I started my career as an engineer, but from the beginning, I was always curious about the 'why' and driven to build products that solve real-world problems. Im 38 and trying to make a move to product management. You are not writing code anymore so you don't really feel their pain. Do you believe they were in an environment where they are well supported and well managed? Related question: do product management skills transfer across domains? It's a rare area where a magic touch is both required and rewarded. However, if you drank the 'too-old-to-code-coolaid-sv-bs' well I'm sorry to hear that. That means you are just at the first third of your career. Product managers must also take steps to perform at a higher level. And in case you're curious about my story: Why, specifically, do you want to move into Product Management? Other significant activities are demonstrated in the graph, alongside the percentage of time PMs dedicate to it. : Youre more likely to earn the higher you go within a company or industry. Did you know the average age of a Product Manager is 39 years old? For engineers, it makes a lot of sense to become a technical PM, via being a team lead/architect, managing your devs more and coding less, and understanding more about why you are building what you are building that how what you are building it, and working with other PMs. I PM at Gigster and have seen some BE Engineers switch to being PM's on the network--some successfully and some unsuccessfully. Ask HN: Move to product management at 35? Product managers need a mix of skills. You will forever be on the tech treadmill, learning new frameworks, languages, and programming languages. Longer term, a PM level position opens lot many doors (and especially, if you have an software engineering background). In New York and Boston, they earn median salaries of $107,000 and $109,000, respectively (Source). Those lessons I've learned are what makes me a better programmer today than I was 20 years ago. I think a successful PMs strongest asset is the trust of their team and company, so outsiders arent the safest choice for a new hire, unlike roles with more demonstrable skills like engineering. In my experience too many people are just terrible at understanding their field, products, how to actually break down product problems to their basic pieces and build solutions up from there. when i hired product managers, the most critical point I looked at was building something that users love. However, an older developer who's managed her career well is valuable to most organizations. Ben Aston is an online media entrepreneur and founder of Black + White Zebra, an indie media company on a mission to help people and organizations succeed. The U.S. Midwest/Rocky Mountains pay the lowest median salaries to product managers. How does one go about understanding whether one has the right product skills, or has the ability to pick them up (apart from actually jumping in)? And you're getting paid for it, which is nice. ? From engineer to PM was a great move for me personally and I'm really glad I had the confidence to jump in the deep and great people to support me. However, Product Management is a straighter shot to general management, and becoming a GM/CEO is a path towards some of the highest total comp. As listed by. These sorts of jobs tend to exist more at larger shops / enterprises than smaller ones. In this 2018 survey, Black or African American PMs had the lowest average salary. Some product managers at Google, Slack, Uber, and Microsoft can earn average salaries of over $200,000 a year. All this context can help you make decisions about your own job hunt. The other 5% report that they would work for any company that meets their personal preferences. I'm still leaving it, as it feels like it will have value to OP. However, in the end, if you do your assignments, you end up with a LinkedIn certification to add to your profile and the confidence that you are probably capable of being a good product manager. The product manager of the project I work on is about 55 and many of the other PMs at my company are also age 40+. Unlike software development which is typically a young mans game due to the constant need to learn the latest thing (I know, sweeping generalisation), Product Management requires significant past experience of products. I'm currently going through the transition. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. However, I have some concerns such as the loss of pay (no more RSUs), the nasty commute (1 hour each way minimum as opposed to 20 minutes currently), the work life harmony going for a toss. Classes start the week of April 2nd, registration opens March 5th, and the class is limited to 45 students. Some of them have a college degree (maybe even an MBA), while others didnt attend college. If you actually have good / valuable ideas and are able to push them into fruition through whatever current product infrastructure that exists at your company then that should be a plus as well. That's interesting, I find myself in a similar position. Are you good at selling? That was my big break and I haven't looked back since. Thank you for the offer. By the way, I'll be teaching a 10-week course on product management with Stanford Continuing Studies starting next month (April 2018). In any case: age/wisdom/maturity matters, it is not a junior role. The best way to learn PM'ing is to do it. - You are _not_ an engineer anymore so avoid the following pitfall:, Don't tell engineers _how_ to do something, only _what_ to do. The table below lists five states named by Zippia as the best places to work as a product manager in 2020. Our first instructor was replaced after student complaints that he was phoning it in -- just literally reading slides to us with content seemingly summarized from common wisdom you find on hackernews about lean startups. This allows people to live anywhere they want, as opposed to settling down in the areas such as Silicon Valley where many employers are located. By now, you realize that theres no shortage of benefits of working as a product manager. A very senior (principal level) dev at the top of the compensation band will likely be higher than a first-time PM, even is the role is "Senior". A senior dev will be higher than a junior PM. Even though I'm trying to do a fair amount of it, it seems like it'll be hard to get my foot in the door anywhere without that title on my resume. Do you mind sharing your strategy to shift to the PM role? I've actually been moving in this direction for a few years. The goal is to teach you the ins and outs of product