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Associate product developer vs product manager

The differences between associate product developers and product managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become an associate product developer, becoming a product manager takes usually requires 8-10 years. Additionally, a product manager has an average salary of $111,729, which is higher than the $66,986 average annual salary of an associate product developer.

The top three skills for an associate product developer include product development, project management and powerpoint. The most important skills for a product manager are product management, QA, and product strategy.

Associate product developer vs product manager overview

Associate Product DeveloperProduct Manager
Yearly salary$66,986$111,729
Hourly rate$32.20$53.72
Growth rate19%10%
Number of jobs126,857125,678
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 79%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age3739
Years of experience610

What does an associate product developer do?

An associate product developer oversees the aspects of product marketing in an organization. Associate product developers maintain and source relationships with manufacturers and vendors. They take responsibility for the development of new products. It is their job to facilitate the timely execution of tasks making sure that they are in line with the FDA audit. They use skills in subject matter expertise to create and maintain a manufacturing reference database within an organization.

What does a product manager do?

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.

Associate product developer vs product manager salary

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

Associate Product DeveloperProduct Manager
Average salary$66,986$111,729
Salary rangeBetween $46,000 And $95,000Between $81,000 And $152,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCSan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateWashingtonCalifornia
Best paying companyJPMorgan Chase & Co.Meta
Best paying industryHealth CareRetail

Differences between associate product developer and product manager education

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

Associate Product DeveloperProduct Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 79%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common majorSpecialized Sales And MerchandisingBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Georgia

Associate product developer vs product manager demographics

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

Associate Product DeveloperProduct Manager
Average age3739
Gender ratioMale, 40.5% Female, 59.5%Male, 65.3% Female, 34.7%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 4.7% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.2% Asian, 14.2% White, 64.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%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 Percentage10%10%

Differences between associate product developer and product manager duties and responsibilities

Associate product developer example responsibilities.

  • Lead expert team that prove feasibility of manufacturing green elastomeric nonwovens by reactive extrusion.
  • Develop several advance SQL scripts, many of which require complex joins, cursors, and other programming methods.
  • Develop prototypes utilizing rapid prototyping and general machinery methods.
  • Work with manufacturing department for rapid prototyping and design modifications.
  • Create necessary documentation: including manufacturing specifications, QC test procedures, and raw material specifications.
  • Test software development, test hardware characterization/development, hardware/software debugging and repair, device qualifications and testing.
  • Show more

Product manager example responsibilities.

  • Lead collaborative efforts within the PMO, vendors, customers, and internal stakeholders.
  • Manage developers accountable for coding, database development, UI implementation, and system architecture.
  • Manage inventory service levels / overstocks /defective inventory and supplier buy-in opportunities to maximize ROI.
  • Lead customization of the company's administrative SaaS software solution by defining features and functionality for internal/external stakeholder teams.
  • Lead weekly meetings between engineering, sales/marketing, and QA departments to facilitate communication, collaboration and resolution of product issues.
  • Handle design and specification of administration system requirements to efficiently manage, operate, and support client API configurations and sessions.
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Associate product developer vs product manager skills

Common associate product developer skills
  • Product Development, 10%
  • Project Management, 7%
  • PowerPoint, 6%
  • Product Design, 6%
  • PLM, 6%
  • Sketch, 4%
Common product manager skills
  • Product Management, 11%
  • QA, 5%
  • Product Strategy, 5%
  • Project Management, 4%
  • Market Research, 4%
  • User Stories, 4%

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