PM w/ 10 YOE, TC >1.5CR, AMA
Hey. I graduated from a tier 4 uni with a non-engg degree (3 years). Including a breakdown of compensation to show what’s possible, apologies for the humble brag. Year 1: 12 lakh Year 3: 36 lakh + 15 lakh SOPs Year 6: 50 lakh + 5 lakh SOPs Year 8: 75 lakh + 30 lakh SOPs Year 10: 110 lakh + 60 lakh SOPs I’ve worked in increasingly larger companies, latest is a decacorn+. AMA!
Don’t want to dox myself, but it’s a well-known consumer company worth >10BN.
I don’t have the time to search through hundreds of employees, see their experience and match it with your profile and then identify you. This thing is easy to do in small start ups, not mid or high level companies. Anyways, your choice if you don’t want to reveal
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What did you start off as? Does your YOE include non-PM YOE?
Also, would love to hear about what companies you've worked for to understand your trajectory to where you are today.
1. I started as an engineer, self-taught.
2. YOE includes non-PM experience. 6 as engineer, 4 as PM.
3. I’ve worked for ~4 companies so far, excl an entrepreneurial stint (no funding, no exit).
4. 2 stints at series A startups (one b2b and one b2c) and 2 stints at decacorns (both b2c).
I switched jobs roughly every 2-2.5 years. I wanted to stay longer but it just didn’t work out. Most of my comp increases came from switching.
Thank you for your thoughtful and well-articulated responses. Read through the whole thread, and it gave me some good perspective.
I'm a PM with a total of ~7 YOE joining a seed stage firm at ~40LPA. Hoping to get to your level some day!
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1) How do you see PM as career evolve in this decade and so on?
2) What does a Typical Day of yours look like?
3) The toughest part about your job? Hours you work now?
4) Mistakes you would have avoided during the course of your career.
Thanks for doing this. Cheers ! :)
1. 6 years as non-PM. PM career has evolved quite randomly. I’m doing more IC now than I was 2 years ago (maybe attributable to hiring freeze and not being able to hire reports).
2. It’s 99% WFH, so I have a lot of flexibility baked into my day. I workout with a personal trainer in the mornings, start my day around 10:30/11, take a few calls, maybe an afternoon nap. 3-5 is the most important part of the day with lots of calls. I spend a couple of hours after 5 to write documents and PRDs (if I’m behind, which is once every 2 weeks). I’d say I have a relatively balanced life. Weekends are chill with no work pressure or calls.
3. Peer pressure and politics. I’m always competing with my peers for promotions and raises and visibility. That sometimes takes precedence over good product work.
4. I’ve made mistakes, but I can’t just imagine undoing a mistake without undoing the good stuff. Gun to my head, I’d try and stay in one company for longer. My stints have been short and I really enjoyed knowing everyone in the company (v. starting over every 2 years).
hellloworld
Stealth
2 years ago
Pm Designation ?
hellloworld
Stealth
2 years ago
Wow.. AD and above with just 4 yrs of PM exp. quite lucky 🍀
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How did you do your second switch to 4 times your salary in 3 years? If you can expand on it. Rest seems inline with that one pivot.
And how did you bag 10lpa when 3ngg degree guys not get that. That too 10 yrs ago being from tier ?
And thanks for doing this. Makes me go into hustle mode to do better.
1. I started by consulting a super-early stage startup. When they raised funding, I was the natural choice to build and maintain their systems, so getting 12 lakhs was easy, negotiated over one evening and started the next day.
2. With the second company, the founder really liked me and knew the founders of my first company. I had a lot of leverage and I used it well.
3. +1 on the hustle. I know of people who make 20CR+ by climbing up the ranks steadily. That’s where I’d like to be in 5 years.
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MealyBloom18
Stealth
2 years ago
Fake
Not sure why you’d think that, but feel free to ask your network for base rates on Director, Product salaries at unicorn+ startups.
1. Timing and luck. So much of where I am is because I got lucky.
2. Rebellious attitude. It helped me not accept the opportunities someone with my education and background was supposed to get. I’ve toned it down now that it’s not required.
3. Eternal optimism. I always believe tomorrow will be better. I feel I’m genetically pre disposed to being happy and it helps me navigate my professional life better.
Net worth is about 3CR. I’d say I’d save about 60-70% of post-tax income.
40% in index funds
30% in cash or cash equivalents (like CRED Mint)
5% long-term debt (EPF and the like)
20% vested equity in past startups
5% angel investments
Your networth is way too low for your claimed income and savings percentage. Numbers don't tally
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Isn't this standard pay for Sr PM at large tech? Coinbase pays 1.1 Cr for L5 PMs.
Yea and no, Coinbase is 99th percentile pay, almost every other company pays lesser for the same level.
Yes but for 10 YOE I know plenty of Sr PMs at Salesforce and Microsoft who make well above 1.1Cr. Uber and Coinbase are outliers because they pay this at the 5 year mark.
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Having non-Engineering degree, how did you get engineering expertise and of what kind, that you were able to impress the first employer to hire, despite having no formal engineering education? What sort of organisation was that, that they trusted you? Was it a complete new startup, or an established one?
1. I self-learnt, mostly to solve my own use cases. I was really interested in games, so I made a stupid game in PHP that really taught me coding.
2. I was able to connect with the founder quite well. He was non engg too and was struggling to keep up with tech. It was a young company, 2 years old, struggling to scale their systems.
Overall do you think, it would have been worth staying as an engineer or PM is a better career choice? The reason I am asking this is I am an engineer with 5.5 yrs experience. I feel that though engineers get real shit done, PMs get the visibility and exposure.l of business which Is critical as well if eventually you want to do business of you own. What do you recommend?
1. On most days, I’m glad I’m a PM. The work-life balance is better. There’s a perceived increase in status. I feel like my work has impact and my decisions matter.
2. Engg is, however, better paid at every level. They also have better benefits (like non negotiable wfh, allowances, etc.).
I’m okay with my choice, but both engg and PM are great professions to be in, relative to everything else.
If you’re sure about transitioning, the easy way is to get an MBA from ISB. The hard way is:
1. Be in the right company. You must either have enough equity by staying a few years or leverage with a new company because they really want to hire you.
2. Involve yourself in Product work in your existing company. Tell the PM you want to help, I’m sure they won’t mind.
3. Build some credibility by documenting your journey an/or sharing it on LinkedIn.
The hardest part is getting the first official role, but you’ll get there with resilience (likely APM, starting at around 20-24 lakhs per year).
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