management and really prepare people for the role. I would be happy to chat with you along with providing some insights into PM interview training. Your goal is to deliver product success in order to hit a revenue target. > Also, if you want to be a PM then you'd better enjoy meetings, slides, people, and communicating & convincing all day long, day-in day-out. Glassdoor also shares salary data for specific product management roles, such as: As noted above, product manager salaries vary from employer to employer. So, while the information below is accurate at the time of publication, it could and probably will change slightly as the year wears on. , there are 15 core skills needed for optimum performance as a Product Manager, which has been ranked by the percentage of Product Manager resumes they were featured on. One of the go-to sources for salary information, Glassdoor, a U.S. job portal, analyzed 40,713 salaries and put the average base pay for a product manager at approximately $108,992. If you love understanding who the customer is, their needs, and why they behave in a certain way, you may do well in a product manager role. While PM role means different things in different companies (even between teams in bigger companies) let me tell you what you will miss the most transitioning over from Eng: I've been a software engineer and moved into product management 8 years ago. It's easier to get into with full stack experience, and some marketing experience. How to become a PM: see the need and just decide to be the PM. My bigger question for you is are you at the stage of your (personal) life where you can afford to take a chance on your career. According to McKinsey & Company, almost 80% of product managers are involved in design activities. Others have worked in the field for many years, while some transition from the outside. Other issues mentioned include demanding deadlines, lack of control when it came to actual product management, and constantly changing marketing dynamics. The roles and responsibilities of a Product Manager vary with each individual role. Similarly if you're looking for more influence/reputation all of that can be had as an engineer if you're somewhat thoughtful about your path. This lead me down an exploratory path and I got lucky with an offer from a tiny startup to join them as the first PM. It's fully online and much less expensive than a certification program. Before you go through all the trouble of getting certs. New York1412 Broadway,New York City, NY, 10018, San Francisco540 Howard St,San Francisco, CA, 94105, Tuesday Class Time*: 6:30 PM to 8:30 PMSaturday Class Time*: 9:30 AM to 3:30 PM, HOW TO CRAFT A PRODUCT MANAGER RESUME FOR 12+ INTERVIEWS A WEEK, Did you know the average age of a Product Manager is 39 years old? Although many product managers are viewed as leaders, 57 percent of respondents said that theyre still too tactical and not strategic enough.. Thank you. So you're kind of right in the range. sales running the roadmap). Wondering if any of you have advice on how to break into the UX research roles with hope of becoming a project manager or product manager further down the road. The great ones (I met two), were charismatic, flexible, technical enough to make engineers feel appreciated, and were the kinds of people who radiated enthusiasm and success. Which means you'll be employing a senior engineer for the price of a junior engineer, at least until they learn their increased value and ask for a raise/move on. According to the results, 26% of the product managers polled had 3-5 years work experience. Is ageism an issue in product management? The 10 Best Product Management Podcasts of 2021, Coaches Poll: How to be a successful product manager. I found that to be a pretty nasty tightrope walk and didn't handle it well. I compare that to your ability to crack an algo problem on a whiteboard during a technical interview for a developer. Other significant activities are demonstrated in the graph, alongside the percentage of time PMs dedicate to it. They love ideas and quickly turn them into tests. demonstrated that 39% of Product Managers taking part were between the ages of 35 44. A few did time in Big 5 consultancies. However, there are many different factors that can alter this. - You learn the difference between what truly ads value and what is vanity. For reference, since we're talking about age, I'm 37. This matters way more than your current age. For joining a new company though, it doesnt come close to comparing to what HackReactor does for a developer applicant. Read on for the PM statistics you need to know. This was followed by 24% with 6-10 years work experience. As far as educational content, I think the only value I got was talking to current PMs about how the realities of their jobs differ from what you read in books like cracking the pm interview. You will most likely get rejected during the hiring process because of a lack of strategic thinking. However I applied for an internal PM position and was passed over for a younger guy with less technical and managerial qualifications but better people skills overall. You mention that you have no experience in it. It's a role where you become the communication line between the dev team and the client/users/QA/other depts. I've seen engineering careers plateau after a certain point - plateau at either architect level positions or worse, as a senior software engineer. etc. So, there you have it. Dont get carried away, most startups never rise to that level, even fairly big ones. If you're not great at the above, please don't try and shoehorn yourself into product management. Here, Asian Product Managers tend to earn higher than their counterparts on average. - You prepare yourself to think like an entrepreneur which gives you the confidence to start your own thing. This ++. In 2019, 33% had 0 4 years of experience: the highest percentage in the graph. At a startup / workplaces with that vibe where you don't actually have product influence what you want to do is track how the product progresses in relation to your thoughts on what you would do if you were able to influence the product. All the other skills are workable, maybe communication skills don't necessarily come naturally for a developer. In addition to education, there are certain skill sets that are useful when it comes to being a Product Manager. Women hold only. As in, appearing before Congress to convince them why what's good for your company is good for America. Technologies change with the wind, and a new grad has just as much experience on the latest JS Foo Framework 0.1 (released yesterday!) you can get better, but it's almost impossible to be as good as a natural if you don't like those things. When I made the move the company had about 150 employees. Next, 26% of Product Managers have 5 9 years of experience, while 16% have 10 14. This is all great info. However, there always seems to be a debate within the community about whether a Bachelors degree is enough for advancing through a PM career. Thats a lot of information to digest, but it should help you better understand the product management field as a whole. Of those employed, approximately 62.5 percent are men and 33.3 percent are women. At the same time, competition among candidates is more fierce than ever before. I thought about getting an MBA or PhD at that age and thought I was too old. 