You probably clicked on this post because you’re either 1. Interested in becoming a product manager 2. Are a product manager and just curious how I made it or 3. I posted this on a Reddit, Slack or similar channel to drive some traffic. The other possibility is that you clicked on some ad I paid for to drive traffic here (yay online advertising!). Regardless, you’re here so you should read on…
It’s been a little over a year and a half since I became a product manager. Before becoming a product manager, I was a hardware (electrical) and wannabe embedded software engineer. Product management was a short-term career goal of mine and I set out specific goals and milestones to get there. It wasn’t easy, but anything that’s worth it is usually not easy. My point of view is ‘if it was easy to achieve, you didn’t set the bar high enough’.
Often when I talk to colleagues, a fellow engineer, a friend, or a college student, they’ll ask ‘How did you do it?’. This encouraged me to write about my experience. Strangely enough, I wasn’t able to find many stories around individuals who have made the transition. However, most product managers I work with or know were engineers at some point.
So here I am… I’ll be writing a series of posts around making the transition from engineering to product management. My path may not have been the best path or may not be the right path for all, but I wanted to give insight to those asking the question and hope it’ll be helpful to those looking to make a similar transition. I’ll start with the tactile side of the house and then dive deeper into the mindset change, challenges, etc.
All the Posts
Engineer to Product Manager: Intro
Engineer to Product Manager: Background
Engineer to Product Manager: The Decision
Engineer to Product Manager: The Resume
Engineer to Product Manager: The Search
Engineer to Product Manager: The Preparation
Engineer to Product Manager: The Interview
Engineer to Product Manager: The Offer
Engineer to Product Manager: Day 1