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The differences between product planners and product managers 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 manager takes usually requires 8-10 years. Additionally, a product manager has an average salary of $111,729, 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 manager are product management, QA, and product strategy.
| Product Planner | Product Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $94,669 | $111,729 |
| Hourly rate | $45.51 | $53.72 |
| Growth rate | -3% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 85,346 | 125,678 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 45 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 10 |
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 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.
Product planners and product managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Planner | Product Manager | |
| Average salary | $94,669 | $111,729 |
| Salary range | Between $71,000 And $124,000 | Between $81,000 And $152,000 |
| Highest paying City | Santa Rosa, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Retail |
There are a few differences between a product planner and a product manager in terms of educational background:
| Product Planner | Product Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 76% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between product planners' and product managers' demographics:
| Product Planner | Product Manager | |
| Average age | 45 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.2% Female, 42.8% | Male, 65.3% Female, 34.7% |
| 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, 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 | 11% | 10% |