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The differences between senior product managers and product leads 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 product manager and a product lead. Additionally, a senior product manager has an average salary of $133,868, which is higher than the $118,828 average annual salary of a product lead.
The top three skills for a senior product manager include product management, cloud and product strategy. The most important skills for a product lead are product management, project management, and architecture.
| Senior Product Manager | Product Lead | |
| Yearly salary | $133,868 | $118,828 |
| Hourly rate | $64.36 | $57.13 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 119,025 | 95,557 |
| Job satisfaction | 4 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 10 | 10 |
A senior product manager oversees the workflow and workforce involved in product and service development, ensuring a high return for its investments. They are primarily responsible for assessing and providing recommendations, producing review and reference documents, and obtaining feedback from consumers and high-ranking company personnel. Furthermore, as a senior product manager, they must lead a group of product managers, motivating and supervising them in their joint effort to accomplish goals according to the company's standards and policies.
A product lead is responsible for monitoring the development of new products and services of an organization, starting from brand conceptualization to official market release and distribution. Product leads identify effective product management by conducting data analysis and evaluating market statistics of customer demands. They coordinate with the clients on their specifications and requirements, including the budget limit and timely deliverables. A product lead manages the brand promotion on media platforms, creating content that adheres to the target audience.
Senior product managers and product leads have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Senior Product Manager | Product Lead | |
| Average salary | $133,868 | $118,828 |
| Salary range | Between $98,000 And $182,000 | Between $86,000 And $163,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Roku | Airbnb |
| Best paying industry | Start-up | Hospitality |
There are a few differences between a senior product manager and a product lead in terms of educational background:
| Senior Product Manager | Product Lead | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 72% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between senior product managers' and product leads' demographics:
| Senior Product Manager | Product Lead | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 68.5% Female, 31.5% | Male, 71.1% Female, 28.9% |
| 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% |