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The differences between consultants in product development and product owners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 8-10 years to become both a consultant in product development and a product owner. Additionally, a consultant in product development has an average salary of $111,727, which is higher than the $97,070 average annual salary of a product owner.
The top three skills for a consultant in product development include cycle management, business development and product development. The most important skills for a product owner are user stories, acceptance criteria, and product backlog.
| Consultant In Product Development | Product Owner | |
| Yearly salary | $111,727 | $97,070 |
| Hourly rate | $53.71 | $46.67 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 138,422 | 129,990 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 10 | 10 |
Product development consultants create products with enhanced or additional features to help their clients remain competitive. They evaluate the proposed designs of products before advising their team to start its development. Their jobs are mainly to report on actions to improve the product proposals and give constructive criticisms regarding the staff's performance during meetings or group huddles. They must also have strong written and verbal communication skills, knowledge in product development processes, and detail orientation to perform the duties of the job well.
Product owners are at the forefront of an organization's development cycle. They have various duties and responsibilities, which include ensuring that the value of products created by the development team is maximized, creating a vision and defining the goals for development projects, and working closely with all stakeholders. As the product owner, you are responsible for ensuring that the development team maintains a consistent vision and overseeing the product backlog. You are also expected to supervise the actual product development stages and anticipate the needs of clients.
Consultants in product development and product owners have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Consultant In Product Development | Product Owner | |
| Average salary | $111,727 | $97,070 |
| Salary range | Between $81,000 And $153,000 | Between $71,000 And $130,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | ERM | ORIX USA |
| Best paying industry | Transportation | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a consultant in product development and a product owner in terms of educational background:
| Consultant In Product Development | Product Owner | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between consultants in product development' and product owners' demographics:
| Consultant In Product Development | Product Owner | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 66.6% Female, 33.4% | Male, 64.3% Female, 35.7% |
| 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% |