Product Manager's Guide - Career Progression, Popular Types of Product Managers

Introduction

As businesses increasingly prioritize delivering exceptional user experiences, the demand for skilled product managers continues to surge. According to various public reports here are some interesting statistics of product manager and product management world:

• The product management field is experiencing rapid growth, with over 1 million LinkedIn profiles carrying the "Product Manager" title as of January 2024, up from 700,000 a year prior. 
• While software development roles outnumber product management roles by about 10 to 1, the demand for product managers is rising in tandem with the increasing need for software applications, especially at technology startups.
• Product management is seen as a viable career path, potentially leading to executive roles like VP of Product Management or Chief Product Officer (CPO). 
• As companies shift towards market-driven product strategies, the demand for skilled product leaders who can formulate product visions and lead organizations is outpacing supply. 
• This talent shortage has driven up salaries, with the average US annual salary for VP of Product Management and CPO roles now around $300,000.
• Product influencers' role will continue to grow in 2024.

(Source: LinkedIn Future of Product Management – 2024 Forecast)

Hence, whether you're a seasoned professional exploring career opportunities in product management or transitioning your career to product management from various roles, like Business Analysis, Program Management, Engineering, or Product Marketing,  this comprehensive guide will equip you with valuable insights, empowering you to make informed decisions about your professional journey.

What are the roles and responsibilities of a product manager?

Before we get into the different types of product managers, let's first understand their core responsibilities:

• Conduct market research and gather user insights through product discovery and continuous discovery habits to identify product opportunities.
• Define product vision, continuous discovery, and its process, product strategy, and roadmaps aligned with business goals.
• Collaborate with cross-functional teams (design, engineering, marketing, etc.) throughout the product life cycle.
• Prioritize features and manage product backlogs.
• Analyze user feedback, metrics, and market trends to drive continuous product improvement.
• Ensure products meet user needs, quality standards, and regulatory requirements.

Types of Product Managers: From Entry-Level to Executive

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1. Entry Level – at this stage you will see the following product management roles or product management careers:

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Associate Product Manager (APM):

• Definition: 

An entry-level role that provides hands-on experience in product management, often through structured APM programs or internships.

• Responsibilities: 

Assist with market research, user testing, documentation, and executing product initiatives under the guidance of senior PMs.

• Salary Range: 

$50,000 - $80,000

• Pros: 

Excellent learning opportunity, exposure to various product management aspects, and mentorship from experienced PMs.

• Cons: 

Limited decision-making authority, potentially narrow scope of responsibilities.

• Challenges: 

Rapidly learning industry/domain knowledge, adapting to fast-paced environments, and demonstrating strategic thinking.

Product Manager:

• Definition: 

The core role responsible for driving the product vision, strategy, and execution throughout the product lifecycle.

• Responsibilities: 

Conduct user research, define product requirements, prioritize features, collaborate with cross-functional teams, manage product roadmaps, monitor product performance, and drive continuous improvement.

• Salary Range: 

$80,000 - $120,000

• Pros: 

Opportunity to shape products, work cross-functionally, continuous learning, career growth potential.

• Cons: 

High-pressure role, juggling multiple priorities, stakeholder management challenges.

• Challenges: 
• Balancing user needs with business objectives, making data-driven decisions, and adapting to changing market dynamics.

Growth Product Manager:

• Definition: 

Specialized in driving user acquisition, activation, retention, and revenue growth for a product or service.

• Responsibilities: 

Analyze user behaviour data, identify growth opportunities, design and execute growth experiments, optimize user funnels, collaborate with marketing and engineering teams, and implement growth hacking strategies.

• Salary Range: 

$90,000 - $140,000

• Pros: 

High-impact role, data-driven decision-making, exposure to cutting-edge growth tactics.

• Cons: 

Intense focus on metrics and KPIs, constant experimentation and iteration.

• Challenges: 

Identifying the right growth levers, balancing short-term wins with long-term strategy, and scaling growth initiatives.

2. Mid-Level Product Management Roles or Product Management Career Choices

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Technical Product Manager:

• Definition:

A role that bridges the gap between technical and business domains, often in complex or highly technical products.

