PROJECT MANAGER VS PRODUCT MANAGER

Someone I know is pursuing MBA at XLRI, background computer science engineer and a background in sales (~3 years). What steps would you recommend to get into Product Management roles after he completes MBA?

Hi folks, hope you all are having a wonderful day! I'm in a dilemma and need your expertise! I'm a senior consultant(mix of business analyst and consultant) at a mid size organization with 3 YOE, 16 LPA from tier 1 college. From my understanding I'm entering a stage where i can still pivot to product management, as later on it will be pretty hard! So my question to you all is that is it worth it to change career or should i climb ladder in consultancy. I don't really have any passion, my main focus points are money and job security. What do you think i should do?, what pays more?, which field has more future opportunities? Please advice. Ciao

Hey y’all A friend of mine is looking for a job as a product manager He has close to 6 YOE With 2+ in product management in a big MNC He isn’t getting any calls though Is your company or any company you’re aware of is hiring product managers right now? All help is appreciated

A friend of mine is looking to move into product management/Founder’s office roles. He has around 6 years of work experience in operations management but had to leave the job because of personal reasons and after that break he picked up Sales Lead job. The job doesn’t pay much and he isn’t enjoying either. He is not able to find good operations and supply chain roles in India either. Do you have any advice on how he can make a transition into such roles? Any good courses that will help with placement also?

Hi, I'm currently working as a Product Analyst at a promising startup, where I've been working on enhancing product delivery processes, keeping a check on deadlines (part of PMO), and driving client adoption for the past 1.5 years. Here my primary responsibilities involve conducting data analysis of projects and tickets, identifying trends and patterns, and providing insights to inform product decisions. However, I'm not directly involved in the core decision-making processes that shape product strategy. This is my first job and I feel there will be nothing specific that I will own in project management and/or process excellence, there is nothing much to grow in this field, and pretty much anybody can replace this task, *please correct me if I'm wrong. I'm particularly fascinated by the prospect of building solutions that will directly impact our clients hence the real world, developing innovative product strategies, and bringing impact to the business. I have some questions and seeking guidance. Insights, personal experiences, or any guidance will help me a lot. Thanks in advance. - Should I consider pursuing a product management role? - Or should I step toward product strategy? - If I need to get into product strategy, how can I do that? is an MBA a must for this kind of role? - Or are there other avenues that might be more suitable for my current skillset and experience?

Hey there! So, I work as a Project Manager at an MNC, and I've been in the industry for about three years now. I started off working in Engineering/Computer Networking for around 1.10 years before moving to an internal Project Manager role. But, now I'm itching to shake things up and move into the Product Manager/Product Owner world. Do you think it's doable? And, if so, how can I make it happen? Would love to get some advice!

Hey everyone, excited to be doing this AMA! A brief about me, I work currently as a Director of Product at an Indian unicorn startup About my career: - Did my undergrad from IIT and then masters from an Ivy league school - Have been in product for almost 10 years now - across 2 Indian unicorn startups and a publicly listed company Would love to take questions on what it means to be a PM, growing within the role, building your career, and other things :) Will be back here at 4 pm and start replying Shoot away!

Sharing some reflections on this: 1. Product is not a function with a large hierarchy / multiple levels in the ladder. Managerial responsibility comes in very late in the product career and the spans are typically small (relative to other functions like engineering, sales, operations). This also means a steeper funnel to the top and only a handful VP Product roles in the industry. 2. Product is centered around technology and digital consumer trends, both of which are fast changing. This requires constant unlearning and relearning. But more critically, this also means that previous knowledge/experience hits a plateau on marginal value beyond a basic threshold (where you have developed some essential product semse and skills). 3. Product managers are also much higher-paid vs other functional peers, at comparable years of experience. This means that a PM gets to a very high salary (say, 1+ crore) by the age of 40 (15-20y into their career). Tech functions in non-tech companies (like FMCG, banking) cannot offer that kind of pay, meaning salary growth beyond a point is limited to tech-first companies / limiting addressable market for lateral moves. All of these considererd, how should PMs think about the longevity of their careers? Unlike traditional roles, this does not seem like a "retire at 60" job. What would be the realistic age one should plan for, at which career growth and salary growth will stagnate? What are ways in which a 80%ile PM can extend their career (eg: also taking up engineering management or P&L responsibility or growth function etc., to increase scope)? PS: this post is not for the top 5-10% PMs. They will always find roles at VP level etc, this is for the 50-90%ile bucket of PM talent.

Biggest query: Does this career move make sense? Or should the aim be towards a Manager position after spending 6+ years in Product Management?

I have a close friend of mine looking to switch from finance industry to product management. Is there anyone you know who has done similar thing? in your opinion what are the steps someone should take in this direction?