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The differences between unit managers and general managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a unit manager and a general manager. Additionally, a general manager has an average salary of $71,581, which is higher than the $60,561 average annual salary of a unit manager.
The top three skills for a unit manager include quality care, patients and federal regulations. The most important skills for a general manager are customer service, cleanliness, and food safety.
| Unit Manager | General Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $60,561 | $71,581 |
| Hourly rate | $29.12 | $34.41 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 366,932 | 442,690 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.25 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Unit managers are responsible for managing the nursing unit. They primarily supervise the daily care of patients and ensure quality patient care. Usually, they perform tasks like evaluating staff performance, conducting orientation for new staff, and training new members. Also, they manage schedules, minimize expenditures, and enforce health as well as safety regulations. Unit managers are registered nursing professionals with an undergraduate or graduate degree. They are honest, adaptable, and analytical professionals with strong management and leadership skills and relevant experience in nursing and patient assessment.
A general manager is responsible for handling the overall operations in the business. General managers manage the staff tasks efficiently, monitor the productivity and efficiency of the work environment, implement new strategies to improve the business performance, recognize the team's best efforts, and effective allocation of budget resources. A general manager must have excellent communication, decision-making, and critical-thinking skills to identify areas of improvement in handling customer complaints, connecting with vendors and other lines of businesses that will direct the company towards its successful objectives.
Unit managers and general managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Unit Manager | General Manager | |
| Average salary | $60,561 | $71,581 |
| Salary range | Between $38,000 And $96,000 | Between $40,000 And $126,000 |
| Highest paying City | Los Angeles, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | New Jersey | Hawaii |
| Best paying company | Microsoft | NVIDIA |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a unit manager and a general manager in terms of educational background:
| Unit Manager | General Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 52% | Bachelor's Degree, 56% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between unit managers' and general managers' demographics:
| Unit Manager | General Manager | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 42.4% Female, 57.6% | Male, 70.7% Female, 29.3% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.2% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 6.2% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 6.4% White, 67.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |