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The differences between category managers, marketing and 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 a category manager, marketing and a product manager. Additionally, a product manager has an average salary of $111,729, which is higher than the $104,562 average annual salary of a category manager, marketing.
The top three skills for a category manager, marketing include digital marketing, project management and strategic sourcing. The most important skills for a product manager are product management, QA, and product strategy.
| Category Manager, Marketing | Product Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $104,562 | $111,729 |
| Hourly rate | $50.27 | $53.72 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 112,118 | 125,678 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 10 | 10 |
A category manager of marketing typically works at retail establishments where they are in charge of managing a particular category of products such as clothing, household supplies, electronics, etc. Among their responsibilities include setting sales and marketing objectives, managing marketing teams, gathering and analyzing data to determine product line ups, coordinating staff, overseeing the inventory of supplies, and participate in creating marketing materials. Moreover, as a manager, it is essential to lead and encourage the workforce to reach goals, all while enforcing the company's policies and regulations.
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.
Category managers, marketing and product managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Category Manager, Marketing | Product Manager | |
| Average salary | $104,562 | $111,729 |
| Salary range | Between $79,000 And $138,000 | Between $81,000 And $152,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | - | California |
| Best paying company | - | Meta |
| Best paying industry | - | Retail |
There are a few differences between a category manager, marketing and a product manager in terms of educational background:
| Category Manager, Marketing | Product Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between category managers, marketing' and product managers' demographics:
| Category Manager, Marketing | Product Manager | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 61.0% Female, 39.0% | Male, 65.3% Female, 34.7% |
| 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% |