Sep 18, 2019   SOURCE: BusinessWire

Technical Savvy, Ongoing Education Are Key Indicators of Higher Salary Among Product Management, Product Marketing Professionals

Product management and product marketing professionals are seeing the value of strong technical expertise and continuing education delivered in the form of higher salaries. The average annual salary for product professionals—those individuals responsible for building new products and delivering them to the marketplace—hit $120,633 this year, according to results of the 2019 Annual Product Management and Product Marketing Survey.

Released today by Pragmatic Institute, the world’s leading authority on product management, product marketing and data science, the survey found that those professionals who consider themselves to be “somewhat technical” ($120,851) or “very technical” ($123,314) landed on the higher end of the salary spectrum, as compared to those who do not consider themselves technical at all ($109,167).

“We’re seeing companies increase their demand for product management professionals who understand the more technical aspects of the business,” said Pragmatic Institute CEO Philip Alexander. “Technology is driving innovation and new product development, effectively requiring the professionals who build or improve products to have a strong understanding of back-end development. These product management leaders must be able to communicate with development and engineering teams efficiently and effectively.”

Another driver of earnings is education, regardless of whether it’s in the form of a traditional university education or ongoing training and development. There was nearly a $10,000 gap among respondents who earned an associate degree ($106,500), a bachelor’s degree ($116,500) and a master’s degree ($126,700).

Similarly, as respondents climbed the Pragmatic Institute certification ladder, they saw their salaries jump as they continued their ongoing training. Respondents with PMC-I, PMC-II and PMC-III certifications have an average salary of $113,800 per year. However, once students hit their PMC-IV level certification, their salary increases to $126,300.

“We know that companies looking to hire product professionals through employment sites like Indeed and Monster commonly look for candidates with a PMC-III certification or higher,” Alexander said. “Building a strong body of knowledge through continuing education shows a higher level of commitment to potential employers and sets product professionals apart when they look for a new position.”

Additionally, 83% of respondents said continuing education and certifications are either “somewhat” or “very” important to their future career growth compared with 79% of respondents in last year’s survey. 68% of respondents said they have between one and three professional certifications, and another 13% have four or more.

Additional findings:

  • A gender-based pay gap exists. Like so many other industries, men are seeing more money in their paychecks than women. There is about a 10% difference in salary earned, with men bringing in $126,044 and women earning only $112,189.
  • Product managers are closing in on product marketers. Salaries among product marketers (those who create and execute go-to-market strategies for products) have tended to outpace those of product managers (those who decide what should go into products). But that gap is narrowing, with product managers earning $117,800 and product marketers taking home $118,600.

Members of the media may request a copy of the full survey results.

About the Survey

The Pragmatic Institute 2019 Annual Product Management and Product Marketing Survey is the largest and longest-running survey of its kind. Now in its 19th edition, this year’s results represent responses from 2,474 product management and product marketing professionals in 47 countries, the majority of whom work in B2B companies. The survey was open from March 5, 2019, to May 30, 2019.

About Pragmatic Institute

Pragmatic Institute is the world’s leading authority on product management, product marketing and data science. Founded in 1993, the company’s courses—taught by accomplished product professionals with real-world experience—are based on a proven framework for creating market- and data-driven products people want to buy. With more than 150,000 alumni around the world, Pragmatic Institute has created one of the largest and most prestigious product communities in the world. For more information about our public, online or onsite training, visit PragmaticInstitute.com or call 480-515-1411.