An Ultimate Guide on The Product Manager Career Path

Product manager career paths and job descriptions are not the same for all product managers.

Many product manager tasks are not clearly defined or agreed, as the product manager's work is still under development. 

 

Product Manager Career Path:

 

Below are the various career paths you can pursue as a product manager:- 

 

  1. Vice President  

Product Vinay commented that the traditional way for product managers is to increase their rank within the company. In other words, from product manager to product director to product VP. The Vice President of Products sets the team's product vision, ensures that product strategies are coordinated, and coordinates with other executives to accelerate growth. 

 

To be successful as a product VP after getting a product management certification, you need to show that you have successfully delivered the product, empowered the junior product manager to deliver the product, and developed a long-term product vision and related strategies that take into account industry trends.

 

  1. Product Advisor / Speaker  

Senior Product Manager Tyler Swarts pointed out that the path to success as a  product manager is to become a speaker or consultant. After PMs have gained a lot of relevant experience, they may find that they are more interested in allowing others to accelerate their growth than focusing on the day-to-day workflow of product development. As a product advisor, she can intervene in product organizations for different periods of time and extend them sustainably and smoothly. 

 

  1. Venture capitalist 

Product Manager, Theo Gordon said that another possible exit route for a Product Manager is to become a venture capitalist. The suggested that in order to succeed in this regard, product managers must first establish themselves as authors of credible opinions. 

 

After all, venture capitalists primarily influence and consolidate their views on how viable the market is, how attractive it is to invest, and how good beta products are. work. If the Product Managers want to make such changes, it's a good idea to first promote them to the company, while at the same time building influence (through social media, blogs,  product events, etc.) and then making the changes.  

 

  1. Entrepreneurial residence

Rob McGrorty, formerly Webgility Product Manager, said product managers can be successful entrepreneurs in their place of residence after pursuing the best product management courses. Our readers may not have heard of this role. The entrepreneur's place of residence is a function within the venture capital company, and its role is responsible for identifying and ultimately directing the new company in which the venture capital company will invest. 

 

  1. Internal lateral shift

Vinay emphasized that product managers are also in a good position to perform internal cross movements. For example, a product manager can move on to corporate strategy, marketing, or business development. The product manager contacts several stakeholders regularly. Since the product manager is already known in-house, it's easy to move in-house to areas that she finds more interesting. 

 

  1. Advisory Committee members 

Experts emphasized that product managers can also be members of an effective advisory board. Many CEOs form advisory boards to provide cross-industry and sectoral perspectives while providing strong networking and partnership opportunities. Advisory board members usually receive shares in return for their contribution to the organization. Due to the relatively short time required for a single position, a significant number of board members participate in multiple advisory boards at the same time. 

 

  1. The organizational scaler for series products

Some people specialize in building their own from a small product organization. Others may specialize in growing a product organization into a large organization. Anyway, these types of product managers will find that they are no longer enthusiastic about their role and find opportunities to expand elsewhere. As a scale product organization, figure out the size of the product organization that is most interested in scaling up, decide when to leave, and identify the organization you want to move to next. 

 

  1. General Manager

Experts have discovered that many product managers promote completely new products and business models and potentially mature into general managers. The general manager oversees the entire business area. In short, it focuses not only on products, but also on monetization, operational processes, marketing, budgeting, and more. For product managers to succeed, they need to learn to let go of everyday product details. Further focus on developing and using influence and data to change the priorities of business areas. 

 

  1. Product developer 

Product developers can continue to be product managers throughout their careers, lead product lines, and gradually add new skills to their product management skills. Alternatively, product leaders can create entire product lines or businesses. 

 

  1. Product marketer

The product marketer is responsible for launching the product. Product positioning and product marketing planning. This is a crucial role in helping product lines keep up with consumer trends and stay profitable over the long term. Product marketers can also set product launches, work on product development, and work with product developers to develop messages about new product releases. 

 

  1. Product planner

The product planner works with product marketers to review product release plans and product positioning. This means working with the product developer to determine the features included in the new product version. It also means creating a product launch plan, such as giving a presentation on a new product release for other departments such as sales and marketing. 

 

  1. Product lead engineer 

The product lead engineer oversees the product roadmap within the product development team. Working with product managers, product lead engineers check the technical realizability of product features and assist in prioritizing product releases. We also work with product developers to define the features included in new product releases. 

 

  1. Product Marketing Manager

The Product Marketing Manager is responsible for planning and launching product marketing. Develop product messaging strategies, such as creating product positioning.


Emily Hill

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