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Job outlook for senior product line managers in the United States
Senior product line manager job growth summary. After extensive research, interviews, and analysis, Zippia's data science team found that:
The projected senior product line manager job growth rate is 10% from 2018-2028.
About 33,700 new jobs for senior product line managers are projected over the next decade.
Senior product line manager salaries have increased 8% for senior product line managers in the last 5 years.
There are over 26,649 senior product line managers currently employed in the United States.
There are 158,624 active senior product line manager job openings in the US.
The average senior product line manager salary is $141,769.
Are senior product line manager jobs in demand?
Senior product line manager job and salary trends over time
Senior product line manager jobs over time
Senior product line manager job growth rate over time
| Year | # of jobs | % of population |
|---|---|---|
| 2021 | 26,649 | 0.01% |
| 2020 | 25,837 | 0.01% |
| 2019 | 25,213 | 0.01% |
| 2018 | 22,991 | 0.01% |
| 2017 | 20,938 | 0.01% |
Average senior product line manager salary over time
Senior product line manager salary by year
| Year | Avg. salary | Hourly rate | % Change |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | $141,769 | $68.16 | +3.9% |
| 2024 | $136,464 | $65.61 | +1.9% |
| 2023 | $133,911 | $64.38 | +1.6% |
| 2022 | $131,857 | $63.39 | +0.8% |
| 2021 | $130,810 | $62.89 | +1.9% |
Senior product line manager jobs by state
Most common states for senior product line managers
| Rank | State | Population | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | District of Columbia | 693,972 | 422 | 61% |
| 2 | Washington | 7,405,743 | 2,683 | 36% |
| 3 | Massachusetts | 6,859,819 | 2,309 | 34% |
| 4 | Utah | 3,101,833 | 987 | 32% |
| 5 | Oregon | 4,142,776 | 1,223 | 30% |
| 6 | Rhode Island | 1,059,639 | 319 | 30% |
| 7 | Vermont | 623,657 | 186 | 30% |
| 8 | California | 39,536,653 | 10,167 | 26% |
| 9 | Colorado | 5,607,154 | 1,444 | 26% |
| 10 | Virginia | 8,470,020 | 1,987 | 23% |
| 11 | Minnesota | 5,576,606 | 1,263 | 23% |
| 12 | Illinois | 12,802,023 | 2,828 | 22% |
| 13 | Montana | 1,050,493 | 230 | 22% |
| 14 | Delaware | 961,939 | 211 | 22% |
| 15 | Georgia | 10,429,379 | 2,223 | 21% |
| 16 | New Hampshire | 1,342,795 | 285 | 21% |
| 17 | New Jersey | 9,005,644 | 1,815 | 20% |
| 18 | Arizona | 7,016,270 | 1,347 | 19% |
| 19 | Wisconsin | 5,795,483 | 1,073 | 19% |
| 20 | Idaho | 1,716,943 | 320 | 19% |
Most common cities for senior product line managers
| Rank | City | # of jobs | Employment/ 1000ppl | Avg. salary |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bridgeport | 1 | 1% | $142,932 |
| 2 | Grand Rapids | 1 | 1% | $152,229 |
| 3 | Huntsville | 1 | 1% | $119,828 |
| 4 | Palo Alto | 1 | 1% | $174,977 |
| 5 | Simi Valley | 1 | 1% | $163,883 |
| 6 | Atlanta | 2 | 0% | $107,283 |
| 7 | Boston | 2 | 0% | $155,280 |
| 8 | Chicago | 2 | 0% | $142,632 |
| 9 | Phoenix | 2 | 0% | $141,818 |
| 10 | Baltimore | 1 | 0% | $119,924 |
| 11 | Detroit | 1 | 0% | $154,217 |
| 12 | Indianapolis | 1 | 0% | $124,621 |
| 13 | Jacksonville | 1 | 0% | $123,691 |
| 14 | Miami | 1 | 0% | $123,034 |
| 15 | Orlando | 1 | 0% | $123,766 |
| 16 | San Diego | 1 | 0% | $159,013 |
| 17 | San Francisco | 1 | 0% | $175,878 |
| 18 | San Jose | 1 | 0% | $174,295 |
Senior Product Line Manager job outlook: Expert opinions
Our panel of senior product line manager experts
University of Saint Mary
The Pennsylvania State University
Miami University
Wisconsin School of Business, University of Wisconsin-Madison
Indiana University
Hawaii Pacific University
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.