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As an old developer you dont need to constantly learn new things? On top of that, there is general knowledge of algorithms and a thousand other things that are sufficiently generalized that they can be applied at any time. According to Product Plans The 2021 State of Product Management Annual Report, compiled data from LinkedIn shows that the demand for Product Managers in the US has doubled across the past five years. I've known three engineers in their 30s who transitioned into PM roles. If you love coding/technology or don't have good presenting/selling skills then stick to engineering my $0.2. - You cooperate with other companies which expands your network into all sorts of verticals. Certication matters more than in your previous role. Interestingly. These PMs are typically "customer-focused", so targeting the buyers of the product (who might not be the actual end-user, but for example a CIO, depending on your market). They kept others talking while they moved pieces and pulled strings. Your email address will not be published. : The demand for Product Managers across different industries varies. And everyone is looking for competent business problem solvers. You can ultimately work towards closing age gaps and diversifying who gets a seat at the table. However, at the end of the day where the rubber meets the road you can't ignore frameworks/libraries/languages. If youre looking at a career in product management, youre in a good place. If you know it's a sweeping generalization, perhaps don't make it? It different from an architects role who is fed the information about the domain, the technical PM needs to synthesise this for the tech team to build, but there is a lot of overlap. As the importance of product manager roles continues to increase in many fields, statistics like those above are likely to become more apparent. Here are the top 3 aspects that affect salary: For the average Product Manager role, a Bachelors in Business, Communications, or another transferrable major, tends to be enough to kickstart a career in product management. In terms of compensation, both are excellent. Not every company needs product managers, but many of them rely heavily on these professionals for a variety of key responsibilities. These PMs are typically "user-focused", in that they try to improve the product for the end user. However, according to McKinsey & Company, 80% of Product Managers are involved in designing activities. Women hold only 35% of Product Manager jobs. The LEAN Startup is worth reading, as is Designing Products People Love by Scott Hurff, and The LEAN Product Playbook. Im 37 and have recently started a role as head of product. Thanks that gives me a bit more confidence, since I don't have as much experience with personnel management outside of a few interns (who have been all wildly successful in their internships). I've worked for medium sized private companies as well as large public ones. A Wall Street Journal article reported that 7% of Harvard Business School graduates took jobs in product management. game at startups, but that's because startups don't pay as well and have narrow technical needs. Yet, you have little power to push back. From a backend dev perspective, you should have some perspectives in looking at an overall system and fully understanding what will be required. Except for your side projects. The proportion of product managers who prefer to work for bigger companies with more resources and better compensation is 45%. I took on a program management role for a team of product managers to learn the ropes while still in a safe-to-fail environment. PM'ing a software framework is very different from PM'ing a social network, which should be obvious. There are more than 41,000 product managers employed in the United States. Have you got some more questions or want to talk in more detail about your product management career? Ive had to hold myself back from getting stuck in to finding answers so that I allow the team autonomy and also dont accidentally short circuit the process. Essential PM Skills: Empathy & Why Feelings Matter, Essential PM Skills: What Matters and Why. I venture to suggest that the fact that after 20 years you use the word coding to refer to the totality of what a human can create with digital technology and computer code reveals that you sadly have glimpsed but a tiny fraction of the wondrous intellectual vistas that were out there for you. Customers also generally tend to have more information, making them more demanding. Try to pick up product management related tasks from a PM you work with or ask your manager for help in getting some of that experience. If you have a completely different perspective, please let me know. To be fair, i've only been coding professionally for 3 years (nonprofessionally for ~20), but in my current role I rescued two products, have done technical demos and customer engagement. Its an ongoing challenge that will never be solved completely, but the most successful companies can minimize the impact. The end of the course provided some brief interview tips. There you have it! Enterprises do waterfall. That will help. Their interests shift as well. If you're a good manager, they will follow you for the rest of your career to where ever you go. Certifications generally don't mean anything -- communication and leadership skills, good judgment, experience and a proven track record are what matter. It's one of those things that you just have some magical touch with (which approximately no one has so don't be foolish and believe that you're the one), or something you gain over time through trial and error. On one side of the spectrum you have PMs who are very close to the development teams, and you might still be contributing code regularly.