Advice for new grad APM roles from non-CS engineering?
I'm graduating in a year from UT Austin with a non-CS engineering degree. I've had a couple internships in oil&gas, realized it wasn't great for career growth/quality of life, and became interested in tech. I read Cracking the PM interview front to back, loved it, and have been having fun reading more about it since. I don't have much too much programming experience besides the basic intro classes (python) and dabbling in front end. I have a path to becoming a software engineer, but I think I'm a better fit for success as a PM I'm currently finishing an internship as an agile scrum master where I'm learning as much as I can from the POs and developers on the software dev process. Any advice on recruiting for PM? Where to target (probably not FAANG), what to focus on to improve my chances, etc. I'm also interested in data analytics roles that could also transfer to PM down the line. Thanks!
The number one job for any product manager regardless of how technical the product or company may be is to understand the customer, so I'd encourage you to continue your pursuit! The PM role varies company to company, but I'd broadly segment PM cultures into four buckets: 1) technical (e.g. Google) 2) general mgmt/business (e.g. Amazon) 3) UX design-focused (e.g. FB, Pinterest) and 4) data-heavy (e.g. Zynga). Your best bet is to align with the right culture for you and apply broadly within those buckets, including mid-stage startups where you have domain expertise. I wouldn't recommend startups < 50 people as they'll be too unstructured for a) your first PM gig and b) your first job out of school. As for what to focus on, Cracking the PM interview is great. But, I'd suggest two more exercises. First, start observing everything around you and asking yourself "how can this be better". You'll pick up on so many things in your day-day life that can be improved. Second, get in a quantitative mindset. Ask yourself how would I know if my idea worked? What metrics would I track? PM me if you wanna chat on the phone. Happy to help.
Thanks so much for your time and advice! Sent a PM over