Associate Professor, Director of Graduate and Undergraduate Programs, Coordinator of All-University Honors ProgramUniversity of Saint Mary
Division of Business and Information Technologies (DBiT)
What hard/technical skills are most important for Senior Product Line Managers?
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.: Familiarity with software-basic windows packages, particularly MS Word and Excel. Candidates should not be afraid of quantitative data analysis. Analytics are necessary to figuring out what your business is doing and how it can grow. Also, familiarity with whatever social media platforms are used in that industry can be very important.
What skills will help Senior Product Line Managers earn the most?
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.: One consideration is, does the position pay commission? If so, the soft skills listed above are extremely important because the more you apply those skills, the more likely you are to grow your business.
When a manager is not on commission, there's little correlation between skills and pay while doing the job. The employer will hire you at a given salary level, and it is your job to negotiate to the best position. Once they have chosen you-that's the moment when you have the most leverage. You will never get a raise that is as substantial as what you might be able to ask for upon hire. After that, most raises are not going to be tied mechanically to performance and skills. Your next chance at a raise will be when you move or are promoted to a new position. Thus, those soft skills can affect your ability to negotiate.
I will repeat a previous theme: education and experience are probably more important than skills in terms of making more money. An employer can't really tell what your skills are from your resume. Just because you say you have a skill doesn't mean that you really do. They can reasonably guess that somebody with a degree is responsible enough to have accomplished something big. Somebody who makes it through a graduate program is probably very good at what they know. And somebody who has been in the industry and/or in a similar job is more likely to be able to walk in with little orientation and know what they are doing. Employers take risks on employees and hope that they can deliver. Thus, with more education and more experience, you are able to apply for higher-level jobs, which usually come with higher salaries.
What skills stand out on Senior Product Line Manager resumes?
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.: Resumes are hard. It is very difficult to predict what any employer is looking for on any resume. The "skills" section of a resume is probably not the first thing most employers are looking at. The first consideration is probably education. Those with a bachelor's degree will be sorted first in fields-such as those who have business degrees, or particularly sales and marketing majors. Those with MBAs will be placed on the top. Those who have MBAs and marketing concentrations will likely be valued the most. The second consideration would probably be experience. Someone with several years of experience in business development or sales and marketing will be moved to the top. Someone with a bachelor's degree who has a lot of experience might beat out a fresh MBA. However, MBA plus experience beats almost everything. Someone with an MBA going for an entry-level position with little experience needed will likely beat out all bachelor challengers. For new graduates, getting some kind of internship in sales and marketing can differentiate them from those who do not.
Most hiring managers will probably assume that somebody who has sales and marketing education and/or experience probably has the skills necessary to do the job. An interviewer may probe on specific skills. I'll comment more specifically on other kinds of skills below, but it's also fair to say that a candidate's soft skills should shine in the interview. Simply saying that you have certain skills on a resume doesn't mean that you actually have them.
I think that the best thing a candidate can do is to research the company they hope to work for and tailor their resume to that employer. What does the business do? What kinds of things do you think that development manager is going to do in that particular industry? How do your skills as a candidate match what you guess they're looking for? The more you customize your resume, the better chances you have of resonating with the company. Employers are impressed when you already know something about the job and the industry.
What soft skills should all Senior Product Line Managers possess?
Dr. Mark Harvey Ph.D.: First, critical and creative thinking. Employers value problem solvers. A Business Development Managers' problem usually is finding growth opportunities. Candidates need to learn to take the initiative to figure out how to solve problems like those.
