Making the transition from SWE to Product Management

New
cxRq81

New

cxRq81
Jul 16, 2020 10 Comments

Hi,

I am looking to transition to Product Management from SWE role. I have 5 years of SWE experience. Any advice on how I can make the transition?

I am currently working as a front-end engineer at an enterprise software company; I have experience leading a dev team as well as managing backlogs, sprints, releases, and interfacing with senior executives (stake holders).

My goals is to be working as a product manager sometime in the future. Preferably, 3 years from now...

Note: I've had this conversation with my manager in the context of growth and career goals, but it's going no where...

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TOP 10 Comments
  • Snapchat
    enigmatic0

    Go to company page Snapchat

    enigmatic0
    Get to know people on the product team. Ask to shadow their work including user interviews, and volunteer to take some stuff off their plate. It'll give you a taste for PM, whether you like it, and also give you unofficial experience.

    I write about PM here: productlessons.substack.com - might be helpful to you.
    Jul 16, 2020 0
  • New
    hunterrrr

    New

    hunterrrr
    In the long run, you will be happier as SWE else you will be at mercy of SWE. Product is for people who cannot be SWE.
    Jul 16, 2020 1
    • New
      cxRq81

      New

      cxRq81
      OP
      Fair point. However, I feel like product management skill sets are more universally transferable to other companies in tech. Whereas, in SWE roles are defined and to certain extent limited by experiences in specific tech stack.
      Jul 16, 2020
  • Amazon
    sincostan

    Go to company page Amazon

    sincostan
    At Amazon if you ace your leadership principals, get the coding requirements down well, but are meh at writing code you will get recommended for a product management role.
    Jul 16, 2020 1
    • New
      cxRq81

      New

      cxRq81
      OP
      Thanks. Should I apply for front-end dev role and request to be recommended for product management? Or should i just apply to product management role?
      Jul 16, 2020
  • I am interested to know as well
    Jul 16, 2020 1
    • New
      cxRq81

      New

      cxRq81
      OP
      What is your situation like? Could you share your experience?
      Jul 16, 2020
  • Apple
    Genneo

    Go to company page Apple

    Genneo
    You aren't gonna get any good answers without more effort in describing yourself 🀦🏻
    Jul 16, 2020 1
    • New
      cxRq81

      New

      cxRq81
      OP
      Thanks for the input. I've updated my post. Let me know if there are specific info you are looking for that may be helpful which I may have missed.
      Jul 16, 2020