what is a product manager?
As a product manager, you ensure a company produces relevant and profitable products that meet the needs of your users. Aside from ensuring that the products are feasible, you maximize the return on investment for your employer. Your job is to manage and tackle everything outside the bounds of the sales and marketing team, developers, designers, and end users. Since every business and product has a unique constellation of users, developers and businesses, your specific duties depend on the product niche. For instance, a consumer product is expected to serve millions of customers, and you manage the design to suit many consumers.
what does a product manager do?
The role of a product manager involves dealing with stakeholders and management. For instance, you define a product’s vision by determining the problems it will solve and the target consumers. You also empower the design team to deliver the highest value by reviewing product specs and participating in tests. As a product manager, being an expert in quantitative and qualitative data from market trends, user research, and competitive analysis is important. When you understand the implications of the product, you can prioritize features and lay out an actionable plan to execute the idea.
Would working as a product manager suit your strategic thinking skills? Then read on to find out what competencies and qualifications you need to thrive in a product manager role.
product manager rolesaverage product manager salary
According to Job Bank, the average salary of a product manager is $147,927 per year. While there is no minimum salary limit, entry-level or junior product manager roles start as low as $100,000 yearly. As your experience increases, your earnings rise to $197,641 annually.
what factors influence the salary of a product manager?
Product managers' earnings depend on the locations and industries they work in. You receive a higher salary when you work in a technical sector, such as manufacturing or information technology. Some industries require advanced educational qualifications, and product managers can demand higher earnings due to these requirements.
The Canadian region or territory also determines your earnings. For instance, when you work in Newfoundland and Labrador, your average hourly rate is $38.08. This wage is lower than the national average for the role, which is $52.88 per hour. In Ontario, the average hourly rate is slightly higher at $53.08, while the hourly rate is the highest in Alberta at $57.69 per hour.
Your qualifications and experience also influence your earnings. When you are new in the role, your salary is lower due to your minimal experience and skills. The longer you work in this job, the more skills you acquire, resulting in increased earnings.
types of product managers
Some of the types of product managers include:
- technical product managers: you work with engineering and product design teams to develop technical products. Your job is to analyze trends, study competitor products, and develop features to improve the performance of technical products in the market.
- growth product managers: you ensure the existing products maintain their competitiveness. You find avenues for new product growth by working with the research and design teams to create new features to increase profitability.
- digital product managers: a digital product manager oversees the development and creation of digital products. You determine customer needs and translate them into product features. You also conduct extensive market research to balance customer expectations with business goals.
- software product managers: as a software product manager, you work with developers and designers to create functional software. You analyze software solutions and ensure the product is up to date.
working as a product manager
Are you excited about working as a product manager? Discover the specific tasks, work environments and career outlook in the role.
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what does a product manager do?
Some tasks of a product manager include:
- setting the product vision and strategy: as a product manager, you determine the direction of the product and its vision. Your job is to articulate the vision of a product to ensure the team understands it. You lay out the investment areas and prioritize them to achieve product goals. The role also involves creating a product roadmap and timeline that visualizes the product's delivery.
- evaluating ideas: as a product manager, you curate ideas and prioritize those that deliver value to customers. You run the company's idea management process and determine the ideas to be developed by the design team. After reviewing them, you communicate their status to the respective customers, partners and stakeholders.
- prioritizing features: during idea conceptions, many features are suggested for a product, and it is your job to rank them. You prioritize the features by ranking them against strategic goals and initiatives. Sometimes, the process involves making difficult trade-offs based on the value the new features add to a product. When prioritizing, defining the product's feature requirements and desired user experience is important.
- creating a product roadmap: as a product manager, you develop a roadmap visualizing the product development process. The roadmap also defines how the product achieves business objectives and keeps work on track. You create different roadmaps for the executive and engineering teams.
- analyzing and reporting work progress: as a product manager, it is important to focus on results. You oversee and monitor the progress of the product development stages. You also ensure the production team is efficient and maintains the production timeline. During production, you ensure the company doesn't suffer any capacity issues and that the team has the necessary raw materials. After production, you monitor the testing processes.
