I'm a PM with a strong consumer / marketing background, comfortable in technical discussions, but don't have a CS degree, nor have I worked in a proper software company. I'm struggling to get the time of day from most tech companies. Have gotten a few interviews from e-commerce and physical product-focused firms, but even with a referral e.g. Indeed won't touch me. Looking for advice from Bay area product managers on how to make the leap and shore up shortfalls in my experience. #productmanagement #productmanager #hardware #sanfrancisco #bayarea #pm #jobhunt
Maybe start with a CS master.
My degree is in economics, is it really feasible to get a master's degree in CS as a beginner? Also, wouldn't that be total Overkill for someone who is already a PM and has no intention of doing actual engineering?
You can get one part time from a local community college. It’s not overkill and in my opinion necessary to open better doors for you.
What degree do you have? You may want to try working for a small software company to add that experience to your resume if you are having trouble getting interviews.
My degree is in economics with an art minor. I don't mind working for a small place either, but it's still been tough.
What kind of hardware products? (If you can elaborate without giving too much away). Maybe it’ll take a couple of moves to get exactly where you’d like to be. CS degree not needed to be a PM; sure it’ll help open the door in a lot of places, but there should still be plenty of options with a few YOE.
Consumer audio, i.e. Bluetooth stuff mostly. I've also got an app under my belt there. It's a bit technical and there is a major ux facet to the work. So I'm a little surprised that I have zero credibility, I thought I might be able to have like... 15% credibility, lol
You don't need a CS degree. Itll be a multi step process. Try to move to a company that has a relevant PM job. Put it in your time for a year and then try to transfer internally. Google HW, Lab126, FB HW, Apple should be target companies. Google does prefer technical backgrounds but I have met several PMs who don't have engg background but several years of external PM exp
Thanks! I will give those a look. I appreciate the advice.
For one, I recommend using more hashtags. Respectfully, Clippy2.0
Sorry, first post, not familiar with tag etiquette yet.
Lol, don't worry about it. I'm just being a d*ck. Good luck with the search.