Technical Product Manager vs Product Manager: What’s the Difference?

If you’re considering a career as a product manager, you might have noticed that many companies add the word “technical” to the job title. You’ve likely come away from that experience asking yourself, “Technical Product Manager vs Product Manager – what’s the difference?”

There’s no denying that the terminology gets a little confusing. After all, we all know that for a product manager, technical skills are important. But what about this whole other type of product manager who focuses solely on the technical side of the job?

Luckily, differentiating Technical Product Manager vs Product Manager is straightforward. This article should help you understand the key differences. And by the end, you will learn what a Technical Product Manager is and how to become one.

What is a Technical Product Manager (TPM)?

As the name suggests, a technical product manager (TPM) is a product manager who focuses more on the technical aspects of product management. They generally work within larger product management teams since the size of the unit allows for greater levels of specialization. 

While TPMs have specific skills and talents that distinguish them from standard product managers, their focus is still on product management rather than exclusively tech-related issues. 

On the other hand, they do have a greater understanding of the products’ technical components and inner workings.

What Does a Technical Product Manager Do?

So what does a Technical Product Manager do, exactly? They have similar functions as a regular PM but their superior technical understanding qualifies them to review engineering estimates, check engineering trade-off decisions, and assess technical specifications. 

They often work with third parties to craft integration plans and evaluate the capabilities of products. While maintaining the focus on the needs of customers, they operate with a firmer grasp of the actual technology in use. This often allows them to work as liaisons between technical teams and the product management team.

Roles and Responsibilities of a Technical Product Manager

While there’s no uniform tasklist that applies to all Technical Product Managers, there are certain jobs that they’re generally responsible for. We have listed a few below to give you an idea:

• Create and maintain the product roadmap
• Execute product vision
• Explore new ways of improving the product
• Present innovative solutions
• Do market research
• Study the services and products of competitors
• Identify and tackle risks
• Collaborate and communicate with different teams within the company
• Address product-related questions
• Provide technical expertise about the use cases of the product

These are all general responsibilities. Each company will have its interpretation. For example, the responsibility of collaborating with other teams could translate to implementing a Scrum framework to increase the team’s productivity. In other companies, it could mean establishing shared goals with product teams across the company.

We would also like to highlight the responsibility of providing technical expertise because that’s primarily why a TPM is needed. Sometimes, a product is so technical that the TPM needs to be as technical too. This is especially true when working with DevOps products where a TPM might need to know how to code for specific languages like JavaScript and API.

What’s the difference between a Technical Product Manager and a Product Manager?

The easiest way to answer the question “Technical Product Manager vs Product Manager – what’s the difference?” is by comparing the two. There is certainly plenty of overlap between the positions, but there are also some notable differences. Here’s a basic rundown of the key differences:

Hold Different Degrees

A “regular” product manager is likely to have a business degree but can come from any background including Marketing. Any type of education that allows a regular PM to establish relationships and bring products to market is generally accepted.

Technical product managers, on the other hand, are more likely to have a degree in engineering or computer science. Technical knowledge from these educational backgrounds enables TPMs to fully understand the technological components of the products they work with.

Focus on Different Areas

The average Product Manager concerns themselves primarily with customer needs and the general strategy for a product. Technical Product Managers are more focused on the mechanics of the product and how they work with each other and get built. 

While both types of managers need to simultaneously consider the customers and the product, the TPM can be said to give the product itself more attention than the people who might eventually use it. Technical Product Managers also work with fewer user-facing features than regular Product Managers.

Work With Different Teams

Technical Product Managers might not work with the same people as their “regular” counterparts. A standard Product Manager spends a considerable amount of time working with non-technical collaborators in Sales, Customer Support, and Marketing. They’re also likely to communicate regularly with outside parties. 

While Technical Product Managers might also value these relationships, they’re more likely to focus on internal connections with technical teams. They’re usually in constant contact with product engineers, ensuring that the specific components of the products are falling in line with customer-based initiatives. 

Conduct Different Types of Research

Any type of Product Manager must conduct comprehensive research to make sure they’re using the best market strategies. 

A typical Product Manager will analyze market trends and consumer needs to help craft the best overall plan, as well as conduct user interviews and research. A Technical Product Manager does much of the same while focusing on the technical capabilities of the product. 

A Technical PM is likely to be more concerned with specific emerging technologies and cutting-edge innovations, while the “regular” PM will remain focused on user-facing interfaces rather than APIs and application-facing interfaces. 

Product Manager Skills

In a general sense, there’s a whole slew of skills a Product Manager needs to have to qualify for the role. It’s a combination of hard and soft skills that will enable a PM to do his or her job well. Below are some of the top skills a PM should have:

• Communication skills
• Technical expertise (not too in-depth for a typical PM)
• Business skills
• Research skills
• Analytical skills
• Interpersonal skills
• Marketing skills
• Delegation skills
• Strategic/ Critical thinking
• Prioritization skills

Meanwhile, a Technical Product Manager has all of the skills mentioned above plus knowledge of the following:

• SQL language knowledge
• Software Development Skills
• UX, UI, and Design Abilities
• Data Structures and Algorithms
• Networking Protocols
• Ruby Programming Language
• Systems Design

Of course, the mentioned languages are not must-haves but rather examples of what a company might require from a TPM. The specific tech skill will solely depend on the kind of job you are applying for.

Technical Product Manager vs Product Manager Salary

As you would expect with such a specialized job description, Technical Product Managers receive considerable compensation. Glassdoor lists the average annual salary of a Technical Product Manager at $122,345. 

A typical Product Manager, on the hand, can receive about $113,368 annually based on the same website. The annual average salary can vary depending on the number of years of experience. A PM with zero to one year of experience, for example, could expect around $98,575 as total pay annually.

