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The differences between senior product development engineers and product development managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a senior product development engineer, becoming a product development manager takes usually requires 8-10 years. Additionally, a product development manager has an average salary of $113,437, which is higher than the $98,348 average annual salary of a senior product development engineer.
The top three skills for a senior product development engineer include CAD, solidworks and product development. The most important skills for a product development manager are product development, project management, and lifecycle management.
| Senior Product Development Engineer | Product Development Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $98,348 | $113,437 |
| Hourly rate | $47.28 | $54.54 |
| Growth rate | 2% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 195,294 | 166,871 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 41 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 10 |
A product development engineer designs and develops new products in adherence to project goals and guidelines. They primarily perform research and assessments to identify and understand project requirements, select materials, develop drafts, create blueprints and prototypes, establish test structures for quality assurance, and facilitate upgrades as necessary. They can also produce product specifications and provide technical support to staff as necessary. Most product development engineers work in a team environment, which requires an open communication line for an efficient workflow.
A product development manager spearheads the development of new products within a company. Most of the time, their responsibilities revolve around conducting marketing research and analysis to determine consumers' needs, coordinating with the product development team to come up with new ideas, proposing business plans to the executives, and creating prototypes. A product development manager must also present a cost analysis, produce progress reports, and address inquiries and concerns. Furthermore, as a manager, it is essential to lead and encourage the staff, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.
Senior product development engineers and product development managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Product Development Engineer | Product Development Manager | |
| Average salary | $98,348 | $113,437 |
| Salary range | Between $76,000 And $126,000 | Between $84,000 And $152,000 |
| Highest paying City | Sunnyvale, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | Nevada |
| Best paying company | Amazon | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Finance | Retail |
There are a few differences between a senior product development engineer and a product development manager in terms of educational background:
| Senior Product Development Engineer | Product Development Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Mechanical Engineering | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between senior product development engineers' and product development managers' demographics:
| Senior Product Development Engineer | Product Development Manager | |
| Average age | 41 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 90.5% Female, 9.5% | Male, 62.2% Female, 37.8% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 7.8% Asian, 16.5% White, 68.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% | 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 | 5% | 10% |