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The differences between product development managers and product owners 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 development manager and a product owner. Additionally, a product development manager has an average salary of $113,437, which is higher than the $97,070 average annual salary of a product owner.
The top three skills for a product development manager include product development, project management and lifecycle management. The most important skills for a product owner are user stories, acceptance criteria, and product backlog.
| Product Development Manager | Product Owner | |
| Yearly salary | $113,437 | $97,070 |
| Hourly rate | $54.54 | $46.67 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 166,871 | 129,990 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 10 | 10 |
A product development manager spearheads the development of new products within a company. Most of the time, their responsibilities revolve around conducting marketing research and analysis to determine consumers' needs, coordinating with the product development team to come up with new ideas, proposing business plans to the executives, and creating prototypes. A product development manager must also present a cost analysis, produce progress reports, and address inquiries and concerns. Furthermore, as a manager, it is essential to lead and encourage the staff, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.
Product owners are at the forefront of an organization's development cycle. They have various duties and responsibilities, which include ensuring that the value of products created by the development team is maximized, creating a vision and defining the goals for development projects, and working closely with all stakeholders. As the product owner, you are responsible for ensuring that the development team maintains a consistent vision and overseeing the product backlog. You are also expected to supervise the actual product development stages and anticipate the needs of clients.
Product development managers and product owners have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Development Manager | Product Owner | |
| Average salary | $113,437 | $97,070 |
| Salary range | Between $84,000 And $152,000 | Between $71,000 And $130,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | ORIX USA |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a product development manager and a product owner in terms of educational background:
| Product Development Manager | Product Owner | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between product development managers' and product owners' demographics:
| Product Development Manager | Product Owner | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 62.2% Female, 37.8% | Male, 64.3% Female, 35.7% |
| 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% |