• Responsibilities: 

Understand technical architectures, collaborate with engineering teams, translate business requirements into technical specifications, ensure product quality and performance, manage technical debt, and drive platform evolution.

• Salary Range: 

$100,000 - $150,000

• Pros:

Opportunity to work on cutting-edge technologies, a deep understanding of technical constraints, respected by engineering teams.

• Cons: 

Requires strong technical skills, challenging to balance business and technical priorities.

• Challenges: 

Keeping up with rapidly evolving technologies, managing technical complexities, and communicating technical concepts to non-technical stakeholders.

Senior Product Manager:

• Definition: 

An experienced role with more strategic responsibilities and an increased scope of influence.

• Responsibilities: 

Define product vision and strategy, lead cross-functional teams, mentor junior PMs, drive product portfolio management, identify new product opportunities, influence executive decision-making, and represent the product externally.

• Salary Range: 

$120,000 - $180,000

• Pros: 

Leadership opportunities, strategic impact, exposure to executive-level decision-making.

• Cons: 

Increased pressure and accountability, managing multiple stakeholders, and balancing short-term and long-term priorities.

• Challenges: 

Aligning cross-functional teams around a shared vision, navigating organizational politics, and driving large-scale change.

Product Operations Manager:

• Definition: Responsible for optimizing and streamlining the product management processes and workflows within an organization.
• Responsibilities: Define and implement product management best practices, establish governance frameworks, oversee product tools and systems (e.g., roadmapping, project management), enable cross-functional collaboration, and drive operational excellence.
• Salary Range: $100,000 - $150,000
• Pros: Opportunity to improve organizational efficiency, work cross-functionally, and drive process improvements.
• Cons: Balanced view required between process and product delivery.
• Challenges: Aligning stakeholders around standardized processes, change management, and measuring operational metrics.

Product Marketing Manager:

• Definition: 

Focuses on positioning, promoting, and driving demand for products within the market.

• Responsibilities: 

Develop positioning and messaging, create sales enablement materials, plan go-to-market strategies, manage product launches, coordinate with marketing and sales teams, and analyze market trends and competitor offerings.

• Salary Range: 

$90,000 - $130,000

• Pros: 

Blend of product management and marketing skills, exposure to market dynamics, and cross-functional collaboration.

• Cons: 

Juggling multiple priorities, aligning with diverse stakeholders.

• Challenges: 

Effectively communicating complex product value propositions, staying ahead of market shifts, and measuring marketing impact.

Product Designer:

• Definition: 

Focuses on the user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design aspects of a product.

• Responsibilities: 

Conduct user research, create wireframes and prototypes, design intuitive user interfaces, collaborate with product managers and engineers, ensure design consistency, and advocate for the end-user.

• Salary Range: 

$80,000 - $120,000

• Pros: 

Opportunity to shape user experiences, creative and innovative work, and cross-functional collaboration.

• Cons: 

Balancing user needs with technical constraints, the potential for design conflicts.

• Challenges: 

Staying current with design trends and best practices, effectively communicating design rationale, and continuously iterating based on user feedback.

AI Product Manager:

• Definition: 

Specializes in developing and managing products that incorporate artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies.

• Responsibilities: 

Understand AI/ML capabilities, define AI product strategies, collaborate with data scientists and engineers, ensure responsible AI practices, manage AI model lifecycle, monitor model performance, and drive AI product innovation.

• Salary Range: 

$120,000 - $180,000

• Pros: 

Opportunity to work at the forefront of emerging technologies, high demand for AI/ML expertise.

• Cons: 

Rapidly evolving field, complex technical challenges, ethical considerations.

• Challenges: 

Bridging the gap between AI capabilities and business needs, interpreting and communicating AI outputs, ensuring data quality and model governance.

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Platform Product Manager:

• Responsibilities: 

Define platform vision and roadmap, ensure platform scalability and performance, manage platform APIs and integrations, enable third-party developers, drive platform adoption, and balance the needs of multiple stakeholders.

• Salary Range: 

$110,000 - $160,000

• Pros: 

Strategic role with broad impact, exposure to various products and technologies.

• Cons: 

Navigating complex stakeholder landscapes, and balancing competing priorities.

• Challenges: 

Maintaining platform consistency and compatibility, managing technical debt, enabling seamless integrations, and fostering ecosystem growth.

