Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between product line managers and product directors 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 line manager and a product director. Additionally, a product director has an average salary of $148,910, 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 product director are product management, product strategy, and project management.
| Product Line Manager | Product Director | |
| Yearly salary | $97,237 | $148,910 |
| Hourly rate | $46.75 | $71.59 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 158,908 | 125,200 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 10 | 10 |
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.
The duties of a product director depend on one's place or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around overseeing the product development operations to ensure smooth flow and efficiency, devise strategies to improve processes, gather relevant data such as sales and customer feedback, and coordinate with different departments in developing new products and services. Furthermore, as a director, it is essential to lead and encourage departments to meet goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations, including its mission and vision.
Product line managers and product directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Line Manager | Product Director | |
| Average salary | $97,237 | $148,910 |
| Salary range | Between $52,000 And $178,000 | Between $104,000 And $212,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | ON Semiconductor | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Internet |
There are a few differences between a product line manager and a product director in terms of educational background:
| Product Line Manager | Product Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between product line managers' and product directors' demographics:
| Product Line Manager | Product Director | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 78.8% Female, 21.2% | Male, 72.4% Female, 27.6% |
| 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% |