4 ms·
How do you become one? I always assumed Product Managers should be former engineers, but looks like business folks have taken over it. I am not a good engineer
by sepehrhm 8y ago
How do you become one? I always assumed Product Managers should be former engineers, but looks like business folks have taken over it. I am not a good engineer but I really excel at production. In fact, what keeps me employed is the fact that I can see an idea through almost every time.
But whenever I look at PM jobs, I have exactly zero qualifications for them.
Not to mention the interview process is much, much easier and in fact most of the jobs you apply to does not need a "LeetCode grind" but confidence in your prior experience.
- pm_throwaway 8y agoStartups can be a good opportunity to jump into the deep end of product management. Startups tend to appreciate engineering backgrounds more than business backgrounds in my experience. On the other hand, startups have a much higher risk of failure in general. Inside bigger companies, the key is to demonstrate progressively more ownership and leadership over time. If your boss mentions an idea or critical need, put together a proposal for how you would accomplish it. Take ownership of difficult projects and knock them out of the park. Get good at concise reporting and presentation skills, because communication is 50% of the job.
- shadowtree 8y agoDepends on the type of software, but for anything enterprise you should start in consulting/implementation. Best bet is the service orgs within product companies. Learn the industry, learn the customers, learn the product. Get vocal about enhancement, inch closer to the PM team. Get hired, done. Worked for me and a large chunk of the PM team I hired since then.