Why is Product Manager becoming dream career for many?

I am reading very often that the craze around product management is too much and this career is not worth the hype. Adding on to that it has huge supply of PMs and many of PMs are underpaid. Is it true?

Consultant, Investment Banking went from sought after careers to fads post 2008 crisis when the world realized that these folks are crooks due to their role in propogating the Great Financial Crisis. Given the backlash tech companies has been getting and global layoffs, will Product Manager also become a passing fad?

Everyone and their mother became a product manager in the last few years. How safe are these jobs in a recession. I often hear (from engineers who don’t hide their disdain for PMs so maybe a biased opinion) that they are the first one to let go. Is that true?

1. High pressure on timelines- business and top management shits on you if you don’t deliver on time 2. No power to control the outcome- engineers don’t listen to you neither does the design or analytics team, you end up begging for resources 3. Too much politics- business or a senior PM can steal your bandwidth anytime 4. Lack of recognition- if it succeeds business did it, if it fails it is product teams fault (engg never gets blamed for shit)

My dream was to work at early stage startup as a Software Engineer bcoz startups were cool. But the toxic environment and lack of organisations made it a nightmare to work at. Then I became a PM at a startup after getting hyped about Product Management. And then I realised no matter what you do, the CEO does whatever he feels like. And months later the project is scraped. And I learn only the things a PM should not do. So what's the role that you got excited about that turned to shit?

I am a 3rd year student from tier -3 private college, pursuing btech is it possible to get PM roles just after under graduation, have seen people from tier -1/2 pursuing vague branches like coal mineral sort of engineering and still be able to crack roles as a PM at tech companies . Also one should aim for a role like this after undergrad or just it demands more exp? Also any roadmap you would recommend

I worked hard for last 2-3 years and finally got into product mgmt from business strategy role. Now I keep listening that product mgmt is a dying career, it has no future, it will be gobbled up by AI. I am really exhausted of this catchup game. I sometimes feel that things would have been better if I had joined some FMCG company in a supply chain - ops role. Those roles are much more stable than these high stress startup roles. What should be my plan to lead a more peaceful yet decently high paying career? In need of some great advice folks...pls share valuable comments 🙂

I know Grapevine is full of young and ambitious people that either planning to get into Product or are already working as a PM. I don’t aim to discourage any of you. Moreover, if you need tips to break into Product I would be happy to help you. I personally feel that knowing what you are doing is going to doom is better than normalizing it. So I will convey my experience in simple words, how I hated every single day of it, why did I still stick around for 4 years, why product decisions are random political bullshit, why you should not let anything that happens get under your skin and affect your morale. Finally, few words for sociopathic Head of Products. Lesson #1: Go through all stages of grief at once. Accept that product culture is broken and accept that it will not get better. Finally, you can’t fix it or improve it. Lesson #2: Ratings are political bullshit. I can tell you the years I was rated worse I was probably working harder and better at my job. It just depends on the results you get in the last month before ratings and whether your DOP is vocal for you. Lesson #3: Last piece of advice: do not let your Product years lower your self esteem or sense of self worth. Also, some words for sociopathic Head of Products. F’ you.