How is the market currently for product managers?

I know people who have 2-3 year runway but are still scared to leave their jobs they don’t like.

I think you are scaring the post author a lot. I believe 6- 8 months would be sufficient

Great comment

Nicely elaborated, @Manic. I was in the boat of wanting to run away. Still sometimes feel that way but figured that it was only because of some drastic changes at work due to a new boss who has zero prioritization, says yes to everything the management says and wants the output from the team yesterday. I know I have to quit the boss, so will see if I can do that internally else have already started looking out. Quickly realized that the market is brutal right now - ghost postings, no calls even with solid referrals, and lack of roles that I’m interested in and have skills for.

I was planning to quit and chill for a few months with a 3 yr runway including emergency. Glad I didn’t coz it would have gotten frustrating very quickly for me.

@sturdysail30 However, if you actually just want to quit to focus on things in life like health, family, passions, interests etc, that’s totally fair but you will need a lot more than 4-5 months. Else you will have to keep applying from now to land something by the time your break is over and stressing over getting a job during a break will not be fun.

Suggestions -

1. Reduce expenses so that runway can be used for more number of months. Consider moving back home if that can help burn less cash.
2. See if there is an option for sabbatical via your company- not all companies give that option.
3. While you’re on a break, see if there’s any income you can make from a different source or job without putting in the same kind of hours as you do at your current work so that it still feels like a break.

I have had the same experience

I have ti have total 5 yrs of exp, with 3 in product and 2 in BA. I would be targeting PM2 sort of roles if I decide to start applying

There are such openings but you can’t be super choosy. Best is to apply while on the job and not take a break. Gives you more freedom and mind space to choose the right next role vs doing under pressure of hunting with no job in hand

This!!! This is the safest bet right now

His runway is around 4-5 months. One month after quitting, panic would kick in and he would spiral into heavy regret.

You are a head of product...give some advise to us fellow product guys, on how can product people become specialists...some particular product domains you can name?

To become specialists, you gotta identify a domain and stick to it for a longer duration, thereby giving yourselves the chance to explore and solve different types of problems and gain understanding of users in that domain. It requires you to commit to a domain for 5+ years.
It’s okay to be a generalist very early in your career. But the earlier you identify your preferred domain, the better. Examples would be gaming, payments, security/fraud/risk , telecom, e-commerce etc.

When markets are good, people are able to seamlessly jump between domains and you see a lot of hiring. But when the chips are down like the past couple of years, recruiters double down on specialists.