How to Become a Product Manager
Define product strategy and roadmap, prioritize features based on customer needs, and coordinate cross-functional teams to deliver software products. It typically requires a bachelor's degree, with a median salary of $166,790 per year and much faster than average projected job growth.
Median pay
$166,790/yr
Middle half
$123,020 to $216,410
Job growth
Much faster than average
Openings / yr
34,300
Majors that lead here
Key skills
- Product Strategy
- User Research
- Data Analysis
- Stakeholder Management
- Agile Methodology
Helpful certifications
- Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO)
- Pragmatic Institute Certification
- SAFe Product Owner/Product Manager
Is this career a fit?
Remote-friendly
78/100
Work-life balance
55/100
Stress level
52/100
Satisfaction
76/100
Related careers
- DevOps Engineer$135,980 median
- Software Developer$135,980 median
- Cybersecurity Analyst$129,180 median
- Data Scientist$120,230 median
- IT Project Manager$116,580 median
- Site Reliability Engineer$116,580 median
Frequently asked questions
How much does a Product Manager make?
The median pay for a Product Manager is $166,790 a year, and the middle half of workers earn between $123,020 and $216,410 (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, May 2025). That covers everyone in the job, not only people starting out, so newer workers sit toward the lower end.
What degree do you need to become a Product Manager?
The usual entry point is a bachelor's degree. Common majors are Business Administration, Computer Science, Marketing, Engineering, Economics, and Entrepreneurship.
Is Product Manager a growing field?
Projected job growth for this role from 2024 to 2034 is much faster than average (BLS projections via O*NET), with roughly 34,300 U.S. openings a year.
What skills does a Product Manager use most?
Common skills for this role are Product Strategy, User Research, Data Analysis, Stakeholder Management, and Agile Methodology.
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Take the major quizWhere these pay figures come from
Career pay is the annual wage of everyone working in that occupation, not only recent graduates, so it includes people who have done the job for decades. The middle half is the 25th to the 75th percentile. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and O*NET OnLine (median and percentile annual wages May 2025; employment projections 2024-2034).
All figures are national. What you earn depends on where you work, who you work for, and how far you take the degree.
Job-growth figures: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics and O*NET OnLine (median and percentile annual wages May 2025; employment projections 2024-2034).