What skills or background should aspiring technical product managers consider?

This response also applies to one of the other questions asked here - "What qualities stand out in some of the best TPMs you know?"

I strongly believe that you can be a successful technical product manager regardless of your background, as long as you have the passion and growth mindset. It is not rocket science (for that matter, look at Elon Musk for rocket science). So I’ll focus on some of the desirable soft skills that makes one a successful technical product manager -

• Able to technically grok how things work, very fast
• Balanced (between Strategic and Technical thinking) & Objective
• Data driven
• Extreme ownership
• Being thorough
• Strong communication
• High EQ & Empathy
• Dealing with ambiguity and chaos
• Growth mindset

I’m intentionally not focusing on domain skills, because they can learnt. A good technical product manager should be able to take up any problem and build something to solve for it. Along the way they’ll likely gain the domain skills required to meet that goal (Eg: ML/AI, Integrity/Risk, Distributed systems, Autonomous vehicles, Game theory, Ad Auctions etc).

I personally don’t fret over incrementally building my career around a set of ‘domain skills’. I’ve always looked at my career as a mosaic, I’ve done a variety of roles as a technical product person and gained a wide range of experiences. What matters is 3 things:
1) Do you find your work to be meaningful?
2) Are you learning something in that process?
3) Are you having fun?

Aspiring technical product managers should consider developing the following skills and background:

1. Technical expertise: A strong understanding of technology and the ability to communicate effectively with technical teams is essential for technical product managers. Familiarity with coding languages, software development methodologies, and industry-standard tools can help aspiring technical product managers gain credibility with their teams.
2. Customer empathy: Technical product managers should have a deep understanding of their customers' needs and pain points. They should be able to conduct customer research and use this information to inform their product development decisions.
3. Business acumen: Technical product managers should have a good understanding of the business context in which their products operate. This includes understanding the competitive landscape, market trends, and financial metrics. They should be able to use this information to make informed decisions about their product development priorities.
4. Analytical skills: Technical product managers should be able to analyze data, draw insights from it and use it to make informed decisions.
5. Communication skills: Technical product managers need to be able to communicate effectively with both technical and non-technical stakeholders. They should be able to explain complex technical concepts in a way that is easy for non-technical stakeholders to understand, and be able to negotiate and influence stakeholders to achieve their product goals.

It's fantastic that you're planning to grow your skills. You probably already have solid technical skills and knowledge, so I'd suggest focusing on learning more about the discipline of Product Management (and hey, reading this is a great start!). A fundamental resource I always recommend is Marty Cagan's books: Inspired, Empowered, and Loved. Start with these to establish a strong foundation in Product Management.