What was your dream role until reality turned it into shit?

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.

Note - I am a product manager too 4 out of 5 product managers will act all high and mighty of themselves, bragging their way as if they run everything going on in the company, flaunting their business degrees and being utterly disrespectful towards their team( dev design qa name it), Recently started going to office so the attitude I am seeing is very transparent and more visible (more with the higher experience folks) It makes me wanna leave this hyper inflated role, thinking of I will end up like them scares me, and you have to do is speak out jargons in meetings day in day out and have a English accent of Shashi Tharoor. Recently my manager told that this is a role where you have to very representable or very visible and act in floor as if you are the busiest person on earth and I seriously some PMs in company doing that, they walk so fast in floor as if they will fall off or would be better to have 4 legs.

its advertised as minj CEO role but what is the reality?

Management has tried to underpay us all this time. We deserve to know what is the real salaries for our YOE? I am being paid 24.6L CTC / 2 YOE. What about you?

I've been working as a Senior Analyst at a startup for 4+ years, and I've always wanted to become a Product Manager to make a big difference. So, I've started getting ready for it. - I've noticed a concerning trend among PMs, both through personal observation and online discussions, where they tend to overlook data integrity, opting instead to manipulate it to portray success. - I firmly believe that Product Managers play a pivotal role in taking calculated risks, fostering innovation, and ultimately ensuring the success of their products. - Despite being well-compensated in my current position, my drive to optimize the top of the funnel compels me to pursue a career shift into Product Management. - I firmly believe that power within a company comes with a corresponding responsibility. - It's evident that many PMs are fighting with dissatisfaction, often experiencing high levels of stress and unhappiness. I'm keen to understand the root causes of this discontent and how professionals in this field are managing such challenges. - Despite being inherently talented individuals, why does Product Management seem to come with such a significant stress burden?

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)

I am a PM at an edtech startup. The company is not doing well and my boss is not a good leader. Although company has a runway of 2 years. For the past 3 months I have been doing program management. No product management related work at all. No one appreciates you here. It's mentally challenging to work here. No road map for myself. No appraisal. I'm just going on the job for salary. For the past week, I have been thinking about quitting and taking a break. Then look for a job. I know the market is tough but I have runway for 4-5 months. I have a total of 3 years of Product experience. What should you guys suggest. I really need your help here.

I’ve been into startup product management for about more than 5 years. While the problems are interesting at times, the daily life is mentally draining. I can’t think of anything else apart from work even post working hours. Feels like there’s no life/identity apart from the work I do. I try taking time offs but it gets back to where it was in no time. I want to transition to PM roles that have better WLB. Not sure if any startup could offer that. Is a PM role at a big tech services firm less stressful - WITCH, maybe? If so, what could be the best route to get to one. At this point, I think I’m ok doing boring projects as long as I can take the work off my head after working hours and balance out a better personal life alongside.