Associate category manager vs senior product manager

The differences between associate category managers and senior product managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 8-10 years to become both an associate category manager and a senior product manager. Additionally, a senior product manager has an average salary of $133,868, which is higher than the $76,432 average annual salary of an associate category manager.

The top three skills for an associate category manager include data analysis, category strategies and category performance. The most important skills for a senior product manager are product management, cloud, and product strategy.

Associate category manager vs senior product manager overview

	Associate Category Manager	Senior Product Manager
Yearly salary	$76,432	$133,868
Hourly rate	$36.75	$64.36
Growth rate	10%	10%
Number of jobs	42,374	119,025
Job satisfaction	-	4
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 82%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age	39	39
Years of experience	10	10

What does an associate category manager do?

An associate category manager is responsible for conducting data and statistical analysis from the current market trends to identify opportunities and products that would generate more revenue resources and increase the store's profitability. Associate category managers develop cost-efficient techniques by building a strong business relationship with trusted suppliers and vendors. They also monitor the store's display category according to customers' demands and guide the staff in placing products in the appropriate sections. An associate category manager must have excellent leadership and communication skills, especially in responding to customers' inquiries and concerns and resolving complaints efficiently.

What does a senior product manager do?

A senior product manager oversees the workflow and workforce involved in product and service development, ensuring a high return for its investments. They are primarily responsible for assessing and providing recommendations, producing review and reference documents, and obtaining feedback from consumers and high-ranking company personnel. Furthermore, as a senior product manager, they must lead a group of product managers, motivating and supervising them in their joint effort to accomplish goals according to the company's standards and policies.

Associate category manager vs senior product manager salary

Associate category managers and senior product managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Associate Category Manager	Senior Product Manager
Average salary	$76,432	$133,868
Salary range	Between $58,000 And $99,000	Between $98,000 And $182,000
Highest paying City	-	San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state	-	California
Best paying company	-	Roku
Best paying industry	-	Start-up

Differences between associate category manager and senior product manager education

There are a few differences between an associate category manager and a senior product manager in terms of educational background:

	Associate Category Manager	Senior Product Manager
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 82%	Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Georgia	University of Georgia

Associate category manager vs senior product manager demographics

Here are the differences between associate category managers' and senior product managers' demographics:

	Associate Category Manager	Senior Product Manager
Average age	39	39
Gender ratio	Male, 42.6% Female, 57.4%	Male, 68.5% Female, 31.5%
Race ratio	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%	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	10%	10%

Differences between associate category manager and senior product manager duties and responsibilities

Associate category manager example responsibilities.

Manage relationships with primary suppliers including monitoring and purchasing commodities, forecasting, marketing initiatives and quality control.
Conduct RFP, analyze data, recommend consolidation of items.
Create and analyze RFP's to determine cost structure and desk profitability.
Coordinate and execute all online promotions with e-commerce partners.
Evaluate POS information, recommending and implementing strategies to improve product performance.
Implement unique e-commerce and in-store merchandising strategies while maintaining brand integrity for multiple client accounts.

Senior product manager example responsibilities.

Manage and lead pipeline visualization project team to successful presentation at annual customer event.
Research reimbursement and payment/coding policies with manage care plans and Medicare for new services.
Manage customer CRM implementations, upgrades and customer relationships (at all client levels) with sales team as SME.
Manage the PLM and PDM product quality data metrics to review process successes and deficiencies enhancing existing product delivery work cycles.
Lead SaaS application visibility and performance monitoring in hybrid enterprise to accelerate adoption of cloud.
Manage requirements capture, engineering and QA schedules, feature stability and iterative feature revisions.

Associate category manager vs senior product manager skills

Common associate category manager skills

Data Analysis, 8%
Category Strategies, 8%
Category Performance, 7%
Vendor Relations, 5%
PET, 4%
RFI, 4%

Common senior product manager skills

Product Management, 11%
Cloud, 6%
Product Strategy, 4%
User Stories, 4%
Product Vision, 4%
Product Roadmap, 4%

Associate Category Manager vs. similar jobs

Associate Category Manager related careers

Associate Category Manager related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Executive Management Industry
Associate Category Manager
Associate Category Manager vs Senior Product Manager

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse executive management jobs