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The differences between product managers and product development 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 product development manager. Additionally, a product development manager has an average salary of $113,437, which is higher than the $111,729 average annual salary of a product manager.
The top three skills for a product manager include product management, QA and product strategy. The most important skills for a product development manager are product development, project management, and lifecycle management.
| Product Manager | Product Development Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $111,729 | $113,437 |
| Hourly rate | $53.72 | $54.54 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 125,678 | 166,871 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| 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.
A product development manager spearheads the development of new products within a company. Most of the time, their responsibilities revolve around conducting marketing research and analysis to determine consumers' needs, coordinating with the product development team to come up with new ideas, proposing business plans to the executives, and creating prototypes. A product development manager must also present a cost analysis, produce progress reports, and address inquiries and concerns. Furthermore, as a manager, it is essential to lead and encourage the staff, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.
Product managers and product development managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Manager | Product Development Manager | |
| Average salary | $111,729 | $113,437 |
| Salary range | Between $81,000 And $152,000 | Between $84,000 And $152,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Nevada |
| Best paying company | Meta | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Retail | Retail |
There are a few differences between a product manager and a product development manager in terms of educational background:
| Product Manager | Product Development Manager | |
| 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 managers' and product development managers' demographics:
| Product Manager | Product Development Manager | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 65.3% Female, 34.7% | Male, 62.2% Female, 37.8% |
| 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, 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% |