“Non-techie” Product Manager
I’d love to move from Finance to FAANG but seems like Product Managers tend to have developer backgrounds. I dont know how to code but I work well with developers and generally can call out their B.S. I’m great with the business and have a strong PM background. Do you think I could score a job at Google with my skillset? What other job options would there be for me at FAANGs being a bit less technical but with an excellent product manager background?
“Call out their bs” Assuming they tell you BS sounds like you wouldn’t be a delightful pm for developers to work with. Companies that focus on tech like google will smell that kind of personality from 10 miles away.
No need to feel offended or get touchy. My point is that I am able to generally gauge level of effort and can encourage movement on an implementation when something should take days vs. weeks. No complaints from the devs I’ve worked with, just mutual respect despite me not being a techie.
You can’t call bs on tech people. They call bs on you or quietly sabotage you away.
“ I work well with developers and generally can call out their B.S.” ...that’s gonna be a no from me dawg
See my response above. And yes... even PM’s B.S... and I’m happy to have devs call me out on a requirement that can possibly wait. That’s the nature of working relationships! :)
PMs who have a technical background/been developers in the past are much more respected by devs, because PMs without technical background may be out of touch with reality when it comes to some feasibility issues or technical problems and often set unrealistic demands/deadlines. If you enter with a defensive mindset towards the devs, it may not be conducive to cooperation.
Yep, I hear you and I’ve certainly felt that I’ve had to gain my devs respect when joining a new team/effort. But the respect comes because I collaborate well. That said, I’m sure it would be even better if I did have a tech background
Can you explain what you mean when you say you “collaborate well”?
I think PMs do not need strong technical background. Amazon even hires fresh MBA grads for PM positions. Software engineers in FAANG are usually smart and do not depend on PMs calling out BS to get work done. You’ll learn more about the culture once you start working here.
Good to know. And I appreciate how you phrased the last line :)
You could try for a TPM or a Product specialist. They seem suited to your skill set.
Thanks! Feels like TPM’s are going extinct in favor of PM’s these days tho. Product specialist is a good idea... will check what’s out there
Lol
PM’s specifically from Google generally have a strong tendency to come from technical backgrounds. You’d be much better off trying to get into FB or Amazon with a non-technical background.
Thanks, that’s what I’ve heard but hoping perhaps there’s a way to at least get my foot in the door via an alternative position and then navigate my way to a PM role eventually. Definitely will look into FB and Amazon as well. Thx!
Navigate to PM in Google from alternative path is not very easy as you could imagine