Is Becoming A PM Right For Me?

I spent 8 months as a Product Manager (PM). I enjoyed the team, they were splendid. And I learned so much, but decided I wanted to be back in engineering.

For those of you who may be contemplating the career path, here's what I discovered.

What is a PM

A Product Manager coordinates efforts with design and engineering teams to build or upgrade products that are then 'sold' to clients to meet business profitability and growth goals.

Why does the role matter

A central person is needed to oversee everyone's timelines, needs, and guide all the effort towards one final outcome.

What are the skills required

• great communication
• negotiation
• data analysis
• user empathy
• conviction driven by data
• articulate a vision
• business acumen
• very detail oriented
• time management
• determine JTBD (job to be done)
• iterative testing
• design mock reviews
• conduct engineering design audits
• follow trending tech
• deliver on promises
• write product briefs (PRD/BRD)
• give frequent status updates
• determine scope
• evaluate risk
• DO LESS (with more)
• keep everyone informed
• get good at metrics - determining them, tracking them, interpreting them, and analyzing them
• don't take feedback personally (don't consider a product your baby)
• break big things (projects) down into small steps

Being a PM takes a lot of hard work! But it can also be thrilling. The biggest challenges I observed were 1. determining the right KPIs and 2. building with the right balance (which may not be a balance) of what users and key stakeholders want.

If you are interested in making the jump, here's a LinkedIn course for you.

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