Need advice: Are the product mgmt programs from IIM , ISB worth the fees?

Hi everyone, I came across a 36 week product management course from IIM Kozhikode (Approx 1.8 L + GST) and a 12 week program from ISB (Approx 1.4 L + GST). Do these courses/programs help? I am interested in understanding product management better and if these courses will help me in achieving that (and potentially help my career), I might enroll in one of these 2 courses. A bit of background - I am nearing 16 years in IT. Was primarily into Automation testing and now am a Test Manager in a big4. I am okayish with my current salary but wouldn't think twice if a better role with better pay came my way. Also, don't mind moving from a Test Manager role to Product Management. I browsed through the curriculum and some of the topics I am already familiar with. Would you suggest I enroll in one of these courses and will it help having a certification from one of these institutes? I guess I could also read books and browse YouTube for knowledge but,I doubt that would have the same impact as one of these courses (provided they are of use and actually have good content).

Blair Carmden

Series A Startup

a year ago

It only makes sense if the employer covers majority of the cost. You don't need any paid stuff, you can learn things for free on YouTube.

Kendall Nadeen

New Startup

a year ago

That’s like saying “you don’t need to eat at a restaurant, you can learn all the recipes from YouTube”.

Jordon Lee

Stealth

a year ago

IMO, these courses listed above are not worth it primarily because (a) they focus very little on actual skills and focus on a very curriculum approach (b) the certifications have absolutely value outside of service based large tech companies. Here is what I would recommend instead, if you are looking to understand how PM works and what it takes 1. Take the Udemy course on PM (costs 500 rupees last I checked). It does a good job in explaining the basic role. 2. Talk to folks who work in PM roles at the type of companies where you want to work. Find out what they do in their typical day, and what their OKRs are 3. Listen/watch videos from product leaders in top tech companies talking about their accomplishments, stories and challenges. This should be enough to figure out if PMing is really for you. If yes, you can - take up small PM centric projects at your current role, - do a side project Only the think of taking a course -Take a skill based course (not certification course) to help polish your skills and prepare for interviews (Upraised/Airtribe/PM fundamentals by Lenny)

Matilda Nadeen

Amazon

a year ago

When you say side projects... what does it mean? Because PM role as much as it is a skill role it is also a management role. So how to choose projects? Would you be able to provide a couple of projects to start with, if you don't mind?

Blair Carmden

Freelancer

a year ago

Nope these courses won’t help . What will help is doing product management in general. And crux of product management is solving customer problems. So can you solve (and first identify) the right customer problems? You don’t need any course for that. Just common sense and sense of ownership. PM field is generalist field , hardly any course can help. But yes experience will definitely help.

Jordon Vernon

X.com

a year ago

These are useless unless they provide placements or an alumni status by issuing some degree

Isaiah Lee

Amazon

a year ago

NO …seriously NO, they are simply outsourced courses and IIMs just get the affiliation money. It’s better to go & learn on udemy, coursera with fractional cost.