Product management salary Germany
Product managing director – a well-paid job

Brick wall as a metaphor for product management salary in Germany

How big are the salary differences of product managers from different industries? © Jarrod Reed / unsplash.com

There's no doubt: Product managing directors are in demand. For graduates, this is an advantage, as opportunities for entry and career opportunities in the field are good – as is the salary.

Updated: 2017-06-01

By: Andrea Martini

Product managing directors are required wherever products are manufactured or sold. This not only applies to the consumer sector, but also research, for example the pharmaceutical industry, chemical and technical sectors. A demanding job with good potential development – professionally and financially. 

University graduates often begin their careers as assistant product managing directors. The usual starting salary for this position is between €38,000 and €45,000 gross per year. The next level on the career ladder is junior managing director: Junior product managing directors receive a salary of €50,000 to €60,000 annually.

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According to the online portal , which has evaluated 2,556 datasets, the average monthly salary of a product managing director is €4,557 gross, with a range from €2,834 to €7,551. Here, income is largely determined by the sales potential of the responsible product area. Essentially, however, the starting salary in product management is not poor – and the earnings increase with growing professional experience.

Salary of a product managing director depending on age

Age Average monthly income

25 years

€3,418

30 years

€3,986

35 years

€4,799

40 years

€5,366

45 years

€5,935

50 years

€6,319

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Increasing professional experience often goes hand in hand with climbing the career ladder. Those striving to reach higher levels who take over responsibility for sales and the budget as a product manager can expect to earn more than €70,000 a year, according to the web portal . Specialists with international experience and personnel responsibility in large companies in the branded goods industry sometimes earn an annual gross salary of €140,000. Depending on the sector, company location and size, it may be possible to earn an additional €10,000 if the product manager works directly under the board of management as head of marketing.

Product managers in the pharmaceutical industry earn the most. In this area, the average earnings for a marketing specialist with personnel responsibility is more than €130,000 per year, according to . The consumer goods industry, automobiles, electrical engineering and banks also offer high salaries. A  in turn earns, according to the online portal an annual salary of between €48,433 and €76,774, in an average of between €45,000 to €75,677 and in the between €45,560 and €73,156.

Whatever the industry, company size generally has an influence on salary. A product managing director without personnel responsibility in a company with up to 500 employees receives €3,743 per month. In a company that employs up to 1,000 people, they will earn €4,492 on average, while in a corporate group with over 1,000 employees, they earn €5,508. Those who intend to work as a project managing director in the field of science will usually be paid according to the (TVoeD). The salary levels E12 and E13 are common.

The average salaries in Germany range between €3,592 in Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania to €5,461 in Hesse. If you are flexible about where you live and are willing to move for a higher salary, you should head south – or to Hamburg. In the Hanseatic city, the gross monthly income is €5,010, which is only slightly lower than in Baden-Wuerttemberg (€5,211) and Bavaria (€5,054). In the east of the country, on the other hand, product managers receive a significantly lower salary (of between €3,592 and €3,794).

Federal state Average monthly income

Baden-Wurttemberg

€5,211

Bavaria

€5,054

Berlin

€4,485

Brandenburg

€3,694

Bremen

€4,593

Hamburg

€5,010

Hesse

€5,461

Mecklenburg-Western Pomerania

€3,592

Lower Saxony

€4,377

North Rhine-Westphalia

€4,753

Rhineland-Palatinate

€4,701

Saarland

€4,460

Saxony

€3,734

Saxony-Anhalt

€3,655

Schleswig-Holstein

€4,221

Thuringia

€3,794

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