Product Owner (Agile/Scrum):

• Definition: 

In Agile software development methodologies, the Product Owner represents the voice of the customer and manages the product backlog.

• Responsibilities: 

Define user stories and acceptance criteria, prioritize backlog items, provide clarity to the development team, ensure requirements are met, facilitate Agile ceremonies (e.g., sprint planning, backlog grooming), and communicate product vision and strategy.

• Salary Range: 

$90,000 - $130,000

• Pros: 

Collaborative role, focused on delivering customer value, exposure to Agile practices.

• Cons: 

Balancing multiple stakeholder needs, the potential for scope creep.

• Challenges: 

Effectively translating customer needs into actionable requirements, maintaining backlog prioritization, and fostering collaboration across the Agile team.

Product Manager - Open Source:

• Definition: 

Manages and contributes to open-source software products and communities.

• Responsibilities: 

Define product roadmap and release plans, collaborate with the open-source community, triage and prioritize issues and feature requests, ensure code quality and maintainability, promote project adoption, and engage with contributors and users.

• Salary Range: 

$90,000 - $140,000

• Pros: 

Opportunity to work on innovative technologies, exposure to diverse perspectives and contributions.

• Cons:

Managing distributed communities, ensuring project sustainability.

• Challenges: 

Fostering community engagement, balancing diverse needs and priorities, maintaining project governance and transparency.

Enterprise Product Manager:

• Definition: 

Focuses on developing and managing products for large enterprise customers with complex requirements.

• Responsibilities: 

Understand enterprise needs and procurement processes, manage complex product configurations and customizations, ensure compliance and security standards, collaborate with enterprise sales and implementation teams, and drive product adoption and user enablement within enterprises.

• Salary Range: 

$110,000 - $160,000

• Pros:

 Exposure to large-scale enterprise environments, and the opportunity to solve complex problems.

• Cons: 

Navigating enterprise bureaucracies, and managing intricate stakeholder landscapes.

• Challenges: 

Balancing enterprise-specific requirements with product scalability, ensuring seamless integration with existing systems, and driving organizational change within enterprises.

Product Manager - Regulated Industries (Healthcare, Finance, etc.):

• Definition: 

Manages products that must comply with strict regulations and industry standards.

• Responsibilities: 

Ensure product adherence to regulatory requirements, collaborate with compliance and legal teams, manage product certifications and audits, understand industry-specific workflows and practices, and drive product adoption within regulated environments.

• Salary Range: 

$100,000 - $150,000

• Pros: 

Opportunity to work in mission-critical domains, exposure to industry-specific knowledge.

• Cons: 

Navigating complex regulatory landscapes, and potential for product constraints.

• Challenges: 

Staying up-to-date with evolving regulations, balancing compliance needs with user experience, and managing product risk and liability.

SaaS (Software as a Service) Product Manager:

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• Definition: 

Specializes in developing and managing cloud-based software products delivered via a subscription model.

• Responsibilities: 

Define SaaS product strategy and roadmap, drive customer acquisition and retention, optimize pricing and packaging, manage product updates and releases, ensure service reliability and performance, and analyze usage metrics and customer feedback.

• Salary Range: 

$100,000 - $150,000

• Pros: 

Exposure to cloud technologies, focus on recurring revenue models, continuous delivery process.

• Cons: 

Managing frequent releases, ensuring seamless upgrades for customers.

• Challenges: 

Balancing new feature development with technical debt, driving product-led growth, managing cloud infrastructure and scaling.

Product Manager - Digital Transformation:

• Definition: 

Guides organizations through the process of leveraging digital technologies to transform business models, operations, and customer experiences.

• Responsibilities: 

Assess digital maturity, define digital strategy, identify transformation opportunities, drive process redesign, enable cultural change, oversee implementation of digital solutions, and measure transformation impacts.

• Salary Range: 

$110,000 - $180,000

• Pros: 

Opportunity to drive large-scale organizational change, and exposure to emerging digital technologies.

• Cons: 

Navigating resistance to change, and managing complex stakeholder landscapes.

• Challenges: 

Aligning diverse stakeholders on transformation vision, ensuring seamless technology integration, and fostering a digital-first mindset.

