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Application development director vs director of product development

The differences between application development directors and directors of product development can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 6-8 years to become an application development director, becoming a director of product development takes usually requires 8-10 years. Additionally, an application development director has an average salary of $151,898, which is higher than the $140,507 average annual salary of a director of product development.

The top three skills for an application development director include application development, architecture and java. The most important skills for a director of product development are product development, project management, and product management.

Application development director vs director of product development overview

Application Development DirectorDirector Of Product Development
Yearly salary$151,898$140,507
Hourly rate$73.03$67.55
Growth rate16%10%
Number of jobs100,053175,429
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Average age4739
Years of experience810

What does an application development director do?

The applications development director focuses on ensuring the smooth and productive development process of strategies and applications used in a company. The development director manages a team of developers who will improve, upgrade, and, if needed, replace existing systems and applications currently used in the company. The development director's role is essential for continuing the company's productivity, which is why this position is only open for people with relevant experience in application development and managerial skills. A development director's added tasks are to work with all related departments in the company, collate their application needs, and integrate those inputs to come up with an application that resolves all company problems.

What does a director of product development do?

A Director of Product Development supervises and implements product development policies, initiatives, and objectives. They conduct market research to determine consumer needs and identify competitors.

Application development director vs director of product development salary

Application development directors and directors of product development have different pay scales, as shown below.

Application Development DirectorDirector Of Product Development
Average salary$151,898$140,507
Salary rangeBetween $116,000 And $198,000Between $100,000 And $196,000
Highest paying CitySeattle, WASan Mateo, CA
Highest paying stateWashingtonCalifornia
Best paying companyServiceNowApple
Best paying industryManufacturingManufacturing

Differences between application development director and director of product development education

There are a few differences between an application development director and a director of product development in terms of educational background:

Application Development DirectorDirector Of Product Development
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 73%Bachelor's Degree, 71%
Most common majorComputer ScienceBusiness
Most common collegeCarnegie Mellon UniversityUniversity of Georgia

Application development director vs director of product development demographics

Here are the differences between application development directors' and directors of product development' demographics:

Application Development DirectorDirector Of Product Development
Average age4739
Gender ratioMale, 84.0% Female, 16.0%Male, 72.0% Female, 28.0%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 6.7% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 13.4% White, 64.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 3.0% Unknown, 5.3% Hispanic or Latino, 8.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage11%10%

Differences between application development director and director of product development duties and responsibilities

Application development director example responsibilities.

  • Manage IP portfolio including strategic partnerships, patents, and licensing.
  • Manage the implementation of a SharePoint base project and portfolio management solution and team intranet portal.
  • Manage a portfolio of linear and digital projects for multiple executive steering committees utilizing internal and external resources.
  • Program manage multiple Disney cross functional business unit teams through new enterprise wide ERP application implementations and custom design applications.
  • Manage infrastructure upgrade, replacement and capacity expansion for desktop and middle tier hardware and operating systems in geographically diverse locations.
  • Participate in establishing the company's strategic direction relative to the overall systems and technical architecture.
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Director of product development example responsibilities.

  • Organize and manage project meetings between partners, vendors, and associates using both scrum and waterfall methodologies.
  • Manage long-term care, hospital transition, and Medicaid- Medicare expansion initiatives, that includes model of care design and implementation )
  • Manage packaging design and nutritional labeling within QA guidelines.
  • Manage company intellectual portfolio and develop key relationships with vendors and clients including leading global technology companies.
  • Develop using Java, JSP, J2EE, CSS, DHTML, HTML, Plugins and JavaScript.
  • Prepare proposals for new projects, including project feasibility, ROI, expenses and costs.
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Application development director vs director of product development skills

Common application development director skills
  • Application Development, 13%
  • Architecture, 7%
  • Java, 7%
  • Software Development, 6%
  • Project Management, 6%
  • Scrum, 4%
Common director of product development skills
  • Product Development, 12%
  • Project Management, 9%
  • Product Management, 9%
  • R, 7%
  • Product Strategy, 4%
  • Market Research, 3%

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