[THREAD] Thinking to Switch from PM role

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.

Hi guys. My company is probably going to go under soon. I am from a decent Grad college which is not famous and from a worse MBA college which no one knows. I have 2 yoe as a Data PM. This is my order of priority: 1. A big company which won't fire people for the next 3-4 yrs. 2. AI Product Management. I know stuff but very little experience. No formal education here. 3. Fintech since my current role involves finance and accounting stuff Would love referrals, mentorship and gyaan.

Indian. I am a SDE (backend) currently. ~2 yrs exp. 16 LPA and I work 40-50 hrs a week. I like where I am, but I am not feeling the zeal for tech anymore. Probably will do a MBA down the line (thinking abroad, not sure) Looking for equal or greater pay, similar WLB, new domain. Should I switch to PM and try a hand at it? Am I aware of the reality or living in my own isolated reality?

Tier 1 MBA, 5 years of consulting plus corp strategy experience, 2 years data science exp pre MBA. Current ctc around 45. Speaking to friends etc in the PM roles, I've developed an interest in the role. And would like to give it a fair shot. Just can't seem to figure out how. Any pointers would be really helpful.

I am a PM with 10+ years experience. I am now interviewing with Meesho for Heading their lending vertical. This is not a pure PM role but it involves setting up a vertical grounds up. Not sure if this is a right role for my career right now. Any thoughts would be appreciated 😌

Hi guys, I have between 5-6 years of experience in engineering role (QA/Test automation). However over these years I have found the role to be unfulfilling due to the growth, impact and visibility. I have been considering going for a full time executive MBA (In India/Abroad) to switch into a PM/Strategy role. Wanted to understand if this is going to be really worth it, considering I will have high chances to start again at an entry level position? Or is this common to do post MBA?

Hello Everyone, I am a 2018 BTech (NIT) pass out and 2022 IIM pass out with a total of 2.2 years of Workex (1.2 yrs post-MBA) and currently working as an Associate Product Manager. I am not really enjoying my role and I feel Product Management is not suitable for me because of multiple reasons some of them being, 1. I am doing issue resolutions rather than problem-solving which I love to do. 2. I am not very much interested in driving technical discussions or solving technical challenges in the process of Product Development which is the case in my current role. 3. I want to be part of a Business role where I can leverage the knowledge I have gained during my MBA and work on some problem statements related to the core businesses of the company. 4. There is no skin in the game of a PM compared to Devs, QAs, and Designers. As a PM I feel I am just delegating, prioritizing, and following up with the requirements. Most of my learnings are around managerial aspects and not business knowledge. 5. I want to be a part of business roles where I can go deeper into problems and come up with my recommendations/thoughts on them. I am looking for new roles where Strategy, Analysis and Core Business Problem solving are involved. I am really not sure what kind of roles are these. Please help me with the roles I can explore and how to approach the job search for such kinds of roles. Thanks In Advance.

Hi all, I'm a PMO at Accenture associate level with 1.5 yoe. I don't have much work and I am free 90% of the time and I also wfh. My base pay is 4.26 lpa. Should I shift to a technical role and if yes which role and what should I prepare for? If not is this PMO profile good for earning more money? PLEASE ANSWER

Had started my career as a android developer for 2 years. Was fairly good at it. Went for a MBA from IIM K and joined a fintech startup as a PM. Around 5yoe PM now Keep regretting on and off how life could have been as a developer. 1. Crazy salary- esp after covid. Almost every org ways way more to a dev than a PM 2. Lot of options in job market - Unlike PM where demand is far less than supply 3. Specialised role - unlike PM where there is literally no entry barrier 4. Hard skill - unlike PM where everyone keeps questioning the need of the role 5. Chiller life - unlike PM where failures are yours but success is team’s Does anyone else feel the same?

Hey Grapeviners, I need some serious help. Bit about myself - just graduated this month and working as an APM at a seed stage startup. I have 1.5 years of product experience and 3 years of overall experience as an intern. Lately, not sure why but I am loving what engineers do. Closely working with them, and I guess it's nostalgic for myself. Because I did coding for 6 months and moved on for some reason. So, I understand how tech actually works. Have got good feedback regarding this. At the same time, I am not really finding the true value of what I am doing everyday. Feels a void inside. Also, I am not able to discuss all these things in person with someone, because I fear that they will judge me after doing internships for 3 years, I still haven't figured out my career. Such a loser I am. I have been thinking about starting coding again and maybe switching to a coding job in the next 6 months maybe. But again it would be tough for me as I only got weekends for me to learn all this stuff. What do you all experienced folks suggest? What should I do? Please comment if you can help 🙏