Product managers are about average in terms of happiness.
At CareerExplorer, we conduct an ongoing survey with millions of people and ask them how satisfied they are with their careers. As it turns out, product managers rate their career happiness 3.3 out of 5 stars which puts them in the top 44% of careers.
To put this into perspective, we compared how happy product managers are to similar careers in the industry. Take a look at the results below:
Salaries and satisfaction ratings in similar careers
| Career | Satisfaction | Avg Salary |
|---|---|---|
| COO | 3.7 | $79k |
| CFO | 3.4 | $100k |
| Franchise owner | 3.4 | $58k |
| Stock trader | 3.4 | $38k |
| Technical product manager | 3.4 | $78k |
| Product manager | 3.3 | $119k |
| Money manager | 3.2 | $69k |
| Content manager | 3.2 | $70k |
| Consultant | 3.2 | $87k |
| Management consultant | 3.2 | $115k |
So what does it mean to be happy in your career? Let’s break it down into different dimensions:
- Salary: Are product managers happy with their salary?
- Meaning: Do product managers find their jobs meaningful?
- Personality fit: How well suited are people’s personalities to their everyday tasks as product managers?
- Work environment: How enjoyable are product manager’s work environments?
- Skills utilization: Are product managers making the best use of their abilities?
Are product managers happy with their salary?
Product managers rated their satisfaction with their salaries 3.5/5. The majority of product managers are quite happy with their salaries, with very few having complaints about their income level.
We asked product managers how fairly compensated they are for their work.
Their response was:
3.5 out of 5 stars
1304 product managers
21% of product managers rated their compensation 5 stars
31% of product managers rated their compensation 4 stars
27% of product managers rated their compensation 3 stars
14% of product managers rated their compensation 2 stars
7% of product managers rated their compensation 1 stars
Do product managers find their jobs meaningful?
On average, product managers rate the meaningfulness of their work a 2.9/5. While most product managers aren’t very fulfilled by their work, some people may still manage to find meaning in it.
We asked product managers how meaningful they found their work.
Their response was:
2.9 out of 5 stars
1308 product managers
14% of product managers rated how meaningful they found their career 5 stars
21% of product managers rated how meaningful they found their career 4 stars
27% of product managers rated how meaningful they found their career 3 stars
23% of product managers rated how meaningful they found their career 2 stars
16% of product managers rated how meaningful they found their career 1 stars
How well are people’s personalities suited to everyday tasks as product managers?
Product managers rated their personality fit with their work an average of 3.9/5. The majority of product managers find their personalities quite well suited to their work, with relatively few having complaints about their fit.
We asked product managers how well their personalities fit into their careers.
Their response was:
3.9 out of 5 stars
1429 product managers
29% of product managers rated their career fit 5 stars
42% of product managers rated their career fit 4 stars
21% of product managers rated their career fit 3 stars
5% of product managers rated their career fit 2 stars
2% of product managers rated their career fit 1 stars
How enjoyable is a product manager’s work environment?
As a whole, product managers rated their enjoyment of their work environment 3.6/5. A solid majority of product managers enjoy their work environment, probably contributing to overall higher satisfaction with working as a product manager.
We asked product managers how much they enjoyed their work environment.
Their response was:
3.6 out of 5 stars
1427 product managers
23% of product managers rated their work environment 5 stars
36% of product managers rated their work environment 4 stars
24% of product managers rated their work environment 3 stars
12% of product managers rated their work environment 2 stars
5% of product managers rated their work environment 1 stars
Are product managers making the best use of their abilities?
Former product managers on CareerExplorer have rated their skills utilization 3.4/5. Most product managers are satisfied with how well their abilities are skills are made of use.
We asked product managers how well their abilities were used in their careers.
Their response was:
3.4 out of 5 stars
1432 product managers
19% of product managers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 5 stars
31% of product managers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 4 stars
28% of product managers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 3 stars
16% of product managers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 2 stars
6% of product managers rated their how well their skills were utilized in their career 1 stars