Definitely, the TPM has a higher total salary because of his or her technical knowledge and specialties.

If you would like to know the salaries of other PMs, you can check out our article: “How Much Do Product Managers Make in the United States (2022)?”

Summary

	Product Manager	Technical Product Manager
Degree	Business, Marketing	Computer Science, Engineering
Focus	Customer needs and general strategy	Mechanics of the product
Working with Teams	Non-technical collaborators like sales, customer support, marketing	Technical collaborators like product engineering
Research	Analyze market trends and consumer needs, Conduct user interviews	Research specific emerging technologies and cutting-edge innovations
Skills	Communication skills, Technical expertise (not too in-depth for a typical PM), Business skills, Research skills, Analytical skills, Interpersonal skills, Marketing skills, Delegation skills, Strategic/ Critical thinking, Prioritization skills	PM Skills plus Technical Knowledge and Expertise
Salary	Around $113,368 average total pay annually	Around $122,345 average total pay annually

What “Regular” and “Technical” Product Managers Share

While the differences between the two positions are certainly noteworthy, it’s important to remember that they also share many of the same responsibilities. Both technical and “regular” Product Managers must have a general vision for a product and then develop a strategy around that vision. 

They scan the market for new ideas and opportunities, then activate those ideas in the form of new features. Both need to create effective and efficient roadmaps for developers to follow, making sure that the products respond to the customers’ needs. Lastly, they also oversee the process of bringing new products to the market. 

While Technical Product Managers might stay focused on the inner workings of a product, they’re still engaging in the type of work that defines product management.

How to Become a Technical Product Manager

After reading the difference between a Technical Product Manager vs Product Manager, you might be interested in becoming a TPM but don’t know where to start. 

First, let’s take a look at qualifications. Education-wise, most Technical Product Managers have engineering degrees. While it is good to have basic tech knowledge from your education, it’s not always required. TPMs come from different educational backgrounds like Economy, Business, or even Public Relations.

Experience-wise, it’s ideal if you have at least one to two years of TPM experience. If you don’t have this, it is possible to gain technical experience instead. Someone can become a TPM while having self-taught skills in software development. 

There are different paths to becoming a Technical Product Manager. To start your journey to becoming one, we have some suggestions that you might find valuable if you’re serious about applying for the role:

1. Take Online Courses

You will need to take a course if you want to be a TPM but don’t have the experience or elementary knowledge in coding. There are plenty of courses available online for you to learn:

• SQL
• HTML
• Javascript
• APIs
• Basic methodologies for DevOps
• Systems Design

As a TPM, you are not required to have all of these skills. Again, it will solely depend on the job you’re applying for but courses that allow you to learn specific technical skills can strengthen your role as a Technical Product Manager. Learning these skills will also come in handy when communicating with different technical teams within the organization as you already speak their lingo.

The next thing you need to prepare for is your Product Manager job interview. You will need to go through a PM interview prep course that will help refine your speaking skills by providing a structure to your responses, especially responses that require your technical knowledge.

2. Attend Hackathons, Conferences, and Meetups

As an aspiring TPM, you cannot just stop on theories. You have to apply what you learned to gain experience. You do this by attending hackathons, conferences, and meetups. Yes, you might have to spend money, especially if a conference is not in your city but these events are relevant to your future role. 

Another upside to attending these events is you meet professionals who are in the same space as you. There will be plenty of opportunities to expand your professional network.

3. Small Projects

Small or side projects are perfect for those who already have product management experience but would like to gain the technical skills necessary to transition into Technical Product Management. 

Find projects that you can do in your free time. You can even choose to work with a highly technical team so you can learn the ropes. When doing your side project, make sure to focus on what a TPM needs to focus on, and learn as much as you can.

4. Join a Community

Community feedback is invaluable. It’s absolutely fine to prepare for your TPM role and interview on your own but advice and guidance from people who have already gone through the process or are going through the process can be very helpful.

5. Look for a Mentor

Another way you can have guidance as you learn about technical product management is to look for a mentor. There are several ways for you to do this. One, you can look internally if you’re already working for a company. If not, then you can look for a TPM mentor during conferences and meetups.

If you want to learn more about how to find a Technical Product Manager Mentor, read our article: “How to Find a Product Manager Mentor.”

6. Take Advantage of Free Resources

There are a ton of free resources online that you can review. A quick search on YouTube and Google will give you a good number of results that will allow you to hone your technical skills and even gain insight into the Technical Product Management world.

There are even resources that will help you answer Technical Product Manager Interview Questions. For example, you can find posts that will give you tips on how to answer metric questions.

Take advantage of these free resources so you learn as much as you can, and you’re prepared for your TPM job interview.

PMExercises Resources

At PMExercises, we’ve put together a Product Manager Interview Course along with 2000+ Product Manager Interview Questions with sample answers from our PM community. After you sign up and become part of the community, you can contribute questions and answers in the database as well, and have other members of the community give you feedback.

With our prep course and database of questions, we also have a Practice feature where you can find other product managers who are also prepping for their interviews to practice with.

We understand how challenging it may be to prepare for a PM job interview so these resources that we consistently update will hopefully aid you in your journey to landing your dream Product Manager job.

Final Thoughts

Now that you know the difference between Technical Product Manager vs Product Manager, you can decide which role you want to apply for. 

You can either go for a more general Product Management role which requires a foundational knowledge of various tech skills, alongside other soft skills. Or, you can go with a more specific role as a Technical Product Manager where you need the soft skills of a regular PM but have the technical knowledge and expertise.

If you have a natural inclination for numbers and coding, becoming a Technical Product Manager could be the career that suits you best.