15 years experience at Google, Amazon, Microsoft as PM, TPM, SWE. On my way to FIRE. AMA

Google
FIRE man

Go to company page Google

FIRE man
Jun 11, 2020 755 Comments

A few words about me:
- Worked at Google, Amazon and Microsoft as Product Manager, Technical Program Manager and Software Engineer for ~15 years
- MBA from M7 program
- Blogging about tech careers, personal finance and my path to FIRE (Financial Independence Retire Early) at https://EngineerSeekingFIRE.com

Ask me about:
- Differences between the big tech companies
- Differences between PM, TPM and SWE and how to transition from one to the other
- Interview preparation advice
- MBA (profile evaluations, suggestions for programs, application preparation, what I’ve learned, etc)
- FIRE and personal finance
- Blogging and my blog
- Anything else that interests you :)

If you want to connect with me, my social media handles are:
- Twitter: @EngSeekingFIRE
- Instagram, Facebook, Pinterest: @EngineerSeekingFIRE

UPDATE: This AMA is now closed. However, if more new questions (ie different than what was asked before) are posted, I will do my best to answer them in a timely manner.

I wanted to thank everybody, who participated in this discussion. Hopefully you found my answers helpful.

comments

Want to comment? LOG IN or SIGN UP
TOP 755 Comments
  • Excellent article on prepping for a product manager interview. It’s a nice high-level guide on how to approach the job as well. Plenty of people hold that title at start-ups and elsewhere, without really understanding what a good pm does.

    I can’t claim to be FIRE since I’m in my 50’s - although I did essentially do a mid career retirement to spend more time with kids, before returning to work.

    Biggest issue now is convincing my spouse we have enough to stop working. ($4M net assets plus content with lowish-budget life style.) The older you are, the riskier the extended forecast looks... Plus going back to work if things don’t work out is harder in your 60’s than in your 40’s or even in your 50’s.
    Jun 11, 2020 3
    • After the mid-career retirement? I care back in a junior-ish position, despite significant prior (and partly outdated) experience.) I’m a reasonably fast learner. Being in the workforce made it easier to figure out what to focus on - and my prior experience made me a standout in my lower level position- so I moved up quickly. Problem now is that I’m bored. I’m not sure I’m going to be around long enough to make a major shift worthwhile, but staying put without growing is kinda painful... I don’t think a second re-entry is realistic because of the perception people have of older workers. I doubt I’d be given the opportunity to prove myself again if I left and came back.
      Jun 11, 2020
    • Google
      FIRE man

      Go to company page Google

      FIRE man
      OP
      Glad that you found the content useful :)

      Good luck!
      Jun 12, 2020
  • New
    pPRQ61

    New

    pPRQ61
    Have you seen any instances where product marketing managers switched over to Product management? if so what are some of the skills marketing managers would need to obtain?
    Jun 11, 2020 2
    • Google
      FIRE man

      Go to company page Google

      FIRE man
      OP
      Yes, I've seen lots of people, who switched. One particular example is from a person, with whom we were working very closely at Microsoft. He was definitely not technical. And the interesting thing is that he did not even want to focus on the deep technical aspects of the work. However, he was awesome, because he knew how to build connections, talk to customers, do great presentations to showcase the value of the product and he played with all his marketing-related strengths. And the end result is that the products that he launched had great product-market fit and lots of great feedback from customers.

      Here are my top 3 skills to obtain:

      1. Become technical: I think that being technical helps. This does not meet that you should learn how to code or to do design reviews. Instead, you should understand the competitive landscape and understand how to talk to developers. In the majority of your meetings you might be the only non-developer. You should be able to understand what they are talking about and not twiddle your fingers. Don't afraid to speak up

      2. Learn how to talk to customers: As a PMM you're doing outbound marketing, whereas the PM is doing inbound work. You will need to learn from customers and understand their business needs. Then you'll have to be able to translate those needs to your developers, so that they can develop the best product.

      3. Be the driver of your product: Most PMMs are not involved in product development. Instead, they are handed a product and they need to find the best way to take it to market. As a PM, you'll have to define the vision, bring new ideas to the table, sell them to execs and to your team, etc. You'll need to become a leader without any formal authority, since nobody will report to you.
      Jun 11, 2020
    • PGIM
      guBX41

      Go to company page PGIM

      guBX41
      Wow nicely written!
      Jun 11, 2020
  • I have an offer from Amazon, and I'm seriously considering switching jobs. What's the difference do you think between Google, Amazon, Microsoft in terms of culture/pay etc.
    Jun 11, 2020 4
  • Google
    Lpt3up

    Go to company page Google

    Lpt3up
    Do you think MBA helped you get into being a PM / TPM? Do you know any other grads from MBA program and what do they do? Are there any MBA grads you know working as TPM/PM and do they need additional technical skills beyond graduate school?
    Jun 11, 2020 3
  • New
    lSah63

    New

    lSah63
    What advice do you have for somebody who has only SWE experience and wants to get into PM / TPM role at FAANG.

    PS: I have 3+ swe experience and got rejected for TPM by HC at Google for low / no relevant experience
    Jun 11, 2020 12
    • Google
      FIRE man

      Go to company page Google

      BIO
      Blogging about tech careers and personal finance at https://EngineerSeekingFIRE.com
      FIRE man
      OP
      PMs (Product Managers) and PM-Ts (Product Managers - Technical) are Product Managers. They are very similar. They both own the vision, product features, backlog, KPIs, etc. PM-Ts are considered to be more technical, so they go through a technical (system design) interview, are more involved in engineering discussions (that’s why they are only hired for AWS and Alexa) and are paid more (equal to TPMs).

      TPMs are Technical Program Managers, so they own the timelines, project plan, communications, etc.
      Nov 27, 2020
    • Thank you! Yes, preparing for Alexa and AWS. Brushing up NLP, DL, ML, Sys Design, and LPs.
      Nov 28, 2020