Hey all, I’ve recently been handling the data product management role at my company along with the analytics manager role that I was originally hired for and working with cross functional partners, managing the roadmap, ensuring feature delivery and enhancing data infrastructure has particularly spiked my interest in a PM role. I’ve been surprised to find so many similarities between what PMs do analytically and what analytical managers do. With that in context, I’m trying to gauge if I can make a complete career shift into a product management role and I’m looking to see if it’s a realistic goal or a pipe dream. My background - I have over 8 years of experience working at Capital one and Discover where I’ve worked in different capacities as an data analyst (data science) and as a data science manager (current role) supporting the product analytics functions for several financial products. With these things under consideration, a. What are some of the best books/tools/certifications/resources that I can use to improve my knowledge about product management? b. What is the best way to find a mentor who can gauge where I’m at and what needs to be done do deem me ‘ready’? Are there firms or companies that do this? Thank you for all the help! Current TC: $150k Desired TC:$200K-250K #productmanager #product
OP do mind sharing what people share ?
If you understand the data - the action and impact - I think you could be very successful as a PM. Leveraging data for inform decision-making and evaluating performance is a critical step toward delivering a successful product. Plus, no better way to secure funding than with numbers lol
you will notice that "product" is not one thing. there are pms eg across {internal infra, consumer hardware, ads backend, b2b sales productivity, ...} there are many cases where two "pm" roles may be less similar than a "pm" and "data/analytics" pair. there is the practical reality of title/optics and job ladder, of course. easiest way to transition is usually within same company. find/expand collaborations with product org and take on some of their tasks/functions. think in terms of durable value for end-users (whether analysts, execs, external, hr, whoever). what is the underlying need vs surface-level question/exercise? ask them directly. build solution. get feedback. repeat etc ... instrumentation, monitoring, eye catching visualizations, alerts, summaries, mobile version, scenaros/controls, ... eat lunch with engineers, execs, and sales peeps. demand large tc and take credit for work done by others. repeat buzzwords and make slides with catchy logos/graphics/color schemes. find a beautiful girl/boy and get her/him pregnant. move to the suburbs and make videos for product school, linkedin, and start your own youtube channel. nothing to it really
DM