My Journey to Product Management Session One

The year was 2021?and?I was?on the lookout?for a tech job. I spent most of my time watching YouTube videos to learn about system design, data structural algorithms, and other related topics. One day, I stumbled upon an #exponent video?that had?a root cause analysis question. At first, I thought it was about system design, but as I watched the video, I realized it was slightly different. I became curious and wanted to learn more about the topic. However, I didn't spend too much time on it and moved on, but the idea stuck with me. I was passionate about entrepreneurship and startup business, and I knew that there was a job role that would be perfect for me.

Eventually, I got a job as a software developer and worked in that role for the next two years. I also worked on small projects and kept learning different technologies,?mostly?in web development. I continued to work on my startup project, #Shattak, which I had started during my college days. As time passed, I gained?a lot of?knowledge in technology and engineering and developed the confidence and clarity that I could handle any?kind of?technological challenge. I felt?that I?had developed at least one skill that would be sufficient for the rest of my life.

However, life is not always easy, and it kept pushing me out of my comfort zone.?I started?to feel?bored with my software job,?and?I?thought it was monotonous.?I tried watching videos and talking to my friends?who were?working in different technologies, but I was still unable to figure out which direction I should take. I became more and more anxious about what to do next.

Then, I came across a video on YouTube about how to jump to a product management role without an MBA degree. That's how I found out about #Upraised. I was excited, watched the video and started researching product management. I even took a test on their platform to see if I?was capable of doing?a product management job, but I failed the test.

The?next morning, I received a call from Upraised's sales team. I spoke to the salesperson about the course and my capabilities to do a product management job. The salesperson informed me that the test was?just?to determine which areas I was lacking so that they could improve my skills.?This?boosted my confidence and motivation, and I started looking for more YouTube videos, articles, and blogs?on the topic.

After one month of research, I finally found something?that I?was passionate about and had been interested in since I started working on Shattak. It was?the development of?a product that could be useful to the user, generate value for the customer, and make a profit. In?other words, making things that people love.

I grew up in a small town that is 50 km away from Kolkata. Fortunately, I had internet access while I was in school and was able to witness the rise of internet companies like Facebook and Google. I remember a day when I tried to suggest changes that Windows Phone should have to compete with Android. I spent a lot of time doing comparative research, but unfortunately, my work never reached the Windows Phone team.

Later, I found out about #NextLeap, which offered a solid foundation 3-month course for complete beginners at an affordable price. I remember discussing with my girlfriend at 2:00 a.m. whether I should join or not, and she suggested that I should think about it and make a decision the next morning. However, I decided to join right away, and the fellowship started in January. For the first month, it was very exciting, but it started becoming challenging. I was confused about many concepts that were taught. After completing the assignment after milestone 3, I started to understand that things were not that easy. So, I cut out everything else from my life and focused on?each and every?lesson.

Finally, after 3 months, I started getting a taste of product management. Coming from an engineering background, my task was mostly to solve a problem. But in product management, finding a problem is more challenging than coming up with a creative solution. Finding a problem is difficult because we have a narrow view of what's going on through a product life cycle. Depending on various segments that use a particular product, the problem may come differently. As a product manager, we have to take care that making small changes to a system can affect other systems as well. So, we have to pre-calculate what the outcomes may be by even making small changes to the existing system.

Let's wait and see where my career takes me and how it shapes itself. Thank you for reading. I'm excited to share session two with you soon. Take care and stay peaceful!