Second, writing. The best employees know how to communicate in writing. More and more communication occurs through email and other forms of social media and apps, and as such, this skill is absolutely critical. You don't need to be a creative writing genius, but you do need to know how to write in a professional tone, present your ideas in an organized way, get to the point, and avoid errors. There is a direct line between a student's ability to write an academic essay with a clear thesis and an employee's ability to write a good email or proposal. If you can't do those things, then you risk embarrassment and possibly limited options for promotion.
Third, speaking. The American business world discriminates against introverts-sometimes at their own peril. Everyone needs to know how to give a quality speech, but more importantly, you need to sound confident and assertive in a board room during meetings. You need to be confident in front of clients. Fake it if you have to. The way you present yourself is absolutely critical.
Fourth, social skills. You need to be friendly. Get to know co-workers and clients. Find out what they like and show an interest. Find common ground. Your undergraduate degree hopefully exposed you to a wide diversity of topics you may have thought were irrelevant at some point. Now is the time to remember that stuff and use it to connect with people. Nearly everything you learned will have some application someday. It will help you connect with others. In addition, put away your cell phone when you are at work or on social occasions. To some people, a preoccupation with a cell phone communicates a lack of interest in the person you are with. It can alienate bosses, co-workers, and clients.
James Wilkerson Ph.D.
Business Program Coordinator, Project and Supply Chain Management Program CoordinatorThe Pennsylvania State University
Business Department
What skills stand out on Senior Product Line Manager resumes?
James Wilkerson Ph.D.: Skills, experience, knowledge, and abilities that matter especially strongly include target market analysis (including market research skills and knowledge), product/service positioning within competitive field, project work or coordination with sales staff, major client relationship management, and enough general business and industry knowledge to be able to relate business development to operational/production realities.
What soft skills should all Senior Product Line Managers possess?
James Wilkerson Ph.D.: Verbal skills (both speaking and writing), negotiation skills, unfailing honesty, ability to empathize with clients' wants, and teamwork skills suitable for working collaboratively with sales and operations staff.
What hard/technical skills are most important for Senior Product Line Managers?
James Wilkerson Ph.D.: Spreadsheet (Excel) skills (including graph production from data), basic statistical knowledge, and online information search skills.
What skills will help Senior Product Line Managers earn the most?
James Wilkerson Ph.D.: Skill at rapidly learning market trends, relating business development to product development, and persuading major prospective clients when brought in to help with closing sales. Bottom line: the business development manager must be on the cutting edge of new market conditions and new business opportunities to help the firm organically grow its sales, especially in new markets or product/service lines.
What's a day at work look like for a Senior Product Line Manager?
Patrick Lindsay: Sales is a good job out of college. Regardless of the company, the industry, the marketplace or geography, being in the customer interface is not only the best and quickest way to learn about a business but also to learn about business. They are exposed to the impact from and on all stakeholders. They learn about what a value proposition really is and the importance of Trust. They observe and learn the importance of relationships. And they grasp the importance of why over what and how. Finally, sales experience and success is almost universally transferable. Once a grad has a year to three developing competencies, skills and confidence, they can pursue virtually any other product or service in almost any company. They can pursue a next job in sales but also other areas like marketing, customer service, human resources, training, recruiting, et cetera. Employers are not emphasizing industry knowledge or experience like they once did. And many companies, from small local the largest global companies in their industries, insist their new college hires begin in sales (aka account management, business development, client acquisition).
Now, with the proper training (could be a major/minor but doesn't have to be if the graduate has developed a particular skill set) there are many available jobs for graduates that are technology-related. These are "good job" from a compensation and stability perspective. And any position with a global tech firm is a golden ticket.
What technical skills for a Senior Product Line Manager stand out to employers?
