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The differences between product line managers and program managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a product line manager has an average salary of $97,237, which is higher than the $96,084 average annual salary of a program manager.
The top three skills for a product line manager include product management, customer service and PLM. The most important skills for a program manager are project management, program management, and oversight.
| Product Line Manager | Program Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $97,237 | $96,084 |
| Hourly rate | $46.75 | $46.19 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 12% |
| Number of jobs | 158,908 | 197,556 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 39 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 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.
A program manager is responsible for monitoring the project's progress, improving and developing new strategies, and coordinate various projects across the organization to ensure the success of the business objective. Program managers also manage the program's expenses, ensuring that the projects adhere to the budget goals without compromising the quality and accuracy of the result. A program manager should regularly connect with the different teams of every project under the program to keep track of the processes and procedures for the timely delivery of the product.
Product line managers and program managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Line Manager | Program Manager | |
| Average salary | $97,237 | $96,084 |
| Salary range | Between $52,000 And $178,000 | Between $65,000 And $141,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | ON Semiconductor | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Technology |
There are a few differences between a product line manager and a program manager in terms of educational background:
| Product Line Manager | Program Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between product line managers' and program managers' demographics:
| Product Line Manager | Program Manager | |
| Average age | 39 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 78.8% Female, 21.2% | Male, 52.9% Female, 47.1% |
| 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, 7.6% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.7% Asian, 8.9% White, 65.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |