How does the pay compare to SWE? And how respected is their craft at bigger companies?
This question was asked on Quora recently and received a good number of responses.
Product Managers are paid about the same as engineers. I don't think this is true for Program Managers.
TPMs do get paid as much as engineering leaders.
Business side vs technology side. One is more focused on the technology and infrastructure needed to support, while the other is more focused on the workflow from an operations perspective. This will vary from company to company, but the lines tend to blur a little. Just like in any profession, some are highly effective, while others not so much. When projects are chaotic and shitty, it often stems from the lack of leadership in these positions. So they are very valuable when they are good.