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The differences between product support managers and project managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a product support manager has an average salary of $96,155, which is higher than the $91,578 average annual salary of a project manager.
The top three skills for a product support manager include customer service, customer support and customer inquiries. The most important skills for a project manager are project management, project scope, and customer service.
| Product Support Manager | Project Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $96,155 | $91,578 |
| Hourly rate | $46.23 | $44.03 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 8% |
| Number of jobs | 147,410 | 167,116 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.17 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Average age | 42 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 2 | - |
Product support managers are management professionals who are responsible for managing the activities related to product support for an organization. These managers must lead a team of professionals to meet all the objectives of the organization by ensuring product quality control and rectifying any potential issues. They are required to attend and participate in business meetings so that they can suggest innovative support strategies to increase the recognition of their products. Product support managers must also assist in resolving customer complaints by facilitating the communications between their clients and the organization.
Project managers oversee a specific project related to the organization's business. They manage the whole project from inception to evaluation. They initiate planning with involved departments, follow-through on the plans, ensure smooth execution of the plans, and evaluate the project for further improvements should these be needed. In line with this, project managers also ensure that the project is cost-efficient and well within the budget. They also manage the different work teams involved in the project and ensure that things are running smoothly on this aspect as well.
Product support managers and project managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Support Manager | Project Manager | |
| Average salary | $96,155 | $91,578 |
| Salary range | Between $68,000 And $134,000 | Between $64,000 And $129,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | The Citadel |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a product support manager and a project manager in terms of educational background:
| Product Support Manager | Project Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 68% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between product support managers' and project managers' demographics:
| Product Support Manager | Project Manager | |
| Average age | 42 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 80.2% Female, 19.8% | Male, 68.9% Female, 31.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 16.5% Asian, 11.3% White, 55.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 7.7% Unknown, 4.7% Hispanic or Latino, 12.9% Asian, 9.0% White, 65.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 11% | 10% |