Hello guys, I am thinking of transitioning into a role that does not involve much coding. I have around 6 yrs of xp as a backend engineer. Would you advice me opt for going for product management role, how should I prepare for it and will I have to go to a lower level in a new company since I have no xp in that? Thanks, TC:170k remote, Austin Nordstrom
Do you really want to be a pm or not code anymore? You're unlikely to get an external role for a pm without actual experience. However these are the most common paths - internal transfer in your current company - talk to a gpm/director or see if there are trial roles you can do - pursue an MBA - this may land you a pm or other non coding roles - apply to external companies - find pm roles to similar dev roles you have worked on. This is unlikely right now with the poor pm job market
I have 3 YOE in coding and here’s how I’ve been able to land 3 interviews in the past 2 weeks (2 applied online and 1 referral: - I spent 3 years building a side business and launching my own products & services. Recruiters have commented that they find candidates who are entrepreneurs do well at their company as PM - I have domain knowledge in fintech and manufacturing/supply chain, so it’s easier for me to get those roles - I talked to my manager and product director about switching to PM, so they gave me projects to work on as PO. I put on my resume that I’m an Acting PO, and it’s helped me land interviews. My goal was to move internally, bc every PM told me that is the easiest, but PayPal has very few roles open that are below Sr PM level I’m moving on to 2nd round with 2 of them and final round with 1 (they only have 2 rounds)
Finding something else to do because you don’t want to be coding is a rather misguided basis to choose a new career. If you want to be successful choose something that you like and are passionate about. Successful product managers are more like mini entrepreneurs. It may not impact you in the beginning but continued success would be challenging if you don’t have a passion for the product management career.