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work environment of a product manager
A product manager works in a diverse setting, depending on the industry and the products they produce. For instance, you regularly visit production floors in the manufacturing industry to ensure everything runs as expected. In pharmaceutical and technical companies, you also work with teams on the production floors. However, software product managers work on products that don't require work in a climate-controlled facility. Aside from supervising production, you attend meetings with stakeholders and complete administrative functions. Hence, you also work from an office. The role may involve travelling if the company has offsite production facilities. Sometimes, you attend conferences and tradeshows in your industry. Working remotely or from home is possible, but you show up regularly to supervise on-site projects.
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who are your colleagues?
As a product manager, you work in the production department of a company and interact with various professionals to accomplish your duties. For instance, you work with project managers, production supervisors and business systems analysts. You also work with HR managers, mechanical engineers and warehouse associates.
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product manager work schedule
The work schedule of a product manager follows regular business hours, regardless of the industry or sector. Unless attending a client meeting or trying to meet deadlines, product managers rarely work evenings. Sometimes, you work weekends to assist the design or production teams. Product managers may also work outside typical office hours, particularly if the company has offices located in other time zones.
Most companies employ product managers in full-time positions. Part-time and temporary contracts are rare. However, you can secure a temporary position if you manage one aspect of a larger product.
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career opportunities as a product manager
Most product managers start as part of the product team, focusing on one aspect of the production before moving to senior roles. In an entry-level role, you oversee a small product team and will move into a senior product manager role, which involves monitoring the entire production department. Most product managers progress to executive positions, such as the vice president of product, chief technology officer, chief marketing officer or chief operating officer.
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advantages of finding a job as a product manager through randstad
Working with Randstad offers you a range of benefits.
- always a contact person you can fall back on and ask for help from
- many training opportunities
- a range of jobs in your area
product manager skills and education
There are various career paths and requirements for becoming a product manager. They include:
- determine your preferred industry: decide the industry you want to work in and gain post-secondary credentials. For instance, you require a chemical processing and healthcare background in the pharmaceutical industry. To work in tech industries, you require basic programming skills and engineering.
- complete a bachelor’s degree: when you know the industry you want to work in, pursue a bachelor's degree in the relevant field. For instance, you can pursue chemical engineering or computer engineering. Since you perform managerial duties, it helps to have a bachelor's degree in business or complete an MBA to gain management skills.
- gain experience: to work as a product manager, you require extensive work experience. You start in entry-level production roles as you learn new skills and improve your experience.
competencies and characteristics of product managers
Some of the qualities of product managers include:
- problem-solving skills: products are developed to solve consumers' problems and pain points. With problem-solving skills, you create and brainstorm product ideas that solve the customers' problems. A problem-solving mindset is a driving force behind decision-making.
- time management: as a product manager, you split your time between different projects. Time management skills help you prioritize roles and juggle different tasks. The skills also help you promote efficiency and ensure products are launched on time.
- communication skills: you require proper communication skills to communicate effectively with the product teams and developers. You also communicate with stakeholders when reporting on product success and proposing improvement opportunities.
- ability to take the initiative: as a product manager, being proactive helps you achieve goals and targets. Your ability to take the initiative motivates your product teams and speeds up the production process.
FAQs about product manager jobs
Here, you will find the answers to the most frequently asked questions about the profession of a product manager.
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how much are product managers paid?
As a product manager, you receive an average salary of $147,927 per year. With experience, the earnings increase to over $197,641 annually. The earnings fluctuate based on qualifications and experience. That's why junior product managers receive a lower salary compared to senior product managers.
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what is the main role of a product manager?
Your job is to identify customer needs and use the requirements to create high-quality products. You decide on the product specifications and ingredients to improve functionality.
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what qualifications are necessary to be a product manager?
Product management is not a regulated career in Canada. However, you require post-secondary credentials like a degree or diploma in the relevant field. You also need extensive experience in the relevant industry.
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is a product manager the same as a project manager?
A product manager is responsible for developing the concept for a product and overseeing its development. A project manager focuses on coordinating and supervising projects.
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is product manager a technical role?
Some companies require product managers to have technical expertise in the production process. However, a product manager can guide the product team without having a technical background.
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how do I find a job as a product manager?
Finding a job near you as a product manager is easy. Search our job offers. Have you found what you're looking for? Then submit your application using the ‘Apply’ button top right on the page. No jobs available right now? Send us your resume and we'll pass it on to a recruiter who will contact you if an opportunity opens up for you.
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