3 ms·

Hi Jason, I have a few questions. While I have been working in tech industry as backend engineer for 3 years (startups including) I don't have an undergrad de

Hi Jason, I have a few questions. While I have been working in tech industry as backend engineer for 3 years (startups including) I don't have an undergrad degree in CS/Software (I have an M.Sc in Physics). Would that disqualify a candidate like me from being admitted? What advantage would this course give over an M.B.A? What kind of recognition do you think this degree would get in the industry being that it is a new program?

jasonhong 9y ago
Not having an undergrad degree in CS would not disqualify you. We are looking primarily for people with strong tech skills, for several reasons. When we talked to companies and alums of our other programs who are now product managers, they mentioned that the vast majority of product managers came from engineering backgrounds. This is necessary for leading teams of engineers, to understand how products work, what the tradeoffs are, and where trends are going. It's also very useful for additional credibility with respect to the engineers. Our Master's of Product Management (MSPM) also requires students to take a technical elective in computer science, e.g. cloud computing, parallel computing, machine learning, networking, etc. We want our students to have technical depth too, since that will help with the above as well as making students better at charting out potential business opportunities. The main advantages of this program over an MBA are that it is 1 year (instead of 2), it offers more technical depth in CS than MBA programs, and it also brings in a strong component of user experience design. This latter part of UX is something that many of our alums commented on as being important for products and for product managers. Other advantages (though it depends on which MBA track one chooses) are courses in managing people (incentives, motivations, negotiation), high tech marketing, basics of data science, and a capstone course focused on putting those skills together. With respect to recognition, it's a tough question to answer since it is a new program. One main advantage here is the reputation of CMU's School of Computer Science and the Tepper School of Business. We also have strong industry ties and an active Career Opportunities Center to help students find good jobs.

jasonhong 9y ago

Not having an undergrad degree in CS would not disqualify you. We are looking primarily for people with strong tech skills, for several reasons. When we talked to companies and alums of our other programs who are now product managers, they mentioned that the vast majority of product managers came from engineering backgrounds. This is necessary for leading teams of engineers, to understand how products work, what the tradeoffs are, and where trends are going. It's also very useful for additional credibility with respect to the engineers. Our Master's of Product Management (MSPM) also requires students to take a technical elective in computer science, e.g. cloud computing, parallel computing, machine learning, networking, etc. We want our students to have technical depth too, since that will help with the above as well as making students better at charting out potential business opportunities. The main advantages of this program over an MBA are that it is 1 year (instead of 2), it offers more technical depth in CS than MBA programs, and it also brings in a strong component of user experience design. This latter part of UX is something that many of our alums commented on as being important for products and for product managers. Other advantages (though it depends on which MBA track one chooses) are courses in managing people (incentives, motivations, negotiation), high tech marketing, basics of data science, and a capstone course focused on putting those skills together. With respect to recognition, it's a tough question to answer since it is a new program. One main advantage here is the reputation of CMU's School of Computer Science and the Tepper School of Business. We also have strong industry ties and an active Career Opportunities Center to help students find good jobs.