Life after PM?

Mar 17 185 Comments

I’ve been an IC PM for 20 years. Jumped around a lot looking for a break into PM management but no luck. Seeing so many shitshows along the way I don’t think I even have the stomach for what I see most VP PMs doing.

It may be time for a career change. (I don’t want to go the founder route.) I really enjoy research and UI/UX but assume it doesn’t pay that well, plus I’m not sure I could take direction from a PM ;)

Maybe professional services, solution engineering, or sales. (Definitely not marketing.)

Anyone moved out of PM and have stories to share? Good, bad, or ugly.

Or: how old can I be before I can’t even get an IC PM job due to age-ism?

YOE: 20
TC: $240k

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TOP 185 Comments
  • Google
    OldNoob

    Go to company page Google

    OldNoob
    😐😐😐😐🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️🤦‍♂️😑😑😑
    Mar 17 6
  • I mean product management. I am a product manager. A major challenge is that I seem to consistently piss off my managers no matter how much I try to play politics and/or actually try to align on what we’re trying to accomplish. Therefore there is very little interest in helping me get a promotion. I keep trying to build the best products possible but so far no rocket ships that put me in a (good) spotlight.
    Mar 17 12
    • Haha @loaper75 not sure if you're trying to be earnest, but what you're describing is the definition of politics.
      Mar 21
    • New / Product
      superfan

      New Product

      superfan
      Pissing off your boss is the least effective way to get a promotion.
      Mar 22
  • Google / Product
    prodpeep

    Go to company page Google Product

    prodpeep
    I guess I’m a grizzled vet (also 20+ YOE PM, TC 800K) but I’m really happy being a PM and did all the other roles earlier in my career to figure out I liked PM best. Sales is fun, it’s great helping customers succeed by working directly with them to solve their problems. But it’s very tactical, and I prefer long-term strategic work. I’ve been a SWE, but I prefer to be very busy working on a lot of simultaneous projects. I’ve even been in IT but mostly nobody knows you’re there when you do a great job, only when you’re the hero. PM is strategic, impactful at a company level, you routinely work with higher level people in other roles, get to speak at conferences and travel to interesting places, you still have customer impact, etc. For me, it’s the ideal role.
    Mar 21 15
  • Amazon
    PLEILEP

    Go to company page Amazon

    PLEILEP
    You will have to help your manager on his promotion in order to get a promotion. Sick but truth
    Mar 17 3
  • Twitter
    gnhiutcc

    Go to company page Twitter

    gnhiutcc
    Staying in one company is the way to go. Find a place that you’ll be happy as an IC. Make your managers happy. Make others happy and be valuable to have around. Help others in their career. They will find a way to retain you.
    Mar 21 7
    • Spotify
      2STgTK

      Go to company page Spotify

      2STgTK
      Because managers get all their relevance from the political links they establish, which are useless in a different company.
      Mar 22
    • Twitter
      gnhiutcc

      Go to company page Twitter

      gnhiutcc
      Also a bad manager can cause excessive attrition. If you haven’t been a proven manager before it’s very risky for a new company to hire you in as a manager. Not worth it for them esp for the effed up supply demand for PMs
      Mar 22