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The differences between product design managers and senior 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 product design manager and a senior product manager. Additionally, a senior product manager has an average salary of $133,868, which is higher than the $133,190 average annual salary of a product design manager.
The top three skills for a product design manager include product design, user research and sketch. The most important skills for a senior product manager are product management, cloud, and product strategy.
| Product Design Manager | Senior Product Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $133,190 | $133,868 |
| Hourly rate | $64.03 | $64.36 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 146,576 | 119,025 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 10 | 10 |
A product design manager typically works with engineers and specialists in the joint effort to develop high-quality standard products. As a product design manager, they are responsible for managing product design teams, understanding and identifying a project's needs, performing research and analysis, setting objectives and guidelines, liaising with external parties, and presenting prototypes for client approval. Moreover, as a manager, it is essential to lead and encourage staff to reach product goals while enforcing the company's policies and regulations.
A senior product manager oversees the workflow and workforce involved in product and service development, ensuring a high return for its investments. They are primarily responsible for assessing and providing recommendations, producing review and reference documents, and obtaining feedback from consumers and high-ranking company personnel. Furthermore, as a senior product manager, they must lead a group of product managers, motivating and supervising them in their joint effort to accomplish goals according to the company's standards and policies.
Product design managers and senior product managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Design Manager | Senior Product Manager | |
| Average salary | $133,190 | $133,868 |
| Salary range | Between $91,000 And $193,000 | Between $98,000 And $182,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Roku |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Start-up |
There are a few differences between a product design manager and a senior product manager in terms of educational background:
| Product Design Manager | Senior Product Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | 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 product design managers' and senior product managers' demographics:
| Product Design Manager | Senior Product Manager | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 66.2% Female, 33.8% | Male, 68.5% Female, 31.5% |
| 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% |