Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between directors of new product development 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 director of new product development and a product manager. Additionally, a director of new product development has an average salary of $139,162, which is higher than the $111,729 average annual salary of a product manager.
The top three skills for a director of new product development include product development, R and business development. The most important skills for a product manager are product management, QA, and product strategy.
| Director Of New Product Development | Product Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $139,162 | $111,729 |
| Hourly rate | $66.90 | $53.72 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 185,369 | 125,678 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 10 | 10 |
A director of new product development spearheads and oversees a company's product development operations, from planning to production. They primarily take the lead in conducting research and analyses, coordinating engineers and other experts, evaluating product development plans and guidelines, and liaising with internal and external parties. They also have the authority to approve projects, make significant decisions, negotiate contracts, select concepts, and monitor all procedures, implementing solutions and strategies to optimize operations. Moreover, a director of new product development empowers employees while enforcing company standards and policies.
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.
Directors of new product development and product managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Director Of New Product Development | Product Manager | |
| Average salary | $139,162 | $111,729 |
| Salary range | Between $94,000 And $204,000 | Between $81,000 And $152,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | California |
| Best paying company | DoorDash | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Media | Retail |
There are a few differences between a director of new product development and a product manager in terms of educational background:
| Director Of New Product Development | Product Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between directors of new product development' and product managers' demographics:
| Director Of New Product Development | Product Manager | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 77.1% Female, 22.9% | 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% |