Semiconductor PM Roles: Product Manager, Project Manager, And Program Manager, Their Duties And Salary Outlook
Do you know the differences between product manager, project manager, and program manager? I think the topic is very popular and there are many writers to share their thoughts on this topic before. Today, I’d like to focus on these roles in the semiconductor industry and I’d like to share some real cases since I have a lot of hands on experience in these three positions. Also, I have collaborated with others working in these roles over the past 12 years while working in the semiconductor industry.
This article has two purposes. The first one is to bring an overview for some of our junior employees who have just joined this industry. For example, there are a few junior employees who joined our department in these last two months. They are very young and maybe they don’t understand what’s the difference between these three roles. I believe that they can use this article to quickly get an overview of the responsibilities required in these three roles. The second purpose is for the young students who are interested in the “PM” role, and we all know these three roles are called “PM”, but their responsibilities are not the same at all. Therefore, the students can read this article if they want to target one of these three roles.
Responsibilities And Skillsets
Before we start this part, let’s clear out the responsibilities of these three different roles. It’s helpful for you to imagine these roles by specific tasks. Moreover, having suitable skillsets can help you grow efficiently.
Roles And Responsibilities
According to my experience, the three different PMs in my company are all significant.
- Product manager: A product manager creates a product from ideation to sales. This position is more critical than others, in my opinion. Product managers suffer a heavy load and pressure to lead the product team to overcome challenges and successfully approach opportunities in the market. They are the leader of the specific product line. The product manager’s responsibilities include market research, developing product strategy, creating and maintaining a product roadmap, defining product features, creating new products, and launching a new product.
- Project manager: My main job for the past 12 years has been to be the project manager and collaborating with the product manager. In this role, we must ensure that our team achieves a specific goal of developing a product or service. The project manager’s responsibilities include integration, and scope/schedule/cost/budget/quality/resources/risk control.
- Program manager: In many larger companies, the program managers originate at the C-suite level. Their job is to collaborate with cross-functional departments to find solutions for specific issues or problems as they arise. Sometimes, this position requires lots of experience so that they can lead the task force team to deal with diversified topics in the company. The program manager’s responsibilities include organizing programs, building new systems or platforms, and coordinating projects and interdependencies.
Skillsets
I will now share the skill set of product managers, project managers, and program managers. We believe these three roles require excellent leadership, communication, presentation, and outstanding comprehension skills. However, there are specific skills needed for each position.
- Product manager: Product manager’s skills include excellent technical skills and system know-how, the ability to execute market research, and business concepts to plan business strategies.
- Project manager: Project manager’s skills include project management, data analysis, and problem-solving skills.
- Program manager: Program manager’s skills include problem-solving, financial skills, creativity, and self-learning skills.
These skills are crucial and help them perform their jobs perfectly.
Career Development
Career development increases employee motivation and productivity. Attention to career development helps you attract top staff and retain valued employees.
Salary Expectations
Let’s see their salary expectations. Product managers are paid more than project managers because they contribute more than the others. But you should know that this data varies based on the country, experience level, industries, and the company’s financial capabilities.
- Product manager: Product managers’ median payroll salary is around one hundred thousand dollars annually.
- Project manager: Project managers’ median payroll salary is around ninety thousand dollars annually.
- Program manager: Program managers’ median payroll salary is around ninety thousand dollars annually.
Career Path
The career paths of these three roles are exciting, with many possibilities.
- Product manager: According to LinkedIn, interest in product management has doubled in the United States in the past five years. A list of typical product management roles includes product manager, Director of Product, VP of Business Unit (or VP of Product), and Chief Product Officer and beyond.
- Project manager: A list of typical project management roles includes project manager, Director of Project, and Chief Operating Officer and beyond.
- Program manager: A list of typical program management roles includes program manager, Director of Program, and Assistant to General Manager and beyond.
Working Model At Project Team
We recently started developing our company’s long-term plan for the next five years. To properly understand the working model among these three roles, I would like to describe the current working model for the program manager, project manager, and product manager. I will provide a real case to represent these positions.
In this program, a program manager has to coordinate everything, define milestones, and announce schedules to the product manager. And then, product managers are informed of the overall schedule. In the end, product managers will prepare their business plans including strategies, product roadmap, revenue, and gross margin predictions. After that, the project managers have to evaluate the resources and the schedules for the product managers. In this program, these three PM roles have to work closely with the target.
Key Takeaway
I hope you now have a more comprehensive overview of these three PM roles from reading this article. Choosing the right career path is one of the most critical and challenging decisions that life will throw at you. Career exploration is simply learning about various occupations and their “fit” with your unique career preferences. With this information and with determination, I hope you can enjoy your future career working in the semiconductor industry.
Thank you for taking the time to read this article.
Have a topic or an idea you would like me to write about? If you have any questions or recommendations, please message me.
Have a nice day. :)
