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The differences between product marketing managers and product marketing specialists 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 marketing manager, becoming a product marketing specialist takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a product marketing manager has an average salary of $112,220, which is higher than the $89,296 average annual salary of a product marketing specialist.
The top three skills for a product marketing manager include digital marketing, product management and project management. The most important skills for a product marketing specialist are digital marketing, marketing campaigns, and market research.
| Product Marketing Manager | Product Marketing Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $112,220 | $89,296 |
| Hourly rate | $53.95 | $42.93 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 19% |
| Number of jobs | 166,047 | 139,490 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Average age | 39 | 37 |
| Years of experience | 10 | 6 |
A product marketing manager is responsible for managing the company's goods and services, promoting brand awareness, developing effective marketing campaigns to attract existing and potential clients, generating more revenues, and achieving its profitability goals. Product marketing managers must have excellent knowledge of the marketing industry, as well as broad ideas on the current industry trends to meet clients' demands and identify business opportunities. A product marketing manager should be highly communicative and display excellent leadership skills to work with other departments and respond to clients' inquiries and concerns timely and efficiently.
Product marketing specialists are employees who focus on the marketing content of one specific product or service of the company. They specialize in branding activities related to the product. They ensure that the branding is consistent so that it can be easily associated with the product. They also work on marketing campaigns for the product. Product marketing specialists must be familiar with the industry trends as well as with the target market of the product. They may conduct research studies to further improve the marketing content related to the product.
Product marketing managers and product marketing specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Marketing Manager | Product Marketing Specialist | |
| Average salary | $112,220 | $89,296 |
| Salary range | Between $83,000 And $149,000 | Between $63,000 And $126,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Bruno, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | Credit Karma | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a product marketing manager and a product marketing specialist in terms of educational background:
| Product Marketing Manager | Product Marketing Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 75% | Bachelor's Degree, 75% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between product marketing managers' and product marketing specialists' demographics:
| Product Marketing Manager | Product Marketing Specialist | |
| Average age | 39 | 37 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 61.6% Female, 38.4% | Male, 44.7% Female, 55.3% |
| 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, 5.1% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.1% Asian, 12.8% White, 65.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 10% | 10% |