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The differences between senior directors, product management and planning directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 8-10 years to become both a senior director, product management and a planning director. Additionally, a senior director, product management has an average salary of $169,685, which is higher than the $131,978 average annual salary of a planning director.
The top three skills for a senior director, product management include product management, SR and product strategy. The most important skills for a planning director are project management, financial analysis, and business planning.
| Senior Director, Product Management | Planning Director | |
| Yearly salary | $169,685 | $131,978 |
| Hourly rate | $81.58 | $63.45 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 173,327 | 51,861 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 10 | 10 |
A senior director of product management's role is to direct and oversee the product development operations in an organization, ensuring that all procedures adhere to the vision, mission, and goals of the company. Their responsibilities revolve around creating roadmaps and guidelines, coordinating with different departments to gather relevant data, setting budgets and objectives, devising strategies and finding new opportunities, and monitoring sales while putting customer feedback into consideration. Furthermore, as a senior director, it is essential to lead and encourage team members, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
Planning Directors are members of the executive team or the top management of a company. They oversee the company's plans and the strategies involved in reaching company goals. They manage the resources of the company by reviewing the budget and by overseeing human resources activities. They ensure that the company works toward its goals and that the company follows through with its plans. That being said, Planning Directors do not necessarily police the company's actions, especially if it deviates from the original plans. Instead, they steer the company towards the fulfillment of such plans. If the plan is no longer viable, they should be flexible enough to pursue new plans to achieve their goals still.
Senior directors, product management and planning directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Director, Product Management | Planning Director | |
| Average salary | $169,685 | $131,978 |
| Salary range | Between $123,000 And $233,000 | Between $90,000 And $192,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Washington | New York |
| Best paying company | eBay | Exelixis |
| Best paying industry | Media | Professional |
There are a few differences between a senior director, product management and a planning director in terms of educational background:
| Senior Director, Product Management | Planning Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between senior directors, product management' and planning directors' demographics:
| Senior Director, Product Management | Planning Director | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 80.5% Female, 19.5% | Male, 66.7% Female, 33.3% |
| Race ratio | 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% | 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% |