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Associate product developer vs product specialist

The differences between associate product developers and product specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both an associate product developer and a product specialist. Additionally, a product specialist has an average salary of $85,932, 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 specialist are customer service, product knowledge, and sales floor.

Associate product developer vs product specialist overview

Associate Product DeveloperProduct Specialist
Yearly salary$66,986$85,932
Hourly rate$32.20$41.31
Growth rate19%19%
Number of jobs126,857103,863
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 79%Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Average age3737
Years of experience66

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 specialist do?

A product specialist is required to have excellent knowledge about a product and work with a business unit to ensure excellent product delivery. Product specialists perform product demonstrations to customers and other stakeholders and assist in their promotions and product releases. To gain increased revenue, product specialists must be able to identify new market opportunities. They are required to conduct product and sales training for the marketing team. They must also provide reports about their product-related activities to the management.

Associate product developer vs product specialist salary

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

Associate Product DeveloperProduct Specialist
Average salary$66,986$85,932
Salary rangeBetween $46,000 And $95,000Between $56,000 And $130,000
Highest paying CityWashington, DCSan Bruno, CA
Highest paying stateWashingtonCalifornia
Best paying companyJPMorgan Chase & Co.ByteDance
Best paying industryHealth CareTechnology

Differences between associate product developer and product specialist education

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

Associate Product DeveloperProduct Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 79%Bachelor's Degree, 64%
Most common majorSpecialized Sales And MerchandisingBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Georgia

Associate product developer vs product specialist demographics

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

Associate Product DeveloperProduct Specialist
Average age3737
Gender ratioMale, 40.5% Female, 59.5%Male, 59.8% Female, 40.2%
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, 5.2% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 10.6% White, 66.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between associate product developer and product specialist 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.
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Product specialist example responsibilities.

  • Create and manage RFP responses for potential customers and develop product quotes base on customer requirements.
  • Manage projects and priorities list of ongoing engineering plans base on ROI and business needs, and relay to operations regularly.
  • Perform weekly review and update of lead list against opportunities manage in Salesforce.com.
  • Manage telephone relationships with senior management of client companies to troubleshoot and develop product.
  • Participate in CAPA activities as required.
  • Develop generic UI's that includes re-branding & re-skinning of product.
  • Show more

Associate product developer vs product specialist skills

Common associate product developer skills
  • Product Development, 10%
  • Project Management, 7%
  • PowerPoint, 6%
  • Product Design, 6%
  • PLM, 6%
  • Sketch, 4%
Common product specialist skills
  • Customer Service, 19%
  • Product Knowledge, 7%
  • Sales Floor, 7%
  • Patients, 6%
  • Excellent Interpersonal, 4%
  • Windows, 3%

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