The Cult of Education: Special Effects Replace Function, Diploma to Make Grandma Happy, Theorist Teachers, and Abstract Homework

Today, I want to discuss “education”, “growth”, “development”, “leveling up”, and similar things that every product manager is currently preoccupied with.

When I review a resume, I often see the “education” section crammed with listings of 3 to 20 different courses. This reminds me of a wardrobe full of seldom-worn clothes. Similarly, the courses listed rarely correlate with the person’s actual skills. A lengthy list might even raise red flags: why do you need so many courses? Are you doing anything other than taking courses? And why are they from such diverse fields?

Education is a major trend now. Just look at the revenue rankings of edtech projects. Every day new programs appear, promising to “change a person’s life” and “provide new opportunities” — all payable in installs and accessible via recorded videos.

Here's a short summary of my backstory, in a bit of a “Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas” style. I graduated high school with the highest honors — but who cares about that, right? I earned my bachelor's degree in International Relations from Saint Petersburg State University, then my master's degree in International Business from the Graduate School of Management at the same university, and a double degree from CEMS. I also spent a semester at the Rotterdam School of Management and took one external course at Moscow Coding. I completed a product management intensive for 500+ participants, where I was already in the role of a teacher, and also taught Basics of Product Management to students at the Graduate School of Management. And of course, I’ve conducted hundreds of product manager interviews for my clients at TYPICAL.

I've encountered numerous programs, approaches, and failures. Today, I’ll explain why managers continually educate themselves but still struggle during interviews and fail to get promotions. I'll outline the reasons in 8 concise points to make it easy for the curious reader.

So, let’s look at the strategies that only give an impression of learning, yet do not provide actual education.

#1 Taking specialized courses like "Working with Figma" or "Analytics" instead of fundamental programs

For example, I can play a simple song on the piano, but that hardly qualifies me as a pianist, let alone a piano teacher. Martin Scorsese emphasizes in his MasterClass that to create modern cinema, one must first study the classics. Johannes Itten insists that even a genius must master the basics, such as the rules of color theory. Similarly, taking courses on Figma for product design is pointless if you lack a general understanding of the field itself. Specialization is only beneficial after you’ve grasped the fundamentals. Think of how algebra is taught in school: you start with the basic addition and subtraction before tackling complex equations with multiple variables.

Therefore, courses on "product growth," "fifth-step conversion analytics," or "jobs to be done" will lead to more confusion than clarity, if you haven't mastered the fundamentals of being a product manager and the essential skills required. Haphazardly applying these specialized pieces of knowledge will only expose your lack of deep understanding to any experienced professional.

#2 Learning in a single format, choosing programs that offer only lectures and exercises, instead of comprehensive programs with diverse types of assignments

Everyone knows what “360 feedback" or "360 marketing campaign" means, yet they seem to falter when it comes to education. Most courses stick to well-trodden formats like lectures and basic exercises, and that’s usually where they end. As a result, you are left in a purely hypothetical scenario: nobody has trained you to deal with clients, interact with engineers, collaborate with a team, or seek best practices.

Typical business schools understand this principle very well — at places like HBS or LBS, you'll encounter a comprehensive range of formats. For instance, in my Information Strategy class at Rotterdam School of Management, I had lectures, a group research project, five intermediate tests, a major written assignment, three homeworks, and an exam. Holistic education is an approach that not only develops academic knowledge but also emotional intelligence and social interaction skills. Such programs fully immerse you in the discipline, rather than just letting you dip your toes in the water.

#3 Learning from theorists or from those who "simply work in a corporation from 10 to 7"

People who focus exclusively on teaching are theorists. They are not aware of the key competencies that employers value or which skills might command a higher salary. Furthermore, they often lack the ability to distill essential insights that could help you rapidly progress in your career, failing to provide the vital 80/20. Theorists tend to teach broad theories in analytics or economics and dwell excessively on interview techniques. However, if they haven't gained hands-on experience, they struggle to apply these theoretical concepts to real-world scenarios, where you might feel nervous and under pressure from the interviewer’s short responses.

