As a non-it professional how does one start in PM career? What are transferable skill sets required for a middle management PM role?

First off, I'd check the entry point. I think it's rare that somebody would be new to product management and be coming in as a middle manager. Typically, people without a product management background are either going to be coming in at an entry level or occasionally as an executive who might be running a department on an interim basis, but those typically aren't permanent. So that said, I've seen people come in successfully from a few different functions. Some of those include sales engineering ...Read More

I have worked with PMs who do not have an engineering or CS background but have worked in other functions in a Tech company, such as Project Management, Marketing, Sales, and Customer Success, to name a few. The underlying skills for these functions overlap with the PM job, such as requirements gathering, listening to customers, narrowing down their pain points, identifying the right target messaging and product positioning, etc. If your skills align better with one of the other functions, I wou ...Read More

Generally, a good way to transition is when you change one dimension at a time. So, either change your company, role or industry. Trying to move across several things is hard (not impossible). In that context, the best shot is at trying for a product role within your existing company. Build relationships, try to stick around product work (e.g. exploratory analysis to help product teams prioritize, understand usage, measure impact, etc.), and ask mentors to let you drive some work (usually, there ...Read More

A few key areas include strategic thinking, problem solving, customer and market validation, cross-functional management, analytical and strong communication. These are all broader skills that you can actively employ even in a non-product management role.  A few areas to explore as you consider transitioning to product management career:  Develop and actively deploy some of the above skills in your current role  If available, shadow a PM in a project to learn more about the day-to-day  Volunteer ...Read More

If you're a non-IT professional looking to start a career in product management, it's important to recognize and leverage your transferable skills. Many skills that you might have developed in other roles can be extremely valuable in a PM position, even if they don't seem directly related at first glance. For example, let's say in your first job, your boss asked who managed the finances in your household. This question, while seemingly unrelated, actually taps into a key aspect of product manage ...Read More

The best part of Product Management is that many of the skills are transferable and while domain knowledge can be important, even that can be learned on the job. Key skills can differ based on which level you are at in your PM career, so am focusing on some that I think are most relevant for a middle management PM role. Strategic and critical thinking: Thinking long term, big picture is important you ahve to drive the vision for your product and make decisions quickly by cutting through the nois ...Read More