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The differences between product engineers 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 engineer, 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 $89,645 average annual salary of a product engineer.
The top three skills for a product engineer include CAD, product design and project management. The most important skills for a product manager are product management, QA, and product strategy.
| Product Engineer | Product Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $89,645 | $111,729 |
| Hourly rate | $43.10 | $53.72 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 157,888 | 125,678 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 41 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 10 |
A product engineer specializes in designing and developing commercial materials and services. They are primarily responsible for conducting thorough research and analysis of the latest trends and marketing conditions to come up with new ideas and products for the public. Moreover, they are also responsible for producing reports and presentations, coordinating with the development team of their company. Product engineers also reach out to vendors and suppliers for the raw materials, set regulations and standards for the product, and even conduct a rigorous and regular quality check.
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 engineers and product managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Engineer | Product Manager | |
| Average salary | $89,645 | $111,729 |
| Salary range | Between $68,000 And $118,000 | Between $81,000 And $152,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Retail |
There are a few differences between a product engineer and a product manager in terms of educational background:
| Product Engineer | Product Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Business |
| Most common college | Michigan Technological University | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between product engineers' and product managers' demographics:
| Product Engineer | Product Manager | |
| Average age | 41 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 87.8% Female, 12.2% | Male, 65.3% Female, 34.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 17.0% White, 67.4% 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 | 5% | 10% |