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Director of product development vs director of software development

The differences between directors of product development and directors of software development can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 8-10 years to become a director of product development, becoming a director of software development takes usually requires 6-8 years. Additionally, a director of software development has an average salary of $158,853, which is higher than the $140,507 average annual salary of a director of product development.

The top three skills for a director of product development include product development, project management and product management. The most important skills for a director of software development are java, software development, and cloud.

Director of product development vs director of software development overview

Director Of Product DevelopmentDirector Of Software Development
Yearly salary$140,507$158,853
Hourly rate$67.55$76.37
Growth rate10%16%
Number of jobs175,429136,310
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age3947
Years of experience108

What does a director of product development do?

A Director of Product Development supervises and implements product development policies, initiatives, and objectives. They conduct market research to determine consumer needs and identify competitors.

What does a director of software development do?

A director of software development is primarily in charge of overseeing the workflow and the workforce involved in the entire software development process. Their responsibilities also include creating strategies for optimal performance, coordinating with different teams and departments to identify strengths and weaknesses, implementing training and workshop programs, and liaising with external agencies, including key clients. Furthermore, as a director, it is essential to lead and encourage the team to reach new heights.

Director of product development vs director of software development salary

Directors of product development and directors of software development have different pay scales, as shown below.

Director Of Product DevelopmentDirector Of Software Development
Average salary$140,507$158,853
Salary rangeBetween $100,000 And $196,000Between $110,000 And $228,000
Highest paying CitySan Mateo, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyAppleeBay
Best paying industryManufacturingTechnology

Differences between director of product development and director of software development education

There are a few differences between a director of product development and a director of software development in terms of educational background:

Director Of Product DevelopmentDirector Of Software Development
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 71%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common majorBusinessComputer Science
Most common collegeUniversity of GeorgiaCarnegie Mellon University

Director of product development vs director of software development demographics

Here are the differences between directors of product development' and directors of software development' demographics:

Director Of Product DevelopmentDirector Of Software Development
Average age3947
Gender ratioMale, 72.0% Female, 28.0%Male, 88.6% Female, 11.4%
Race ratioBlack 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, 6.6% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 9.9% Asian, 15.1% White, 63.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage10%11%

Differences between director of product development and director of software development duties and responsibilities

Director of product development example responsibilities.

  • Organize and manage project meetings between partners, vendors, and associates using both scrum and waterfall methodologies.
  • Manage long-term care, hospital transition, and Medicaid- Medicare expansion initiatives, that includes model of care design and implementation )
  • Manage packaging design and nutritional labeling within QA guidelines.
  • Manage company intellectual portfolio and develop key relationships with vendors and clients including leading global technology companies.
  • Develop using Java, JSP, J2EE, CSS, DHTML, HTML, Plugins and JavaScript.
  • Prepare proposals for new projects, including project feasibility, ROI, expenses and costs.
  • Show more

Director of software development example responsibilities.

  • Manage metadata system deploy to AWS.
  • Manage software communications for EDI and HTML distribution orders.
  • Manage engineering org of 3 teams , 40+ engineers including DevOps, architects and managers.
  • Manage continuous build integration through Jenkins and provide training and maintenance of git, repo and gerrit repositories.
  • Manage consultants, staff and set objectives in accordance with IEEE standards, ISO 9000 and PMI methodology.
  • Manage and mentore software development team in developing efficient coding practices using ColdFusion, MySQL JavaScript, and PHP.
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Director of product development vs director of software development skills

Common director of product development skills
  • Product Development, 12%
  • Project Management, 9%
  • Product Management, 9%
  • R, 7%
  • Product Strategy, 4%
  • Market Research, 3%
Common director of software development skills
  • Java, 19%
  • Software Development, 8%
  • Cloud, 7%
  • Software Engineering, 5%
  • C++, 4%
  • Python, 4%

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