I see so many guys/gals want to become a PM with hopes of becoming next pichai. All these boot camps across the world are ravaging LinkedIn posting stuff and luring candidates charging ridiculous fees claiming this is the only good thing out there . I am seeing 3-5 YouTubers posting content day in day out on PM hacks . I even reviewed the content for some of these and laughed my ass out because that stuff can be learned for free outside . On a bigger note a simple search on levels. FYI shows PM salaries are 25-40% lesser than a SWE at the same level even at FAANG,s. The interview process at top companies is really crazy especially google where the expectation is you got to know everything and think like pichai for L5 PM as well. Another thing they state is you don’t need MBA, you don’t need to know tech, you don’t need to know how to code , seriously ?? Wtf are you going to do after getting hired ?.. if that’s the case my grandmom who knows English can become a PM. In summary —> it’s not the highest paying job, you get blamed first if the product fails, way too much stress … yea maybe it’s a high visible role but the low salary compared to a tech job doesn’t add up….what gives ??? TC: 500K
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I’ve actually gone through PM profiles on LinkedIn. Most of them didn’t study CS and come from fields such as the arts/humanities. If they’re able to get these jobs, then clearly they must be doing something right. They for sure know something that we don’t. Following.
People in corporate america assume that *not* having tech skills automatically means you’re great at business and communication. It’s stupid. Not having a skill doesn’t mean you have the complementary skill. Having a skill doesn’t mean you don’t have the other skill as well.
@Wayfair, you’re correct. So, what are you responding to?
I feel MAANG are looking for next revolutionary idea that could sustain them for coming decades. These companies may be hiring thousands of PM's, but they are in search of next Steve Jobs, Sundar, Satya or anyone who can take these companies to next level as it is the constant grind for the modern day technology organizations innovate and grow.
Yea im pretty sure they do acquisitions for that
I feel some of th best CEOs in the top companies are people who understand Product. Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, etc. A lot of great products have came out from these big tech companies so having good Product People is obviously important.
But the question isn’t if product people are important or not. Why do so many people want to be product managers?
Pays decent , it's big picture ans lets them create without having to debug code
Product is a really fun role where you work with sales, marketing, engineering, and leadership. It’s a great role that’s hard to break into and even harder to do well. since we spend so much time working it helps to at least somewhat like your job
I’m looking to break in, can I dm you
@heaiaxm could I dm you too?
1. pays really well 2. hugely transferable skillset (you learn technology, marketing, sales, design) 3. doesn’t ‘require’ technical ability, so less of a (at least) perceived barrier to entry 4. within a growing industry 5. solid WLB (for the most part) 6. get to deliver features/products to millions of people if B2C what more could you ask for?
1. Pays really well??? Cmon it’s not top dollars
Fruitboy check levels, SWE's make a bit more but it's not that much higher, plus PM's level faster and arguably have a higher ceiling
I can do a product role and not code or design anything. Purely monkey see monkey do strategy formation by stealing from competitors “competitive analysis” Big words about transformative technologies on the block chain on the edge fully hybrid secure containerized AI ethical I have no idea what I’m talking about Better yet a small cabal of anti-tech PMs can support each other and carve a small fiefdom where we are always targeting a POC for The Next Big Thing we just need 3 years of runway, 1000 engineers, oh look nothing happened it’s because the engineers are clueless and so we need to restructure and reprioritize and go for a v2 - that’ll just be another 3 years please
You okay bud? Sounds like you've been hurt by a Product Manager...
As a PM who thinks I'm pretty good at my job, this was pretty damn hilarious 😂
This is the answer - PM is way tougher to get into than SWE due to sheer lack of open roles. There is literally 20 SWE positions for 1 PM position and the general population looking for tech jobs have business backgrounds. They are all gunning for PM because they don't code. Competition is fierce for all open PM reqs in big tech. Companies have a shortage of SWEs so anyone with a coding bootcamp can eventually break in. PM vs SWE pay is similar at same levels in most tech now. Gone are the days where SWE pay was higher for same levels. The gap has closed. At least at Workday - PM offers are the exact same band as SWE offers. Same with Amazon and Netflix. I think G and Meta - SWEs still make more. Also PMs rank up faster than SWE and have a higher career trajectory in management. PMs in management usually make directors, VPs, GMs at a much likely rate than SDM counterparts.
Let’s not forgot about excellent exit opportunities too
Amazon still pays more to SWEs at the same level.
I switched back from PM to swe Bc Pm was so overrated
What was that process like? Did you do it internally or switched externally?
What does overrated mean in this context. Your review isn't that useful when it's this bare
Who is Pichai and what is his story? Not in the industry
Sundar Pichai aka Google CEO. Started off as a base level PM at Google, Led Google Chrome to what it is today, eventually became CEO.
Sundar Pichai is the Google CEO. Google him
The title serves my fragile ego.
Seriously. Through undergrad part of me just wanted to be PM for the title when im SWE at heart. Sounds so cool
More or less. It’s a more “important” job, higher visibility, etc