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The differences between product managers and category managers 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 manager and a category manager. Additionally, a product manager has an average salary of $111,729, which is higher than the $102,035 average annual salary of a category manager.
The top three skills for a product manager include product management, QA and product strategy. The most important skills for a category manager are strategic sourcing, category strategy, and supplier performance.
| Product Manager | Category Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $111,729 | $102,035 |
| Hourly rate | $53.72 | $49.06 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 125,678 | 108,424 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 10 | 10 |
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.
Category managers are usually employed in the retail industry. They are primarily responsible for the sales enhancement of a specific group of products. The managers are involved in pricing, marketing, inventory, and vendor management. Their daily tasks include meeting with suppliers to talk about the plans, conducting orientation to the market research company, and updating category reports. Qualified applicants must have a degree in business administration or a related field as well as relevant job experience in a related job.
Product managers and category managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Manager | Category Manager | |
| Average salary | $111,729 | $102,035 |
| Salary range | Between $81,000 And $152,000 | Between $74,000 And $138,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Nevada |
| Best paying company | Meta | McKinsey & Company Inc |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a product manager and a category manager in terms of educational background:
| Product Manager | Category Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between product managers' and category managers' demographics:
| Product Manager | Category Manager | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 65.3% Female, 34.7% | Male, 55.7% Female, 44.3% |
| 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% |