Patrick Lindsay: Most all employers expect full competency in creatively using technology for communications. By that I don't mean mobile devices or social media usgae. I mean a widespread working knowledge of technology tools (apps, software, etc). Employers are seeking those candidates who can convey thoughts, ideas, responses in a multi-faceted way. Basic competency in written correspondence is no longer enough. Employers want to see daily business communication not only contain demonstration of good writing (grammar, syntax, formatting) but also being able to create embedded images, video, and relevant web links to better communicate. And not just for a big fancy client presentation, but consistently in regular communication. Further, they want words supported by data; support words with numerical evidence. As such, advanced excel skills and real experience in data sources and extraction stand out to employers.
Similarly, they expect professional virtual audio-visual communication. It is not enough to just be on the Zoom call. The expectation is to be prepared, to be engaged, to be aware of the audio and video angles and backgrounds. To demonstrate active listening as well as enthusiastic, energetic, even animated talking. Body language and facial expression are even more enhanced in virtual communications.
If there was a positive outcome from being thrust into an academic world that was all virtual, it was the need to learn new technical skills, not only for classwork, but also for social interaction. This will not only be appreciated by employers, but for many, expected.
What's a good job out of college for Senior Product Line Managers?
Patrick Lindsay: Sales is a good job out of college. Regardless of the company, the industry, the marketplace or geography, being in the customer interface is not only the best and quickest way to learn about a business but also to learn about business. They are exposed to the impact from and on all stakeholders. They learn about what a value proposition really is and the importance of Trust. They observe and learn the importance of relationships. And they grasp the importance of why over what and how. Finally, sales experience and success is almost universally transferable. Once a grad has a year to three developing competencies, skills and confidence, they can pursue virtually any other product or service in almost any company. They can pursue a next job in sales but also other areas like marketing, customer service, human resources, training, recruiting, et cetera. Employers are not emphasizing industry knowledge or experience like they once did. And many companies, from small local the largest global companies in their industries, insist their new college hires begin in sales (aka account management, business development, client acquisition).
Now, with the proper training (could be a major/minor but doesn't have to be if the graduate has developed a particular skill set) there are many available jobs for graduates that are technology-related. These are "good job" from a compensation and stability perspective. And any position with a global tech firm is a golden ticket.
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Senior Product Line Managers?
Patrick Lindsay: Absolutely, the pandemic will have an enduring impact on these upcoming graduates. Uncertainty is always part of the job search journey/process for future graduates. Uncertainty is now major Anxiety number one for them.
First, the recruiting process drastically changed and opportunities diminished in the past twelve months. Of course the process had to become virtual. But there has been more than a fifty percent reduction in the number of companies participating in career fairs. Further, those companies are anticipating a reduction in the number of available positions, or have said they will have none at all this year. Some only participated to keep their relationships alive with the universities.
Second, companies cannot commit to the full scope of work for new hires, nor the location... because they still don't know. Starting positions will still be virtual WFH. What does that mean for a college graduate? Move back home with parents? Some companies are anticipating a return this summer to office or other work sites that are bricks and mortar locations. Still others say they will stay virtual. Either way, few will commit to where a new graduate will be located. The common position is "We will see where our needs are when the time comes". Rarely have graduates not known the location of their first job.
Third, where millennials were the driving faction for flexible work environs and work from home, in less than one year, many upcoming Gen Z graduates have changed their perspective and are seeking opportunities to commute to work and interact with people in a live daily routine. They do not want to continue living in a virtual world. It took less than ten months to change a cultural movement. This will be a growing field of study for behavioral psychologists, sociologists and anthropologists.
Fourth, many grads are open to a wider bandwidth of positions and industries (other than those seeking a "professional" career in certification trades: accountancy, engineering, architecture, etc.) than they would have been one year ago. The uncertainty of supply always impacts the demand. Likewise, their career criteria and priorities seem to have changed, but in very inconsistent ways.
Sachin Tuli
Director, International Business MajorWisconsin School of Business, University of Wisconsin-Madison
International Business
Will there be an enduring impact of the coronavirus pandemic on Senior Product Line Managers?
