I recently started in a finance role at Amazon after getting my MBA and I'm not a huge fan of the work so far. It doesn't feel like I add much value. It seems like product managers have much more interesting roles. Is a transition like this possible/common? I don't have any previous PM experience so I don't know if this is realistic. If not product manager roles, what about program manager roles? I just feel like I want to get out of finance and be within the business where I am more involved in the running of the business. Thanks in advance for your help.
This happens all the time. Spend a little more time here and you'll start to meet PMs who have done that same switch and ask them how they did it
Having no experience seems to be an advantage for PM recruiting. Don't be a program manager, they're typically project managers.
Switch to operations or supply chain role. Also getting PMP greatly increase your chance.
There is a book called “Cracking the PM Interview” that discusses strategies for getting into product management.
Is the book on Amazon? 🙃
There was a panel talk in August about transitioning to Product Management. Search Career Development Series Product Manager in the Amazon internal video portal
Put it up on youtube for the rest of us.
Are you in FP&A?
Thankfully not. I'm in a product finance role so I interact with the product team a lot, but ultimately I feel like I want to be in a role that has more say in the direction things are going. A lot of my role involves reporting weekly/monthly metrics but there is a fair amount of ad-hoc analyses that the product team asks for. But once I produce those analyses, I'm sort of out of the picture and they run with it themselves. I feel like a PM role would allow me to have a greater impact. Also, I feel like it was almost a waste of getting a top MBA just to be a glorified accountant at Amazon
I spent several years in FP&A and product finance. Always felt the same way as you, even with good business partners. I switched onto the PM ladder in the last year and feel like I’m having 10x the impact. Leaders take note of what I say and I’ve seen several changes from analysis I’ve run with some teams. Finance gives you great access to senior meetings, great presentation and communication skills and you learn how to influence. If you learn SQL and a language like python very well too, you shouldn’t have a problem switching at many companies.
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What did you expect from the finance role?