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The differences between commercial product managers and product line 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 commercial product manager and a product line manager. Additionally, a commercial product manager has an average salary of $106,412, which is higher than the $97,237 average annual salary of a product line manager.
The top three skills for a commercial product manager include treasury, product line and product development. The most important skills for a product line manager are product management, customer service, and PLM.
| Commercial Product Manager | Product Line Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $106,412 | $97,237 |
| Hourly rate | $51.16 | $46.75 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 139,724 | 158,908 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| 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.
A product line manager is an individual who provides product and market intelligence by increasing the market share of a company. Product line managers must create competitive analysis and interpret market trends so that they can provide recommendations and guidance to the company. They are required to identify target markets and should come up with strategies for market penetration. Product line managers must also monitor the creation and development of new products as well as to measure the success of the products in the market.
Commercial product managers and product line managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Commercial Product Manager | Product Line Manager | |
| Average salary | $106,412 | $97,237 |
| Salary range | Between $73,000 And $153,000 | Between $52,000 And $178,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | California |
| Best paying company | Flexport | ON Semiconductor |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Energy |
There are a few differences between a commercial product manager and a product line manager in terms of educational background:
| Commercial Product Manager | Product Line Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 80% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between commercial product managers' and product line managers' demographics:
| Commercial Product Manager | Product Line Manager | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 70.0% Female, 30.0% | Male, 78.8% Female, 21.2% |
| 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% |