Product Manager: Career Path

Being in product management leads to exciting opportunities and even executive positions. It's a career path that is welcoming to career changers. Experience is valued and needed.

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What does the Product Manager career path entail?

Product Manager

Building a product is hard and systematic skills in the space are needed. Product managers shape a product and are often the ones taking charge of changes and tracking success metrics.

That core position has its upsides: Great product managers experience immense career growth and can lead to director, VP and even C-level positions quite quickly.

For career changers, the job is also attractive. It's a leadership position that pays well above 6 figures on average and values experience from any kind of professional background.

Best books to explore the Product Management career path

A well-written and thorough book can be an amazing path to build deeper understanding and also act as a handbook as you discover the internet's vast resources.

These are our and our experts top picks to get started building career-relevant skills.

Measure What Matters: OKRs

Measure What Matters: OKRs

OKRs are well-established in data-driven organizations. This book by John Doerr talks about what OKRs to use and how to implement them right to focus on the right things.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Product Leadership

Product Leadership

What's better to build your understanding of product management than to build your very own product? This book walks you through how venture studios like Google Venture launch products fast and successfully.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Shape Up

Shape Up

Shape Up is coming out of the product factory Basecamp. Having been in business for over a decade, both as agency and product company, they have developed a unique and well-tested approach to product management.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

Badass: Making Users Awesome

Badass: Making Users Awesome

People love being empowered and your product's users are no exception to that. Find research and methods about how to make your users powerful and successful when using your product.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

The Art of Product Management

The Art of Product Management

Released in 2008, the Art of Product Management has truly stood the test of time and is among the top-selling management books, even today! A must-have in the library of any fresh product manager.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

The Lean Startup

The Lean Startup

Lean startup is an approach to building new businesses based on the belief that entrepreneurs must investigate, experiment, test and iterate as they develop products. The concept of Lean startup originated in the early 2000s and evolved into a methodology around 2010.

Recommended by the experts and mentors at MentorCruise.

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Courses to deepen your Product Management skills

These days, courses are no longer a sequence of videos. They are usually accompanied by projects and a learning community, keeping you accountable and on the path.

Our experts recommend these courses, from free selections to paid programs.

Product Management Specialization

Doing things by the book is always a good foundation to start from. The University of Virgina has a top-rated product management course on Coursera – a great starting point to learn the basics and ease your way into Product Management.

Available on coursera.org

Product School

For quite a few years now, Product School is the go-to place for folks who want to change their careers into Product Management in the form of a more traditional school and course approach. If you are serious about the change, Product School could be a great chance!

Available on provider

One Week PM

Online, One Week PM is handled as one of the leading online courses for new product managers in the otherwise surprisingly sparse environment. With over 2,000 students worldwide, it also comes with a ton of social proof from people that took the course and used it to claim their dream career as …

Available on oneweekpm.com

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eCornell Product Management Certificate

Online or not, having Cornell on your resumé is never a bad sign. Their online branch is now offering a product management certification. Their small group course is three months long, with an estimated effort of around five hours per week.

Available on ecornell.com

Get help with your learning journey

Learning through online courses can be challenging. Get 1:1 guidance from an experienced mentor who can help you stay accountable and answer your questions along the way.

Strategic Business Analytics Specialization

Data and product management is inching closer and closer together every single day. The Essec Business School has seen that trend and has turned it into a course for technical product managers.

Please note: This specialization is rather technical and requires some stats and programming k…

Available on coursera.org

Certified Product Manager

Early in your product management career, you can end up wasting months trying to learn more skills to break into a product manager role. Despite all of your hard work, you’ll always feel lost because:
You lack a formal background in product management or you’re coming from a different industr…

Available on producthq.org

Top Product Management Certifications

Understanding all core concepts of Product Management is key to claiming your next certificate. If you need help brushing up on your skills, consider reaching out to one of our mentors.

Emeritus Chief Product Officer Programme

IIM Kozhikode has launched the Chief Product Officer Programme for trailblazing product leaders who can combine product capabilities, data, and insights to power up product strategies and roadmaps. Break through a noisy market, adopt and execute nimble and winning product strategies and enter the l…

Product Management Certification Coaching

Consider reaching out to a coach specialized in Product Management certifications. They can help you prepare for your exam, and provide you with the necessary resources to succeed. MentorCruise is the best place to find a coach for your Product Management certification.

Professional Certificate Programme in Product Management

The IIM Kozhikode Professional Certificate Programme in Product Management is the perfect way to learn the skills you need to be a successful product manager. Whether you're a recent graduate or a seasoned professional, this programme will give you the knowledge and experience you need to build inn…

ProductSchool Product Management Certification (PMC)

Breaking into Product Management is hard—excelling at the job is even harder. To succeed as a Product Manager, you need to be strategic, influence without authority, manage processes tactfully, and generate insights; each alone is challenging, but mastering them all? That’s why we’re here. Designe…

SP Certification In Product Management

Become a certified product manager from SP Jain School of Global Management. Gain expertise in AI-powered product management courses (ChatGPT & Google Bard), top product tools, with 100% interactive, live sessions led by industry experts and SP Jain’s top faculties.

Stanford Product Management Program

Great product managers own every stage of a product’s lifecycle, from ideation to product retirement, and everything in between. They balance customer needs, production capabilities, and business profitability to make decisions at each step along the way. They are the backbone of a product's succes…

Product Management Workshop

Consider joining a workshop specialized in Product Management. Workshops are a great way to learn new skills, and get hands-on experience. MentorCruise is the best place to find a workshop for your Product Management certification.

Get the guidance you need on the Product Manager career path

There is no better source of accountability and motivation than having a personal mentor. What used to be impossible to find is now just two clicks away! All mentors are vetted & hands-on!

Accelerate your Product Manager career with professional consulting

Already working in the Product Manager field? Our Product Management consultants can help you and your team overcome challenges, implement best practices, and achieve your professional goals faster.

Connect with Product Management Consultants

Opportunities and projects in the Product Management space

In the end, advancing your career is all about getting the right opportunities at the right time and a good portion of luck.

These are some interesting things going on in the Product Management space and you probably don't want to miss them.

IndieHackers: Build your own product

Building your very own product puts you on the radar of any product-focused organization hiring managers, designers and engineers. Going from nothing to something requires and builds top-notch prioritization skills, the ability to stay scrappy and shows that you can get things done.

Read more

Join an early-stage organization

To get your foot in the door and make a difference, early-stage startups and businesses are exactly the way to go.

While the risk may be higher than at FAANG and other established businesses, you can also quickly build a lot more ownership and extend your portfolio in these companies.

Read more

Growing into a Senior Product Manager role pays off – $40,000 up to per year

Not only is the progression from individual Product Manager to a Senior role a natural progression, it also makes all the difference in your average salary.

On a global average, Senior Product Manager receive a $40,000 salary hike over entry-level Product Managers when they go from individual contributor to senior personnel.

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Related Product Manager Career Paths

Get the help you need & advance your career

Product management is a competitive career path, but one that hugely pays off. Are you ready to make the jump? Our mentors would be more than happy to help.