Looking to see if any one from semiconductor engineering background or other non CS background used product school to transition to software product management ( this is an 8 week program in SF taught by current PMs) I am looking for people who have may be worked in semiconductor companies with engineering degrees who have used this program. It is about 4k for a 8 week course and not sure if it can remove some of the hurdles in the PM Search.
Thanks noice for this detailed input, some more details on the specific issues i am facing to see if you might have any tips A) i am a bs and ms in semiconductors ( chip development ) worked 6+ yrs in that type of engineering ( chip testing, trouble shooting and physical failure analysis, transferring to an international fabs etc)( chip products are b2b so no customer interaction, product marketing was the liaison, no specific product management function that I knew of in these companies) B) got an MBA from a top 10 US school but pursued rotation programs in general management and landed in business ops world ( improving ops excellence ex projects such as sales is spending time on non sales items make it more efficient, improve handoffs and remove waste steps in work between groups etc type work) C) did UC Berkeley PM 5 day program ( trying to get agile scrum and product owner as well) Challenges in diff product areas seem to be: Software application or mobile app: not being a software developer or ux person or mktng person no traction so far Device product management:( ex wearables, amazon devices , nest thermostat etc) not sure why my semicon background doesnt get even that first interview, but looks like they are looking for consumer product experience ex iphone ipad etc. In bschool got to Amazon 2nd round but didnt make it there. Anyways trying to localize which product which company will be the least difficult to break in Any ideas? 😀
Gotcha. Sounds like you have a very solid background, but your issue is the industry you're coming from... I honestly think what you're missing is re-branding yourself. I would take into consideration point number 3 (do a lot of networking, start writing and sharing thoughts and perhaps do some free product consultancy)... Basically don't market yourself as someone who doesn't know anything about Product Management and want to make a move into it. The reality of being a PM in technology is that you only will learn it when you actually do it and it will most definitely change from company to company... Given the background you described seems like you already have a fair advantage over multiple people who are trying to break into product management.
Thanks noice will do, currently focussed on rebranding and internal networking in different pm groups at salesforce( but most roles here are director roles so too senior) Trying to see if amazon pm in southbay is an option ( cant move to seattle hence will see) Trying to also find free product apprenticeship opptys to see if it will fill any gaps. Also asking salesforce pm s if there are pieces volunteer in free time to help will see if it gets anywhere.
Edited title and post to make it more aligned
I'm happy to help. I made the transition to pm from an engineering role without an MBA. The trick was to pick a startup in dire need for someone with technical skills with good product acumen. Especially a technical product manager.
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Probably not worth it... It might help you to secure some extra interviews but any good PM hiring manager wouldn't give you any extra appreciation for that. In my experience there are only three ways to move from an SDE role to a PM role: 1) Go and get an MBA.( 1 to 2 years / Expensive) 2) Re-adapt your internal career plan. Talk with your manager and PMs. Tell them that you want to eventually become a PM and start taking on small product management tasks. Take all the internal training related to that Job family + attend product meetings, conferences etc...Move laterally to a PM job within your company. (1 to 2 years). 3) Start your self-learning journey, write articles and start forming your Product sense. Attend conferences and meet-ups. Network. Get a job in a startup that can benefit from your applied technical knowledge + your energy to become a great PM. (6 months to a year) Quite honestly you already overcame the biggest hurdle in getting a good PM job which is having a technical background...and if you don't believe me, go and ask people without technical backgrounds that are trying to get PM jobs...