Today we’re pulling from a set of over 2 million data points on Software Product Managers in China!
Our data today comes from two of the largest Chinese Job Boards. That’s BOSS Zhipin (BOSS直聘) and Zhilian Zhaopin (智联招聘).
These large platforms seem to have the most relevant and abundant data points regarding the modern Chinese job markets. We’ll be sure to include the number of data points we have for each statistic we pull out. We’ll also be updating this annually to keep up with the newest salary data out there – this data was last checked (by a real human) in June 2024.
So let’s dive into some neat data on Software Product Managers in China. First, we’ll look at a standard Job Description, then on to average salary data coverage.
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Common Items on an Software Product Manager Job Description
Amongst the data, a Software Product Manager JD most often has these responsibilities listed in China. These are based on commonalities of the actual job listings from the sources and are translated from Chinese, but not auto-generated.
Job Overview:
Product managers are full-time managers who are responsible for and ensure that high-quality software products are completed and released on time.
Top Job Responsibilities:
1. Have a deep understanding of user needs, conduct in-depth data analysis, study and learn from the experience of advanced domestic and foreign websites, formulate continuous optimization plans for user experience, and create page prototypes.
2. Lead team members such as product managers and designers, coordinate technical resources and set priorities, ensure that important projects are launched on time, and be responsible for work quality and business results.
3. Conduct comparative tests on multiple product solutions and conduct data analysis to determine the best improvement plan.
4. Monitor traffic, conversion rate, and user feedback after launching the product, and make continuous improvements.
Average Salary Data on Software Product Managers in China
Software Product Managers
Nationwide in China, June 2024
Average Salary: ¥24,873 RMB ($3,428 USD) per month
Median Salary: ¥23,656 RMB ($3,260 USD) per month
Job Data Points: 2,089,866
In a sample size of 2,089,866 jobs, the average salary for a Software Product Manager in China was ¥24,873 RMB ($3,428 USD) per month. The median salary from this set was ¥23,656 RMB ($3,260 USD) per month.
This is a nationwide data set and it’s important to note that different cities in China command different levels of compensation. For more on that, check out our breakdown of the Top 10 Highest-Paying Cities in China.
We also like to point out that salary data from local job sites is mostly for Chinese-speaking positions. developer salaries in China with English or other foreign language requirements are often firmly higher than the average.
Software Product Manager at Top Tech Firms
We can get a better idea of the highest-compensated Product Managers by looking at a couple of China’s tech leaders, Alibaba and Tencent.
Average Salary for Software Product Managers at Alibaba
The average monthly salary for Software Product Managers at Alibaba is ¥40,266 RMB ($5,549 USD) per month. Median: ¥41,762 RMB ($5,755 USD). Data set: 3,257 roles.
Now there are a lot of factors at play here when trying to compare to salaries nationwide. Alibaba has a lot of very sophisticated software products revolving around things like AI, automation, and logistics. More complicated products command higher remuneration.
Still, Alibaba’s average salary here is nearly 62% higher than the national average.
Related:
Average Salary for Software Product Managers at Tencent
The average monthly salary for Software Product Managers at Tencent is ¥37,866 RMB ($5,218 USD) per month. Median: ¥41,371 RMB ($5,701 USD). Data set: 1,820 roles.
To be sure, Tencent has the same premium on their Product Manager salary. The average salary here is over 50% higher than the national average.
Related:
More Salary Data on Software Product Managers in China
Average Salary by Location for Software Product Managers in China
Here we have a further breakdown of the data to filter the average salary by location.
A who’s-who of China’s main business-hub mega-cities fill out the list here: Hongkong, Shanghai, Beijing, Hangzhou, Shenzhen, Macao, and Guanzhou are all familiar hubs.
As for these other ones, I would have to believe they benefit from a very small sample size: The Hinggan League, Dongsha Islands, and Yanbian Korean Autonomous Prefecture are all on the far corners of the Middle Kingdom. Now we know!
Related:
Demand by City for Software Product Managers in China
This chart takes BOSS Zhipin’s recent amount of Software Product Manager jobs posted by city in China. It’s no surprise to see most of China’s large tech hubs – Beijing, Shenzhen, Shanghai, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Chengdu, etc – at the top. Top graduates originate from the massive University ecosystems here. The competition for great talent is also centered around these megacities.
What is interesting is just how much Beijing and the other few ‘top-tier’ tech cities really dominate the jobs landscape in this industry.
Related:
Educational Requirements for Software Product Managers in China
Here we’ve got a distribution of the education requirements for positions across China.
77.9% of positions required an undergraduate degree or above. Another 14.4% required a two-year technical degree or above, and 2.0% of positions in the data set required a master’s degree.
Related:
Experience Requirements for Software Product Managers in China
And here we have a breakdown of the experience required for Software Product Manager positions.
43.9% of jobs listed have 3-5 years of experience required. Another 25.9% and 16.5% of positions required 5-10 and 1-3 years of experience, respectively.
It is also important to note that these requirements are the ones advertised by companies on BOSS Zhipin’s platforms. We don’t have the data to extract exactly how closely hiring managers stick to these requirements when assessing candidates. Simply put – jobs listing a 3-5 years of experience requirement may, in reality, consider candidates with less experience.
References
The two main sources of data for this series on individual job salaries in China are local HR companies BOSS Zhipin and Zhilian Zhaopin. They are both among China’s biggest job portals and have some of the largest amounts of local, first-hand, public data points. It’s important to note that the data most often reflects recruited salaries, or the publicly listed salary information that companies advertise on their platforms.
Data sets used in this article can be found here. More coverage and further sources can be found in the Salary Guides section of our Resources area.
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