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The differences between product development specialists and product managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a product development specialist, becoming a product manager takes usually requires 8-10 years. Additionally, a product manager has an average salary of $111,729, which is higher than the $70,820 average annual salary of a product development specialist.
The top three skills for a product development specialist include product development, project management and R. The most important skills for a product manager are product management, QA, and product strategy.
| Product Development Specialist | Product Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $70,820 | $111,729 |
| Hourly rate | $34.05 | $53.72 |
| Growth rate | 19% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 120,487 | 125,678 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 37 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 10 |
A product development specialist's role is to facilitate the development of efficient and high-quality products in a company. Their responsibilities typically revolve around performing research and analysis to create business plans, devising strategies to optimize procedures, overseeing the workflow and the performance of the workforce, and establishing guidelines as needed. Furthermore, as a product development specialist, it is essential to coordinate and maintain an active communication line with the rest of the workforce, all while implementing the company's policies and goals.
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 development specialists and product managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Development Specialist | Product Manager | |
| Average salary | $70,820 | $111,729 |
| Salary range | Between $42,000 And $117,000 | Between $81,000 And $152,000 |
| Highest paying City | Piscataway, NJ | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Delaware | California |
| Best paying company | Bloomberg | Meta |
| Best paying industry | - | Retail |
There are a few differences between a product development specialist and a product manager in terms of educational background:
| Product Development Specialist | Product Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between product development specialists' and product managers' demographics:
| Product Development Specialist | Product Manager | |
| Average age | 37 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 49.6% Female, 50.4% | Male, 65.3% Female, 34.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 4.8% Unknown, 4.9% Hispanic or Latino, 11.5% Asian, 13.7% White, 64.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | 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% |