Consulting transition to FAANG product management
Has anyone here made the jump from consulting to product manager at FAANG and if so, how was the transition and how would you compare the two roles?
Engineers will find you annoying and peer PMs will think lesser of you.... Kinda joking kinda not. Show that you're not just a business/slides guy and have some tech chops/can talk tech with the team.
What happens if you have a Tech/CS background? Are you still thought of as “lesser” if you’ve spent some time at MBB?
It depends how you present yourself. "I'm a tech person who wanted to learn business in MBB, and now I'm excited to be back in core tech" is good. "I'm a consultant but I can also code" is not as good. Also remember that in tech they don't care about MBB v. Deloitte v. OW. Heck some think PwC or E&Y is the same as those other firms lol. Just a "business job"
Unless you’re a CS grad and have some SWE exp and from MBB, good luck!
My wife went from consulting to startup PM to non-FAANG unicorn PM. She has been hit up by FB recruiters but doesn’t want to leave her job yet. Most common routes are doing product management at a smaller company or going to B-school and interviewing for a PM position from there.
Yep, went from boutique firm to industry, to Big 4 now FAANG PM. Much more agile and data driven at FAANG, overall better product org culture and authority for the role not tied to Service Line partner influence.
My sister is a senior manager at EY. She says they don't let her be partner because she's a woman. She has well over 15 YOE there. Taking culture into consideration, is it true?
There are plenty of female partners in EY as well as other Big4. Historically women were discriminated against in such promotions, there is even a landmark case regarding that. They are trying to fix that (they have female partners % goals), but I won't be surprised if that's still a problem. https://www.afr.com/companies/professional-services/ey-to-have-women-make-up-30-per-cent-of-top-earners-by-2020-20180313-h0xe07
Made it from deloitte to FANG. Had three offers ranging from pm to tpm. Engineers don't know what MBB is and they don't give crap about it. You earn your respect by doing good work.
FAANGers in general dgaf about anything. You can be making millions at Blackstone/KKR/Apollo but unless you solve a Leetcode hard, you are a nobody to them.
masterJP, what helped you make the transition? Was it experience as an SDE or some other factor?
Yes. Via MBA to Amazon. Roles are pretty different, but the skills you have would be very useful. In other words, getting the first PM role would be the most difficult, you need to convince you are not going to waste time of dev team (who are more expensive than you). After some PM experience having a consulting background will help with career growth.
Surely, made a transition from Deloitte to FAANG as a PM. Different culture, in a good way.
Learn some Aha! and Jira and you’ll be good to go.
Lol. No.
Easier from MBB, difficult from Big Four.
Mbb?
MBB - McKinsey, Bain, Boston Consulting Group. Considered the best of the best for consulting firms.