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The differences between software product managers and product owners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 8-10 years to become both a software product manager and a product owner. Additionally, a software product manager has an average salary of $110,785, which is higher than the $97,070 average annual salary of a product owner.
The top three skills for a software product manager include product management, software products and software development. The most important skills for a product owner are user stories, acceptance criteria, and product backlog.
| Software Product Manager | Product Owner | |
| Yearly salary | $110,785 | $97,070 |
| Hourly rate | $53.26 | $46.67 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 126,167 | 129,990 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 10 | 10 |
Software product managers are individuals who lead and handle products from their inception to their phase-out. The managers establish customer value and carry out measurable benefits for business. They translate data from the discovery phase into product requirements. Understanding technology, expertise in the field, technical skills are necessary to become successful in this job. They analyze competition in the market and the factors that make it valuable.
Product owners are at the forefront of an organization's development cycle. They have various duties and responsibilities, which include ensuring that the value of products created by the development team is maximized, creating a vision and defining the goals for development projects, and working closely with all stakeholders. As the product owner, you are responsible for ensuring that the development team maintains a consistent vision and overseeing the product backlog. You are also expected to supervise the actual product development stages and anticipate the needs of clients.
Software product managers and product owners have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Software Product Manager | Product Owner | |
| Average salary | $110,785 | $97,070 |
| Salary range | Between $78,000 And $155,000 | Between $71,000 And $130,000 |
| Highest paying City | Palo Alto, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | ORIX USA |
| Best paying industry | Automotive | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a software product manager and a product owner in terms of educational background:
| Software Product Manager | Product Owner | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between software product managers' and product owners' demographics:
| Software Product Manager | Product Owner | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 75.4% Female, 24.6% | Male, 64.3% Female, 35.7% |
| 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% |