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The differences between product specialists and product designers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a product specialist, 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 $85,932 average annual salary of a product specialist.
The top three skills for a product specialist include customer service, product knowledge and sales floor. The most important skills for a product designer are sketch, visual design, and UI.
| Product Specialist | Product Designer | |
| Yearly salary | $85,932 | $102,033 |
| Hourly rate | $41.31 | $49.05 |
| Growth rate | 19% | 3% |
| Number of jobs | 103,863 | 98,465 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Average age | 37 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
A product specialist is required to have excellent knowledge about a product and work with a business unit to ensure excellent product delivery. Product specialists perform product demonstrations to customers and other stakeholders and assist in their promotions and product releases. To gain increased revenue, product specialists must be able to identify new market opportunities. They are required to conduct product and sales training for the marketing team. They must also provide reports about their product-related activities to the management.
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 specialists and product designers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Specialist | Product Designer | |
| Average salary | $85,932 | $102,033 |
| Salary range | Between $56,000 And $130,000 | Between $68,000 And $152,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Bruno, CA | Sacramento, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Washington |
| Best paying company | ByteDance | Netflix |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a product specialist and a product designer in terms of educational background:
| Product Specialist | Product Designer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 64% | Bachelor's Degree, 61% |
| Most common major | Business | Graphic Design |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | Carnegie Mellon University |
Here are the differences between product specialists' and product designers' demographics:
| Product Specialist | Product Designer | |
| Average age | 37 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 59.8% Female, 40.2% | Male, 74.2% Female, 25.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 5.2% Unknown, 5.0% Hispanic or Latino, 12.5% Asian, 10.6% White, 66.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | 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 | 10% | 8% |