Advice on moving into product management

[Anonymous]

I’m looking to pivot careers and get into product management or product owner roles. If you’ve done that or you work as a PM currently, I’d appreciate advice on recommendations for how to get started— eg certifications/coursework you’d recommend or not, info resources, etc.

[Anonymous]

It’s a tough career path at the moment. Lots of layoffs in PM/PO

[Anonymous]

What does one do in such a role?

[Anonymous]

Do you really mean product management? Or do you mean PROJECT Management?
The former is a brand manager role that, depending on the company, manages a P&L on a product line. The sticky notes in 3M for example. How will we continue to compete, what is market share, how can we possibly sell more? You need to start at the bottom for this career path. Marketing Analyst type of role.
Project Management is a glorified, but very necessary, admin to large scale projects inside companies that keeps everyone and their deliverables on track.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Do you really mean product management? Or do you mean PROJECT Management?
The former is a brand manager role that, depending on the company, manages a P&L on a product line. The sticky notes in 3M for example. How will we continue to compete, what is market share, how can we possibly sell more? You need to start at the bottom for this career path. Marketing Analyst type of role.
Project Management is a glorified, but very necessary, admin to large scale projects inside companies that keeps everyone and their deliverables on track.

Product manager is not just the exec/owner. It is a project management role over new features or products being developed within a vertical. Like rolling out a new sku, what should the price, terms, etc be

[Anonymous]

OP what line of work are you in? Would it be a big change? I’d look at listings near you, see what types of companies need PMs and seek training in a relevant area of expertise to that industry.

[Anonymous]

OP here. Yes I mean product not project.
My background feels different in some ways (research role for a govt contractor) but also similar in that it involved leading tasks/managing (small) teams, client services, writing & communication, consumer research (outdated techniques now though!). It’s daunting because I’m older (late 30s) or at least feel older for a career switch. I’d like to get closer to actually being a part of creating solutions rather than just abstract research so that’s why I want to explore a role on a product team, and I thought Product Manager or Product Owner could be a fit. Just daunting to try and make sense of a totally new area since I’ve never really had ownership over a real product before. I’m hoping there’s a way to break in without spending $$$ on expensive certification. I know there are lots of layoffs right now so we’ll see.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Yes I mean product not project.
My background feels different in some ways (research role for a govt contractor) but also similar in that it involved leading tasks/managing (small) teams, client services, writing & communication, consumer research (outdated techniques now though!). It’s daunting because I’m older (late 30s) or at least feel older for a career switch. I’d like to get closer to actually being a part of creating solutions rather than just abstract research so that’s why I want to explore a role on a product team, and I thought Product Manager or Product Owner could be a fit. Just daunting to try and make sense of a totally new area since I’ve never really had ownership over a real product before. I’m hoping there’s a way to break in without spending $$$ on expensive certification. I know there are lots of layoffs right now so we’ll see.

You have some skills that transfer, which is great! It’s definitely a field you could be good at. What you’re missing is experience being on a scrum/dev team and/or doing the licensing and finance side of things. Can you get any of that experience from your current job (like asking to shadow as extra credit?) another idea is you could look for jobs in licensing - companies always have to train new hires on their licensing structure so they wouldn’t be daunted by your lack of experience there. You might like it or might parlay it into product management. So that’s another idea, think of it as a two step process.

[Anonymous]

You should just try to leverage your skills into higher pay and senior leadership. I think people believe that they need to fit into a specific role to like their careers more and get better comp but you just need to look for a job that uses your skills in a different capacity at higher pay. I work on a product team and your background is similar to our project manager but not our product managers. Product managers need to have deep knowledge about their industry because they are literally designing products for it. It’s actually a very specific role that reflects industry experience not product management experience. You could probably also work on a fundraising or development team based on your skills.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP here. Yes I mean product not project.
My background feels different in some ways (research role for a govt contractor) but also similar in that it involved leading tasks/managing (small) teams, client services, writing & communication, consumer research (outdated techniques now though!). It’s daunting because I’m older (late 30s) or at least feel older for a career switch. I’d like to get closer to actually being a part of creating solutions rather than just abstract research so that’s why I want to explore a role on a product team, and I thought Product Manager or Product Owner could be a fit. Just daunting to try and make sense of a totally new area since I’ve never really had ownership over a real product before. I’m hoping there’s a way to break in without spending $$$ on expensive certification. I know there are lots of layoffs right now so we’ll see.

You have some skills that transfer, which is great! It’s definitely a field you could be good at. What you’re missing is experience being on a scrum/dev team and/or doing the licensing and finance side of things. Can you get any of that experience from your current job (like asking to shadow as extra credit?) another idea is you could look for jobs in licensing - companies always have to train new hires on their licensing structure so they wouldn’t be daunted by your lack of experience there. You might like it or might parlay it into product management. So that’s another idea, think of it as a two step process.