Sachin Tuli: Certainly there will be impact on graduates as there will be impact on society as a whole - but which impact? If economic, we serve students from a variety of national backgrounds, so depending on where our students go after graduation their local economy recoveries could diverge from the global average and that could effect both the job market and salaries. For instance, China is forecasted to continue recovering due to its proactive lock downs and ability to serve foreign markets through this past year. In the U.S., where the majority of our students stay, a strong vaccine program, safety net supports and stimulus will help ensure a recovery at large and likely a post-Covid bump. Though the recovery will be uneven, our students primarily head to medium and large firms that will be well poised to hire, or which may have experienced growth through the pandemic. There will be other impacts on personal finances, health and mental health, among others, that should also be considered. The pandemic has laid bare the inequities in society, and firms are pledging to help address these issues through various actions, such as diversity and inclusion initiatives, and proactive internal training and education.
What's a day at work look like for a Senior Product Line Manager?
Sachin Tuli: The pandemic accelerated ongoing shifts with work-from-anywhere and use of remote meeting technologies. With mass adoption at all levels, these trends are likely to persist to some degree across fields and industries. There will likely be less travel for a number of years, but concurrently we may see more cross-team and cross-national collaboration and coordination. From an international business perspective, firms do plan to continue their globalization efforts and we know that graduates themselves increasingly seek potential global opportunities and mobility when choosing which organizations to work for.
How have salaries changed over time for Senior Product Line Managers?
Sachin Tuli: Our undergraduate international business program serves as a second major that is coupled with another business major; marketing, finance, and management are most common majors combined with international business. Initial career placement is driven by these first majors, with students using the knowledge and skills gained through the international business curriculum throughout their careers but often leveraging the major directly as they command more responsibility within their organizations. The Wisconsin School of Business continues to place our students competitively with starting salaries having kept pace with industry and peer schools; specific salary information by major can be found here:apps.wsb.wisc.edu
What are the biggest trends we'll see in the Senior Product Line Manager job market given the pandemic?
Davide , Ph.D. Bolchini Ph.D.: In the prospering User Experience (UX) economy, I see more and more "remote" UX internships offered to our students and "remote" UX full-time job opportunities offered to our graduates. Both graduates and employers are more comfortable establishing remote working collaborations, which are becoming now the norm more than before, due to the disruption in the traditional office-bound workspace that COVID brought to the marketplace.
What skills stand out on Senior Product Line Manager resumes?
Davide , Ph.D. Bolchini Ph.D.: In my experience, our most successful MS HCI graduates (https://soic.iupui.edu/hcc/graduate/hci/masters/) take the time to put together a compelling online portfolio that showcases their project experience and skill set in action, as applied to specific research opportunities they had with faculty or projects they worked on during their UX internships in the industry. The personal brand of UX junior professional can be greatly enriched when the portfolio includes not only what the student has done, but why and what was the design rationale behind the process and the results, what was the larger context and goal of the project (especially in large collaborative projects), and what was the specific role and contribution of the student. The discussion about the portfolio of a candidate has become a key ingredient of the interview for UX jobs, besides other important activities such as UX design exercises or remote assignments.
Are there any particularly good places in the United States for Senior Product Line Managers to find work opportunities?
Davide , Ph.D. Bolchini Ph.D.: With the many remote work opportunities for our MS HCI graduates, physical location is less relevant than before, and flexibility becomes key. UX job opportunities are plenty in the Midwest, as well as on the East and West Coast, and the roles and competitiveness of these positions vary greatly based on the nature of the organization and the industry ecosystem.
What Senior Product Line Manager skills would you recommend for someone trying to advance their career?
Matthew Lopresti: Captains of industry are often asked about the traits they look for in new hires. Critical thinking is always a must, as well as excellent written and oral communication skills.
These are the core competencies of the discipline of philosophy. Top-notch communication abilities begin with a depth of ability to understand nuanced, complex details, and then turn around and clearly communicate these complex ideas in easily digestible bits of information. It is no coincidence that students who graduate with philosophy degrees repeatedly dominate graduate and law-school entrance exams like the GRE and LSAT; they are often the sharpest thinkers with the quickest minds
