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The differences between technical product managers and product directors can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 8-10 years to become both a technical product manager and a product director. Additionally, a product director has an average salary of $148,910, which is higher than the $120,052 average annual salary of a technical product manager.
The top three skills for a technical product manager include technical product, product management and cloud. The most important skills for a product director are product management, product strategy, and project management.
| Technical Product Manager | Product Director | |
| Yearly salary | $120,052 | $148,910 |
| Hourly rate | $57.72 | $71.59 |
| Growth rate | 10% | 10% |
| Number of jobs | 185,305 | 125,200 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Years of experience | 10 | 10 |
A technical product manager's responsibilities revolve around performing research and analysis to identify consumers' needs, utilizing new technologies to develop strategies and products, coordinating with different teams, and monitoring the entire progress of production. There are also instances when a technical product manager must perform clerical tasks such as producing reports, preparing presentations, responding to issues and concerns promptly, and managing schedules. Furthermore, as a manager, it is essential to lead and encourage staff to meet goals while implementing the company's policies and regulations.
The duties of a product director depend on one's place or industry of employment. Typically, their responsibilities revolve around overseeing the product development operations to ensure smooth flow and efficiency, devise strategies to improve processes, gather relevant data such as sales and customer feedback, and coordinate with different departments in developing new products and services. Furthermore, as a director, it is essential to lead and encourage departments to meet goals, all while implementing the company's policies and regulations, including its mission and vision.
Technical product managers and product directors have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Technical Product Manager | Product Director | |
| Average salary | $120,052 | $148,910 |
| Salary range | Between $89,000 And $161,000 | Between $104,000 And $212,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | California | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Meta |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Internet |
There are a few differences between a technical product manager and a product director in terms of educational background:
| Technical Product Manager | Product Director | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 69% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Georgia | University of Georgia |
Here are the differences between technical product managers' and product directors' demographics:
| Technical Product Manager | Product Director | |
| Average age | 39 | 39 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 75.8% Female, 24.2% | Male, 72.4% Female, 27.6% |
| 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% |