Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between product line managers and functional managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 8-10 years to become a product line manager, becoming a functional manager takes usually requires 6-8 years. Additionally, a functional manager has an average salary of $113,849, which is higher than the $97,237 average annual salary of a product line manager.
The top three skills for a product line manager include product management, customer service and PLM. The most important skills for a functional manager are professional development, customer service, and ERP.
| Product Line Manager | Functional Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $97,237 | $113,849 |
| Hourly rate | $46.75 | $54.74 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 16% |
| Number of jobs | 158,908 | 48,500 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Average age | 39 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 10 | 8 |
A product line manager is an individual who provides product and market intelligence by increasing the market share of a company. Product line managers must create competitive analysis and interpret market trends so that they can provide recommendations and guidance to the company. They are required to identify target markets and should come up with strategies for market penetration. Product line managers must also monitor the creation and development of new products as well as to measure the success of the products in the market.
A functional manager handles resources in a certain department like IT, engineering, PR, or marketing. Generally, they direct the technical work of employees from that functional part who are working on the project. They share responsibility with the project manager for directing the work of employees. They assign specific employees to the team and discuss with the project manager regarding resources to improved staff utilization. In addition, they also participate in the initial planning until activities are assigned and recommend possible changes to the project, including corrective actions.
Product line managers and functional managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Line Manager | Functional Manager | |
| Average salary | $97,237 | $113,849 |
| Salary range | Between $52,000 And $178,000 | Between $88,000 And $146,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | ON Semiconductor | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Professional |
There are a few differences between a product line manager and a functional manager in terms of educational background:
| Product Line Manager | Functional Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 58% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | Carnegie Mellon University |
Here are the differences between product line managers' and functional managers' demographics:
| Product Line Manager | Functional Manager | |
| Average age | 39 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 78.8% Female, 21.2% | Male, 67.2% Female, 32.8% |
| 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, 6.6% Unknown, 5.2% Hispanic or Latino, 10.0% Asian, 12.7% White, 65.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 11% |