As for corporate employees, who often lead courses branded with statements like "taught by professionals from You Name It", the name of a corporation doesn't necessarily guarantee the quality of the knowledge shared. These people often aren't the ones making impactful decisions and only discuss the intricacies specific to their company. Consider this: a comprehensive perspective and extensive experience are required to develop a critical mindset and cultivate personal opinions; how can employees, who only work within the corporate sphere, acquire such expertise?

#4 Letting your studies drift, not organizing yourself, and not planning your time and workload

Video courses, remote access, and a lack of deadlines have spawned an era of "tomorrow's learning." University education, among other things, tries to teach you how to organize yourself. You have reasonable deadlines, and you need to plan your workload and schedule. The current format of "video learning" doesn't allow students to master time management - you could buy a course and drag it out over a couple of years, but by then, you’ve forgotten the beginning of the course, and the information from the videos has become outdated. It's best to choose programs that incorporate dynamics and deadlines. Also, you should realistically assess your capabilities - calculate the workload, and create a schedule for classes and homework. This approach will help you maximize the benefits per unit of time and avoid wasting money.

#5 Doing abstract homework about fake situations and fictional characters instead of practicing on your own product

Okay, abstract scenarios are still appropriate for a test task. For ethical reasons, it’s not customary to give test tasks related to a product that candidates are interviewing for. But in education, especially in supplementary education outside of university, why deal with fakes and fictional characters? After all, the knowledge you've paid for is meant to help you perform better or grow, and you should be able to start applying it right away, without an extra layer of abstract tasks. I can spend all day looking at someone else’s P&Ls, but reality doesn't match the books - my expense structure and business model are different, and my industry regulations are unique. Product managers talk about fast iterations and getting code into production quickly, yet, for some reason, when it comes to education and practical assignments, different principles apply - principles of extremely lengthy preparation.

#6 Pursuing a degree just to make your grandma happy

The timeless meme about needing a diploma for your parents also applies in further education. In this case, employers take on the role of parents or grandma. There’s a belief that listing 56,000 courses on your resume is an incredible indicator of your experience and talent. But reality works differently - an intelligent person will check these courses for their level of difficulty and consistency. If you're simultaneously spending your time and energy on courses in performance marketing, interactive design, and data science, no one will perceive you as a "well-rounded individual"; they’ll think you don’t know what you want and don’t understand how to develop.

#7 Sincerely believing that the course will do everything for you

“Well, I did show up and find the strength within myself, after all.” Indeed, some courses seem to deliver stable results - I judge this by the certificates I see on Facebook. Everyone scored 90% or conducted 60 interviews. I have questions about why it all works so well, since it doesn’t align with the standard rules of conversion and such. More often than not, people tend to be lazy - especially if the education is paid for in installments or if the course was purchased at a discount. Education grants and discounts are a rarity at business schools; to get this privilege, one must either work really hard or come from truly impoverished countries or backgrounds. With their strict selection system, these schools ensure the quality of their graduates. In most cases, overall performance in the courses is subpar, so it's better to choose a program that can "help" you - with someone to motivate you, and other real people, who will create a pleasant environment, inspire communication and desire to do something together. And, of course, you need to understand that until you start working and striving hard, all you get from your studies is a mere piece of paper.

#8 Choosing form over function, buying toys because they're trendy, videos because they have beautiful production, courses from websites with persuasive words like London/New York/Sydney

Everyone knows that adding "AI" caption to a website increases a business's market value. Similarly, we, like high-level business analysts of a mid-quality venture fund, are attracted to gimmicks. Here’s a simple piece of advice - be like Bauhaus students and try to base your choices on functionality while still paying attention to the form.

One last thing, without a dedicated point, - try to find courses that have some selection procedures and principles - this will significantly affect the quality of the students. In a group of smart and motivated people, miracles happen: you enjoy working there, you can learn from others, find friends, and establish professional connections. Exclusive clubs and communities that you can’t just walk into - these are real tools, unlike open-access programs where you can end up in a group with anyone.