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The differences between commercial product managers and product directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 8-10 years to become both a commercial product manager and a product director. Additionally, a product director has an average salary of $148,910, which is higher than the $106,412 average annual salary of a commercial product manager.
The top three skills for a commercial product manager include treasury, product line and product development. The most important skills for a product director are product management, product strategy, and project management.
| Commercial Product Manager | Product Director | |
| Yearly salary | $106,412 | $148,910 |
| Hourly rate | $51.16 | $71.59 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 139,724 | 125,200 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 10 | 10 |
The commercial product manager focuses on determining consumers' wants and needs and drafts a product plan for the business to tweak their product development to take advantage of the demand. The commercial product manager works with the marketing team on ensuring existing products and newly developed items fare well in the market. This position is tasked with monitoring product performance, determining weaknesses in the marketing strategy, and providing suggestions and recommendations to improve sales. The added responsibility of a commercial product manager is to help in conceptualizing product designs and marketing strategies.
The duties of a product director depend on one's place or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around overseeing the product development operations to ensure smooth flow and efficiency, devise strategies to improve processes, gather relevant data such as sales and customer feedback, and coordinate with different departments in developing new products and services. Furthermore, as a director, it is essential to lead and encourage departments to meet goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations, including its mission and vision.
Commercial product managers and product directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Commercial Product Manager | Product Director | |
| Average salary | $106,412 | $148,910 |
| Salary range | Between $73,000 And $153,000 | Between $104,000 And $212,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Flexport | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Internet |
There are a few differences between a commercial product manager and a product director in terms of educational background:
| Commercial Product Manager | Product Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between commercial product managers' and product directors' demographics:
| Commercial Product Manager | Product Director | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 70.0% Female, 30.0% | Male, 72.4% Female, 27.6% |
| 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% |