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The differences between product planners and product designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a product planner, becoming a product designer takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a product designer has an average salary of $102,033, which is higher than the $94,669 average annual salary of a product planner.
The top three skills for a product planner include product development, product planning and product line. The most important skills for a product designer are sketch, visual design, and UI.
| Product Planner | Product Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $94,669 | $102,033 |
| Hourly rate | $45.51 | $49.05 |
| Growth rate | -3% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 85,346 | 98,465 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 45 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
Product planner positions require a battery of skills, including decisiveness, stress management, leadership, organization, communication, statistics, business operations, computer literacy, and problem-solving, to name a few. Those who choose this career will be required to involve internally-focused decisions, steps, and tasks necessary to develop a successful product.
A product designer's key responsibilities are to perform design research, selecting the best materials, and develop user storyboards for the client and users' best interest. Product designers usually work with a whole design team, documenting suggestions to deliver high-quality outputs or improve existing products to match the market trends. They must also communicate with other skilled professionals to enhance their ideas and consult clients for any necessary adjustments that would affect the total user experience. A product designer should also have extensive knowledge of the consumer's preference to make the design more appealing and engaging.
Product planners and product designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Planner | Product Designer | |
| Average salary | $94,669 | $102,033 |
| Salary range | Between $71,000 And $124,000 | Between $68,000 And $152,000 |
| Highest paying City | Santa Rosa, CA | Sacramento, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | Apple | Netflix |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a product planner and a product designer in terms of educational background:
| Product Planner | Product Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Business | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | Carnegie Mellon University |
Here are the differences between product planners' and product designers' demographics:
| Product Planner | Product Designer | |
| Average age | 45 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.2% Female, 42.8% | Male, 74.2% Female, 25.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 7.9% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 18.1% Asian, 7.4% White, 61.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.5% | Black or African American, 1.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.3% Asian, 10.1% White, 76.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 8% |