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The differences between subject matter experts and product owners can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a subject matter expert, becoming a product owner takes usually requires 8-10 years. Additionally, a subject matter expert has an average salary of $103,749, which is higher than the $97,070 average annual salary of a product owner.
The top three skills for a subject matter expert include SME, project management and DOD. The most important skills for a product owner are user stories, acceptance criteria, and product backlog.
| Subject Matter Expert | Product Owner | |
| Yearly salary | $103,749 | $97,070 |
| Hourly rate | $49.88 | $46.67 |
| Growth rate | 11% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 58,235 | 129,990 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Average age | 44 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 10 |
A subject matter expert is someone who has special knowledge and expertise about a specific process or service, providing advice to other team members or directly assisting customers with their inquiries and concerns. Subject matter experts coordinate on planning strategic procedures to improve the work processes and ensure customer satisfaction. They are also active in participating in learning programs and training sessions to share their knowledge and best practices for their specialization. Subject matter experts identify potential business opportunities to generate more revenues for the business and achieve its profitability goals.
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.
Subject matter experts and product owners have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Subject Matter Expert | Product Owner | |
| Average salary | $103,749 | $97,070 |
| Salary range | Between $73,000 And $146,000 | Between $71,000 And $130,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Apple | ORIX USA |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a subject matter expert and a product owner in terms of educational background:
| Subject Matter Expert | Product Owner | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between subject matter experts' and product owners' demographics:
| Subject Matter Expert | Product Owner | |
| Average age | 44 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 63.8% Female, 36.2% | Male, 64.3% Female, 35.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 8.2% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 9.0% Asian, 12.1% White, 66.1% 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 | 12% | 10% |