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The differences between directors of user experience 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 user experience and a product manager. Additionally, a director of user experience has an average salary of $133,732, which is higher than the $111,729 average annual salary of a product manager.
The top three skills for a director of user experience include user experience, sketch and human centered design. The most important skills for a product manager are product management, QA, and product strategy.
| Director Of User Experience | Product Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $133,732 | $111,729 |
| Hourly rate | $64.29 | $53.72 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 43,631 | 125,678 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 10 | 10 |
A user experience director is responsible for evaluating and studying reports of the users' experience regarding the organizations' products and services. User experience directors facilitate surveys and address the users' concerns by reviewing the operational processes and procedures, ensuring that the team provides the best user experience and customer satisfaction. They also coordinate with the clients for progress updates, as well as informing them of adjustments as needed to improve the outputs. A user experience director must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially on analyzing the current industry trends to meet client demands and public interests.
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 user experience and product managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Director Of User Experience | Product Manager | |
| Average salary | $133,732 | $111,729 |
| Salary range | Between $88,000 And $201,000 | Between $81,000 And $152,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Rhode Island | California |
| Best paying company | Roku | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Retail |
There are a few differences between a director of user experience and a product manager in terms of educational background:
| Director Of User Experience | Product Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Graphic Design | Business |
| Most common college | University of Wisconsin - Madison | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between directors of user experience' and product managers' demographics:
| Director Of User Experience | Product Manager | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 69.7% Female, 30.3% | 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% |