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Product consultant vs product manager

The differences between product consultants and product managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a product manager has an average salary of $111,729, which is higher than the $93,452 average annual salary of a product consultant.

The top three skills for a product consultant include assists clients, product knowledge and drive sales. The most important skills for a product manager are product management, QA, and product strategy.

Product consultant vs product manager overview

Product ConsultantProduct Manager
Yearly salary$93,452$111,729
Hourly rate$44.93$53.72
Growth rate-10%
Number of jobs77,419125,678
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Average age4139
Years of experience-10

What does a product consultant do?

A product consultant is an individual who collaborates with client managers and project managers to analyze client requirements and provide optimal products. Product consultants are required to leverage industry and product knowledge to answer customer inquiries and provide customer consultations. To maintain excellent customer service, product consultants should maintain courtesy and professionalism as well as attentive to product details. They must also train new consultants on product knowledge and communicate sales strategies to the field agents of the company across the region.

What does a product manager do?

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.

Product consultant vs product manager salary

Product consultants and product managers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Product ConsultantProduct Manager
Average salary$93,452$111,729
Salary rangeBetween $67,000 And $129,000Between $81,000 And $152,000
Highest paying CitySan Francisco, CASan Francisco, CA
Highest paying stateCaliforniaCalifornia
Best paying companyGoogleMeta
Best paying industryTechnologyRetail

Differences between product consultant and product manager education

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

Product ConsultantProduct Manager
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 61%Bachelor's Degree, 72%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common college-University of Georgia

Product consultant vs product manager demographics

Here are the differences between product consultants' and product managers' demographics:

Product ConsultantProduct Manager
Average age4139
Gender ratioMale, 41.8% Female, 58.2%Male, 65.3% Female, 34.7%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 9.3% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 20.4% Asian, 7.9% White, 56.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.6%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 Percentage7%10%

Differences between product consultant and product manager duties and responsibilities

Product consultant example responsibilities.

  • Provide SharePoint development and administration, budget and financial reporting; manage invoicing; and develop training manuals and user guides.
  • Experience with the PeopleSoft CRM module.
  • Operate a computerize cash register using POS system.
  • Use SQL to validate data and maintain the database.
  • Create SQL queries and reports for issue definition and resolution.
  • Experience using multiple CRM systems such as Salesforce and NetSuite.
  • Show more

Product manager example responsibilities.

  • Lead collaborative efforts within the PMO, vendors, customers, and internal stakeholders.
  • Manage developers accountable for coding, database development, UI implementation, and system architecture.
  • Manage inventory service levels / overstocks /defective inventory and supplier buy-in opportunities to maximize ROI.
  • Lead customization of the company's administrative SaaS software solution by defining features and functionality for internal/external stakeholder teams.
  • Lead weekly meetings between engineering, sales/marketing, and QA departments to facilitate communication, collaboration and resolution of product issues.
  • Handle design and specification of administration system requirements to efficiently manage, operate, and support client API configurations and sessions.
  • Show more

Product consultant vs product manager skills

Common product consultant skills
  • Assists Clients, 20%
  • Product Knowledge, 20%
  • Drive Sales, 15%
  • Learning Environment, 13%
  • Ensure Sales, 12%
  • Project Management, 2%
Common product manager skills
  • Product Management, 11%
  • QA, 5%
  • Product Strategy, 5%
  • Project Management, 4%
  • Market Research, 4%
  • User Stories, 4%