At this level, you’ll be developing, measuring, and constantly improving on objective criteria for success, and you’ll be responsible for mentoring and energizing people doing vastly different types of work across the entire organization. Career Path Example - Project Management (Click on image to modify online) Why choose a project management career path? This article is very insightful and helpful within an organization that sees product management as a necessary role throughout the organization. “Here’s what we can be, here’s what we will be, here’s what success looks like this quarter, year, and so on.”. Career Outlook for Product Managers . In my experience coming from a startup and being the only Product Manager, I perform activities from the different levels which make the title ambiguous but I think is the nature of the startup. At this level, you’re looking at a product portfolio (see also: what is a product portfolio manager), and making sure staffing resources, budget, and research are being invested in the areas that will provide the combined best benefit. The VP role is both there to enable the product organization at the high level and to act as a check on activities from the perspective of the business, C-level stakeholders, and, if applicable, the board of directors. future-proofing your product and team. Product directors are also a resource and mentor for the rest of the product management team. A lot of a VP’s time is spent thinking about what needs to happen with the team today to be ready for what’s coming a year from now, i.e. Business analysts can specialize in certain areas, like technology or sales, or can apply a broader knowledge base to their efforts. Before we begin though, it’s worth mentioning one small caveat. They are responsible for bringing the necessary transparency to the team on decisions taking place at the higher levels of the business and the market. Chief Product Officer is either an expanded variation of the VP of Product role or one that oversees multiple VPs of product rolling up to one product leader. You’re setting the aspirational product goals to inspire and push your team, i.e. Being responsible for managing different people cross-functionally and cross-departmentally require strong communication and leadership skills. Senior product managers that become a critical source of advice for other product managers and that successfully advocate for the product team to senior leadership are well-positioned to move on to a director-level role. Since this job is pretty much a roller coaster ride, you need to be able to deal with stressful, unexpected situations while you remain a great team player at all times. So let’s debunk some of those product manager career path myths, okay? You’re tracking numbers 3-6 months out, but you’re making strategic decisions for the 3-5 year timeframe. This is an entry-level product role and your first step on the PM career path… It’s your chance to prove how well you take all parties into account, blend and evaluate the different perspectives to eventually arrive at a clear decision. Understanding career choices as a product person can often be confusing, especially considering many companies still do not see product management as a core discipline needed for the company to succeed (such as finance, operations, technology, etc.). As an associate product manager, you’ll need to continually speak to the “this is what we’re doing and why we’re doing it” question, and you’ll rely on metrics to let you know if you’re successful. Junior/Associate Product Manager. This position oversees activities such as planning, budgeting, and scheduling in order to support the production of high-quality products at an acceptable cost and within time constraints. During this work, they’ll regularly communicate the status of their product to all relevant stakeholders. To reach this point in your product manager career path, you’ll likely need to come in with some professional experience. There is more than one product manager career path for gaining these skills and earning the responsibility that come with being a product manager. Marketing Very insightful. ProductPlan. Create beautiful roadmaps in minutes. at It’s important to show you can hear all sides of a story, synthesize and assess the different perspectives, and arrive at a clear decision. I’ve often seen product management only below GMs in the organization, which means product leadership and strategy is indirectly filled as a byproduct of other leadership positions. Factors like company size, budget, business goals, and more, will have an impact on how the product team is structured. While other product managers are operating more on execution level, senior PMs begin to look more at the broader product process and gradually become the voice for the product team to senior management. You’re responsible for it from its first fuzzy idea, to concrete concept, through production, launch, and all the way to maturity stage. While product managers can advance their own functions or departments, it is common for experienced product managers to follow career paths into general management or functional management roles. Thanks for the thoughtful comment Rand! The role of Product Management itself can vary… Product Manager Career Path, 6 Different Roles 1. can a person become product manager from product designer, Definitely! “Product managers make great GMs and COOs because they’re used to working across the entire company to move projects forward.”. This is especially true for senior product managers that are consistently exhibiting curiosity and passion not just for their product and customers, but also for the production process itself. Here’s a post from our friends at The Product School that covers that very topic: https://www.productschool.com/blog/product-management-2/transition-ux-design-product-management/. Understanding the value proposition of your product as well as knowledge on customer problems and needs is critical. Add the fact that you are at a startup and chances are your roles and responsibilities encompass much more than your job title might communicate. What is expected here is the fundamental understanding of product management as well as being a thirsty learner. So, when are you ready to move from an associate role into a full product manager role? Other areas of study include management, marketing, public relations, statistics, and advertising. The VP role enables the product organization at the high level and is the intermediary from the perspective of the business, C-level stakeholders and board of directors. Tweet This: Despite the many different company-specific permutations, it’s helpful to establish a general product manager career path to help you plan your next move. The Chief Product Officer can also be known as Chief Innovation Officer. In other words, at this point on the product manager career path, your product really becomes the product organization itself. You’ll regularly meet with your peers throughout the company—this is what’s happening and why, what do you need from the product, this is what product needs from you, etc. at Directors of Product spend a significant amount of time researching the market landscape their product lives in. What’s the latest info on the competition? Typical career path: Business analysts come from diverse backgrounds in sales, consulting and IT work. You should be comfortable delegating some of your tasks to someone else and trusting in the process you’ve helped establish, and you should be prepared to speak to what is needed in the associate role in order to mentor your replacement. You are significantly less involved with the hands-on activities related to the product development process.