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The differences between project managers and product managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a product manager has an average salary of $111,729, which is higher than the $91,578 average annual salary of a project manager.
The top three skills for a project manager include project management, project scope and customer service. The most important skills for a product manager are product management, QA, and product strategy.
| Project Manager | Product Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $91,578 | $111,729 |
| Hourly rate | $44.03 | $53.72 |
| Growth rate | 8% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 167,116 | 125,678 |
| Job satisfaction | 4.17 | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 47 | 39 |
| Years of experience | - | 10 |
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.
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.
Project managers and product managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Project Manager | Product Manager | |
| Average salary | $91,578 | $111,729 |
| Salary range | Between $64,000 And $129,000 | Between $81,000 And $152,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | The Citadel | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Retail |
There are a few differences between a project manager and a product manager in terms of educational background:
| Project Manager | Product Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 68% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between project managers' and product managers' demographics:
| Project Manager | Product Manager | |
| Average age | 47 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 68.9% Female, 31.1% | Male, 65.3% Female, 34.7% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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 | 10% | 10% |