This is helpful thanks!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:You should just try to leverage your skills into higher pay and senior leadership. I think people believe that they need to fit into a specific role to like their careers more and get better comp but you just need to look for a job that uses your skills in a different capacity at higher pay. I work on a product team and your background is similar to our project manager but not our product managers. Product managers need to have deep knowledge about their industry because they are literally designing products for it. It’s actually a very specific role that reflects industry experience not product management experience. You could probably also work on a fundraising or development team based on your skills.

Op here. I actually had an informational call with a product manager this evening and one of the main points he noted is that product managers don’t have to have industry specific experience, and most don’t. He said that’s important for the technical members of the team. The product managers are different from the designers, so your info seems off.
I’m looking to switch careers or at least explore the option, because I’m no longer interested in what I’m doing.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should just try to leverage your skills into higher pay and senior leadership. I think people believe that they need to fit into a specific role to like their careers more and get better comp but you just need to look for a job that uses your skills in a different capacity at higher pay. I work on a product team and your background is similar to our project manager but not our product managers. Product managers need to have deep knowledge about their industry because they are literally designing products for it. It’s actually a very specific role that reflects industry experience not product management experience. You could probably also work on a fundraising or development team based on your skills.

Op here. I actually had an informational call with a product manager this evening and one of the main points he noted is that product managers don’t have to have industry specific experience, and most don’t. He said that’s important for the technical members of the team. The product managers are different from the designers, so your info seems off.
I’m looking to switch careers or at least explore the option, because I’m no longer interested in what I’m doing.

So you don’t need to make much money, because you will be starting much lower with that project management background despite what your informational interview says — did he share their route to their role and how long it too?

Nearing 40 this seems somewhat flighty because you are lacking “interest” — most people find their jobs kind of uninspiring that’s why they pay us to do it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should just try to leverage your skills into higher pay and senior leadership. I think people believe that they need to fit into a specific role to like their careers more and get better comp but you just need to look for a job that uses your skills in a different capacity at higher pay. I work on a product team and your background is similar to our project manager but not our product managers. Product managers need to have deep knowledge about their industry because they are literally designing products for it. It’s actually a very specific role that reflects industry experience not product management experience. You could probably also work on a fundraising or development team based on your skills.

Op here. I actually had an informational call with a product manager this evening and one of the main points he noted is that product managers don’t have to have industry specific experience, and most don’t. He said that’s important for the technical members of the team. The product managers are different from the designers, so your info seems off.
I’m looking to switch careers or at least explore the option, because I’m no longer interested in what I’m doing.

It sounds like you are talking about product manager for IT solutions - applications, etc. vs. the other PP who is talking about product manager of actual consumer goods.

You could get a cert for product owner and just start applying for the positions. It's not a big leap and I am sure you will get hired.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should just try to leverage your skills into higher pay and senior leadership. I think people believe that they need to fit into a specific role to like their careers more and get better comp but you just need to look for a job that uses your skills in a different capacity at higher pay. I work on a product team and your background is similar to our project manager but not our product managers. Product managers need to have deep knowledge about their industry because they are literally designing products for it. It’s actually a very specific role that reflects industry experience not product management experience. You could probably also work on a fundraising or development team based on your skills.

Op here. I actually had an informational call with a product manager this evening and one of the main points he noted is that product managers don’t have to have industry specific experience, and most don’t. He said that’s important for the technical members of the team. The product managers are different from the designers, so your info seems off.
I’m looking to switch careers or at least explore the option, because I’m no longer interested in what I’m doing.

It sounds like you are talking about product manager for IT solutions - applications, etc. vs. the other PP who is talking about product manager of actual consumer goods.

You could get a cert for product owner and just start applying for the positions. It's not a big leap and I am sure you will get hired.

OP here. Thanks for this helpful clarification. You are correct and that explains the disconnect. This is helpful!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:You should just try to leverage your skills into higher pay and senior leadership. I think people believe that they need to fit into a specific role to like their careers more and get better comp but you just need to look for a job that uses your skills in a different capacity at higher pay. I work on a product team and your background is similar to our project manager but not our product managers. Product managers need to have deep knowledge about their industry because they are literally designing products for it. It’s actually a very specific role that reflects industry experience not product management experience. You could probably also work on a fundraising or development team based on your skills.

Op here. I actually had an informational call with a product manager this evening and one of the main points he noted is that product managers don’t have to have industry specific experience, and most don’t. He said that’s important for the technical members of the team. The product managers are different from the designers, so your info seems off.
I’m looking to switch careers or at least explore the option, because I’m no longer interested in what I’m doing.

So you don’t need to make much money, because you will be starting much lower with that project management background despite what your informational interview says — did he share their route to their role and how long it too?

Nearing 40 this seems somewhat flighty because you are lacking “interest” — most people find their jobs kind of uninspiring that’s why they pay us to do it.

Yours appears to be an example of a fixed mindset, rather than a growth mindset. Seems like OP wants to learn, explore, and possibly pivot. OP has 20+ years until traditional retirement so why would s/he want to just try to stick that out rather than find a good fit? If another fit isn’t there, OP can just come back to the original track. Hopefully people nowadays understand and appreciate this rather than just make assumptions about people being flighty. OP has already invested decades (possibly) in the previous job/area. Hardly flighty!