My Journey to AI Product Manager
Annette H.
Senior Project Manager | Digital Transformation Leader | Expert in Generative AI, Agile Methodologies, and Cross-functional Team Leadership | Creator of Order Out of Chaos | Mentor | People First
During the past 18 months, while doing all the work in my JSC (job search council), I realized I had to pivot again. This seems to happen every time there is a tech-session (tech recession, this is my third), and after I got over the initial “I don’t want to do this, AGAIN!” I dug in. It started with a former manager who said I needed to get into product management. At my level, my current career track was not serving me. It was a kick that I did not like but certainly needed.
As I looked into what it takes to be a product manager, my first response was Whoa, that’s… a completely different way of speaking and problem-solving. Product management has its own vocabulary, and those “PMs” DO NOT like being confused for project managers (my current PM title).
As I was trying to figure out how to begin the pivot and create a personal roadmap, I tried getting into the UW Foster IPMA program last fall but didn’t make the cut; then, I took some courses through Suffolk CCPE.
I really enjoyed my Design Thinking course, learning how to conduct user interviews and surveys, design a product, create a pitch deck, etc., but after it finished, I was back to the drawing board and trying to learn what I could on my own—without a product to work on!
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As you may have noticed, there is a veritable flood of information around generative AI. At first, I needed to figure out where to dive in. The Design Thinking course was tiny; there were only two of us, but it was a great starting point.
We used Gen AI to fill out a lot of our capstone project. Yes, the professor was aware and wanted to see how we would use it. That experience got me more interested in how Gen AI could be helpful for more than making memes for John Oliver (or here). My wheelhouse is digital transformation, so I thought the MIT course I took in March would be great. My cohort is AMAZING and I continue to learn from them daily, even weeks after the class has ended, but it wasn’t quite what I needed.
What feels like the real work of my journey began when I started Polly Allen’s course. I attended the Path to AI Product Manager webinar, and much of what she said resonated with me and excited me about possibilities. This course has made me get outside of my comfort zone of project management and dig into something new.