | Service Advisor | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 33% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | - |
Here are the differences between service managers' and service advisors' demographics:
| Service Manager | Service Advisor | |
| Average age | 44 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 71.1% Female, 28.9% | Male, 69.4% Female, 30.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.1% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.0% Asian, 6.3% White, 67.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 10.8% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 21.1% Asian, 6.1% White, 56.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 7% |