Post job

New product manager vs project manager

The differences between new product managers and project managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a new product manager has an average salary of $117,459, which is higher than the $91,578 average annual salary of a project manager.

The top three skills for a new product manager include market research, product management and project management. The most important skills for a project manager are project management, project scope, and customer service.

New product manager vs project manager overview

New Product ManagerProject Manager
Yearly salary$117,459$91,578
Hourly rate$56.47$44.03
Growth rate10%8%
Number of jobs112,426167,116
Job satisfaction-4.17
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 70%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Average age3947
Years of experience10-

What does a new product manager do?

A new product manager's role is to determine the needs and desires of a customer. They do complex tasks in line with the production and introduction of new products with the help of the sales director. They forecast the current and future product lines by reviewing product specifications and requirements, appraising new product ideas and/or product or packaging changes. The role also includes an assessment of product market data by reaching out to customers with the help of field salespeople and evaluating sales call results.

What does a project manager do?

Project managers oversee a specific project related to the organization's business. They manage the whole project from inception to evaluation. They initiate planning with involved departments, follow-through on the plans, ensure smooth execution of the plans, and evaluate the project for further improvements should these be needed. In line with this, project managers also ensure that the project is cost-efficient and well within the budget. They also manage the different work teams involved in the project and ensure that things are running smoothly on this aspect as well.

New product manager vs project manager salary

New product managers and project managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

New Product ManagerProject Manager
Average salary$117,459$91,578
Salary rangeBetween $79,000 And $174,000Between $64,000 And $129,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyMetaThe Citadel
Best paying industryRetailTechnology

Differences between new product manager and project manager education

There are a few differences between a new product manager and a project manager in terms of educational background:

New Product ManagerProject Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 70%Bachelor's Degree, 68%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of GeorgiaUniversity of Pennsylvania

New product manager vs project manager demographics

Here are the differences between new product managers' and project managers' demographics:

New Product ManagerProject Manager
Average age3947
Gender ratioMale, 70.2% Female, 29.8%Male, 68.9% Female, 31.1%
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, 7.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 9.0% White, 65.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7%
LGBT Percentage10%10%

Differences between new product manager and project manager duties and responsibilities

New product manager example responsibilities.

  • Manage confidential ideation process and intellectual property (IP) protection.
  • Manage and train QA staff to create culture of quality throughout the organization.
  • Manage regional marketing and sales team to deliver flexible merchandising system using OEM supplier.
  • Manage engineering, testing, documentation, and communications for FDA equipment review in a highly regulate field.
  • Standardize engineering standards to receive achieve ISO certifications for design/engineering.
  • Develop work statements and manage project schedules in support of OEM sub-contract agreements to support regional requirements.
  • Show more

Project manager example responsibilities.

  • Schedule and manage the GCP audit process.
  • Define, develop and manage metrics and KPIs systems for new product business group.
  • Manage the application process for the FDA medical device, minority and small business certifications.
  • Manage multiple projects and resources simultaneously while mentoring, coaching and implementing best practices, SOX and HIPAA compliance standards.
  • Lead teams using the Informatica ETL tool for the design and development of multiple financial and risk enterprise data warehouses.
  • Administer and manage Salesforce requirements.
  • Show more

New product manager vs project manager skills

Common new product manager skills
  • Market Research, 15%
  • Product Management, 12%
  • Project Management, 12%
  • Product Development, 10%
  • R, 5%
  • Logistics, 4%
Common project manager skills
  • Project Management, 23%
  • Project Scope, 6%
  • Customer Service, 6%
  • Infrastructure, 5%
  • Status Reports, 4%
  • Risk Management, 3%

Browse executive management jobs