pivoting from product to tech [seeking advice]

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. 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🙏

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.

Been working for top product companies for 6+ years as a software developer and currently product manager. Motivation earlier used to be learning etc but right now its mostly money where i am currently at. There is no skill growth, just applying what i already know, days are busy which doesnt give me any time for other things ( upskilling, side projects) Explored the market and have found freelancing role that lets me 1. work remotely 2.Gives me opportunity to work on latest tech stack ( frustrated with not being able to code in my current job) 3. Lets me control my time as fixed hours are billed and you can commit hours ( might work only 20-30 hours a week and reclaim the rest) Thinking of transitioning but not sure as we are fed to work in good product companies and look at service/freelancing in bad light. I feel like most of what i needed to learn via my job in product management, i have learnt already and feel like not being able to code as much is making me outdated as a builder. Tldr: good job that pays well but skills are not growing, another option is to turn to freelancing, earn 70% of what i currently earn but helps me upskill, gain control of my time and maybe experiment with side projects in remaining time

Hey people, I am a software engineer. I am thinking of pivoting to leadership kind of roles like EIR, founders office, product manager, etc. For people who are currently in such roles or know people in these roles, do you think people from tech(engineering) background, pivoting to this role at age of 24-25 yrs is advisable? Would people hiring for these roles see that I don't hold an MBA? What are the things about these roles I should be aware of?

Hey good folks, I’ve have had a decent long career of 9 years now, started with finance for 1 year switched quickly to category/program/ business facing roles for the longest time, I have worked in various edtechs - notable Unacademy initial days, currently working for a fintech company, I have a very good interest in tech as a whole for a long time, product management is the best role for me move forward and switch, I wanted to know a way to switch or learn in the right way, do courses work ? Will only practical experience work ? P.s not exactly a newbie in the space, I’ve identified problems, ideated, built and solved problems via features, functionality and process all in the purview of product + results - one of the reason why I find it extremely interesting What would be an optimal way to become a PM (wouldn’t say a right way)

Relatively new to tech - only 2 years of experience here so far. Yet find it extremely cyclical. Face the same challenges over and over again. Perhaps the setting changes occasionally but that’s really it. I understand this is not unique to tech and happens everywhere. But at least in product management, it seems like it’s research - design - dev with stakeholder management over and over and over again. Feel like I’m on autopilot mode and not truly *enjoying* working. I used to be so full of energy and enthusiasm in college and school, eager to learn. But the cyclical nature of work has wrung it out of me, and I’ve sort of become a cynic lol. Who enjoys their work?

Hey folks, I'm wondering what kinda role I should pursue next after product management. I'm done with this role, works vary from company to company and team to team. It's tough to make people understand the difference between pre-PMF products & mature products, and how the metrics impact vary across the spectrum. And this completely changes the equation of your appraisal or your promotion as well. I don't see myself working in the same kind of role after 5 years. So I'm wondering what kinda role I should look out for? My general interests are more analytics & strategy centric. What do you guys think??

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)

Based on the market right now, how hard is it to make a career transition at this point of time? I want to move from coding to product roles

Hi! I'm in a non tech role at a tech company - I work in Corporate Communications. Are there others here who work in similar roles?