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The differences between application managers and product managers 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 manager, becoming a product manager takes usually requires 8-10 years. Additionally, an application manager has an average salary of $122,748, which is higher than the $111,729 average annual salary of a product manager.
The top three skills for an application manager include customer service, project management and application development. The most important skills for a product manager are product management, QA, and product strategy.
| Application Manager | Product Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $122,748 | $111,729 |
| Hourly rate | $59.01 | $53.72 |
| Growth rate | 16% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 125,760 | 125,678 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 47 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 8 | 10 |
An application manager is in charge of overseeing software applications and systems within a company, ensuring efficiency and quality. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around conducting research and analysis to identify company needs, assessing existing applications to determine their strengths and weaknesses, and implementing solutions to optimize the quality of services. They may also conduct regular maintenance checks to ensure the efficiency of applications, performing corrective measures when necessary. Furthermore, as an application manager, it is essential to coordinate with the information technology staff, encouraging them to reach goals and new heights.
A product manager is responsible for ensuring product development, providing the best marketing strategies, and effectively handling the sales and marketing team. Product managers' duties include monitoring the market trends and conditions, identifying business opportunities and plan initiatives, and collaborating the product launch process with the appropriate departments. A product manager is also responsible for generating ideas on improving product features, determining timetables and reasonable pricing, and analyzing product sales. A product manager must have excellent strategic and decision-making skills to contribute to its growth and profitability.
Application managers and product managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Application Manager | Product Manager | |
| Average salary | $122,748 | $111,729 |
| Salary range | Between $93,000 And $160,000 | Between $81,000 And $152,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Roku | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Retail |
There are a few differences between an application manager and a product manager in terms of educational background:
| Application Manager | Product Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Carnegie Mellon University | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between application managers' and product managers' demographics:
| Application Manager | Product Manager | |
| Average age | 47 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 71.1% Female, 28.9% | Male, 65.3% Female, 34.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 6.8% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 10.2% Asian, 13.5% White, 64.0% 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 Percentage | 11% | 10% |