I work in big tech and made this transition. At first it was hard because I have very deep "I" shaped knowledge. I could make significant improvements to the pr

I work in big tech and made this transition. At first it was hard because I have very deep "I" shaped knowledge. I could make significant improvements to the product based on that expertise, but it doesn't last long for the demands of the job. I had to instead re-learn becoming more of a generalist with "T" shaped knowledge. Soft skills, communication, strategy, etc are all things you have to start becoming aware of. I have seen many senior/staff/principal level people try making the switch and sadly it doesn't translate well because of this. Product work is significantly different than engineering work. Some PM 1-2 are actually more effective than late in career transitions that I've seen over my career. If you think of work in three categories: Experts, Operators, Politicians. You are going to have to play each of these roles as a PM. Previously you could get away with doing just one as a SWE. Although I love technical writing, the demands of the job do not allow one to do as much IC work like writing docs. The biggest surprise that will humble you is that nobody knows what they are doing including leadership teams on all levels. PMs have to lead with no role power and that is a challenge in itself if you don't have manager allies to do what's right for the product.