3. Executive Level Product Management Roles and Career Choices

Director/VP of Product Management:

• Definition: 

An executive-level role responsible for overseeing the entire product portfolio and product management function.

• Responsibilities:

Set the overall product strategy, manage product roadmaps and investments, build and lead product management teams, influence company direction, drive innovation, represent the product externally, and ensure alignment with business goals.

• Salary Range: 

$150,000 - $250,000+

• Pros: 

Strategic leadership role, significant impact on company direction, exposure to executive decision-making.

• Cons: 

Intense pressure and accountability, managing multiple stakeholders, political complexities.

• Challenges: 

Building and retaining high-performing teams, aligning product strategy with company vision, driving innovation at scale, and navigating organizational politics.

Senior Vice President (SVP) of Product Management 

Role and Responsibilities:

• Set strategic priorities for the product and the business
• Drive cross-functional alignment across the organization
• Contribute to the executive management of the company
• Oversee and guide the product management function

Pros:

• Involvement in broader business strategy beyond product management
• Opportunity to shape the company's direction and competitive position

Cons:

• Managing complex business ecosystems and stakeholder landscapes
• Balancing product priorities with overarching business objectives

Challenges:

• Navigating organizational politics and driving change at scale
• Maintaining a competitive advantage in rapidly evolving markets
• Fostering innovation while optimizing existing product lines

Salary: 

• Around $240,000

Chief Product Officer (CPO):

Role and Responsibilities:

• Define the overall product vision, strategy, and execution across all products
• Represent product and product-led growth among key stakeholders
• Lead and scale the product organization to support business growth
• Contribute to the company's executive decision-making process

Pros:

• Seat at the decision-making table, influencing company direction
• Opportunity to drive product innovation and differentiation

Cons:

• Intense pressure and accountability for product success
• Managing diverse stakeholder interests and priorities

Challenges:

• Crafting a cohesive product vision aligned with long-term company goals
• Leading innovation in highly competitive and dynamic markets
• Ensuring the product organization scales effectively with business growth
• Attracting and retaining top product management talent

Salary: 

• Around $300,000

Conclusion

The world of product management offers a diverse range of roles and opportunities, each with its unique set of responsibilities, challenges, and rewards. The integration of AI and machine learning, the adoption of Agile methodologies, and the focus on continuous product discovery are just a few examples of the forces shaping the future of product management.

Whether you're just starting your journey or an experienced professional, understanding these different types of product managers can help you chart a path aligned with your career aspirations and skill sets.

Remember, successful product managers possess a unique blend of technical expertise, strategic thinking, user empathy, and leadership abilities. Continuous discovery habits, agile thinking, leadership capabilities, learning, adapting to change, and collaborating with cross-functional teams are essential for thriving in this dynamic field.

Frequently Asked Questions

1. What is the most common entry point into product management? 

The Associate Product Manager (APM) role is often the starting point for many aspiring product managers, providing hands-on experience and mentorship.

2. Can a technical background help in product management roles? 

Yes, a technical background can be highly valuable, especially for roles like Technical Product Manager or for products with significant technical complexity.

3. Is it necessary to have prior experience in a specific industry or domain? 

While industry or domain knowledge can be beneficial, strong product management skills and the ability to learn quickly are often more important for many roles.

4. What are the key differences between a Growth Product Manager and a traditional Product Manager? 

Growth Product Managers focus specifically on driving user acquisition, activation, retention, and revenue growth, while traditional Product Managers oversee the entire product lifecycle.

5. Can a Product Manager transition into other roles within an organization? 

Yes, the skills and experience gained as a Product Manager can open doors to various other roles, such as Product Marketing, Program Management, or even entrepreneurial ventures.

6. How important is data analysis and product analytics for Product Managers? 

Data analysis and product analytics are crucial for making informed decisions, measuring product performance, and driving continuous improvement.

What are some emerging trends or technologies impacting the product management field? Emerging trends include Design Thinking, Agile methodologies, Product-Led Growth, AI/ML integration, continuous product discovery, and a heightened focus on user experience and customer-centricity.

By navigating the diverse landscape of product management roles, you can unlock new opportunities for growth, impact, and career fulfilment in this dynamic and rewarding field

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