A Complete Guide To Product Manager Salaries

There’s no doubt about it, product management is becoming an increasingly attractive and popular career choice worldwide, with hundreds of thousands of professional Product Managers now working globally, and more companies acknowledging product management as a crucial business function.

So, what is the typical Product Manager salary in Australia, and how does a Senior Product Manager’s salary differ from say, an associate Product Manager’s salary? In this post, we’ll answer these questions, plus more. But first, let’s discover what a product manager specifically is, and the role that they play in business.

What is a Product Manager?

A Product Manager is responsible for successfully delivering new products to the market, on behalf of the business for which they are working. Product Managers deal with the overall business direction of the product being delivered, essentially owning the product strategy.

While focusing primarily on the business aspect of the product, from development to positioning in the market and pricing, Product Managers need to have a high-level understanding of all aspects of the product, including its design and end-user needs.

Being ultimately responsible for the product’s success, a Product Manager’s end goal is to ensure that both customer and business needs are met, at each stage of the process.

What roles does a Product Manager perform?

Each and every role a Product Manager performs is linked to the successful delivery of a product to market. As such, they are responsible for coordinating a wide range of activities on an ongoing basis, and are often required to wear many hats! Here are a Product Manager’s main task categories, on a broad level:

• Product strategy

Prior to the development of the product, the Product Manager outlines a clear vision for the product, with the customer’s needs underlying all considerations in this document.

• Product roadmap

A roadmap is developed as a visual representation of the product’s evolution over time. This plan is used to prioritise tasks between teams and measure success on a continuing basis.

• Product backlog

A list is developed as a running tally of everything that needs to be accomplished during product development. This is framed from the viewpoint of the user, so the focus is on the customer’s needs.

• Product analytics

Once the product has been launched, Product Managers continue to monitor data on an ongoing process, in order to locate any potential areas for improvement.

Typical career progression for Product Managers

Along with enjoying the benefits of a well paid, interesting and meaningful job, Product Managers can look forward to significant opportunities for progression within their careers. And naturally, with progression comes an increase in the Product Manager’s salary!

Product Manager positions can vary from organisation to organisation, with some businesses having several levels of Product Manager roles, and some having only a single position in a cross-functional role. Such factors as the size, financial strength, and business goals of the company ultimately influence the team structure.

Yet, having said all of this, there still stands a general career path for Product Managers, with associate Product Manager being the general entry-level position, and chief product officer generally being the top tier position, as below:

• Associate Product Manager (0—2 years experience)
• Product Manager (2—5 years experience)
• Senior Product Manager (5—8 years experience)
• Director, product management (7—12 years experience)
• Vice president, product management (9—15 years experience)
• Chief Product Officer (12—15 years experience)

Note that some organisations may have different names for their Product Manager roles, including “technical” or “software” Product Manager.

Typical Product Manager salary ranges

As with most job roles, there is a wide and diverse range of Product Manager salaries in Australia. Ultimately, a Product Manager’s salary depends on a variety of factors, including location, the type of product management role, the level of expertise and experience, and the size of the company employing the Product Manager.

Evidently, Product Managers in senior roles at very large companies can expect to have higher salaries than entry-level Product Managers just starting on their career paths.

In Australia, the average Product Manager salary is $120,000 per year, with the lowest salary being around $75,000 per year and the highest salary around $160,000 per year. The average national Associate Product Manager salary is $90,000, and the average Senior Product Manager salary is $150,000.

Tips for negotiating better salaries as a Product Manager

Effective negotiation skills are key when it comes to negotiating a higher salary as a Product Manager. Whether you’re about to commence a new role, or looking for a salary increase in your existing role, the ability to negotiate well will ultimately help determine your salary. Here are some tips to help you negotiate a better salary:

• Do some groundwork — Research the average Product Manager salary in your area. If you find that your salary is less than this average, you’ll have a good case to ask for more.
• Get your timing right — If negotiating in your current role, do so after a successful performance review, or project delivery. If you’ve received an offer for a new role, do some research on average salaries in your area, and importantly, take your time before accepting the role and salary being offered.
• Hone your skills — Upskilling your product management skills with a real project learning provider, such as Harness Projects, is an ideal way to give yourself an edge when negotiating more pay.

Learn Product Management with Harness Projects

Looking to learn new skills, and develop experience to jumpstart your career as a professional Product Manager? Look no further than Harness Projects. Our upskiller product management course will equip you with invaluable product management skills, and get you working on a real company project while doing so.

Our innovative project-based learning model for product management is perfect for those wanting to:

• Learn the fundamentals of product management
• Enhance their existing capabilities with product management skills
• Gain real product management experience
• Extend their existing product management skills

Like to learn more? Discover why project-based learning is the real future of learning, browse our current projects, and stay up to date with our latest blog posts. And, if you have any questions about our courses or projects, simply get in touch with us today — we’d love to talk to you!