Why I chose Product Management (PM) and why you should too
“Start with Why” is probably one of the most used quotes of all time as advice for people navigating their careers. As a 22 year old fresh grad, I never really understood this because I just wanted to compete with my classmates for the best job at the best company. I realize now that there really is no “best job” nor “best company,” only the best job for me and the best company for me. The difference lies in figuring out what my “why” is.
To be honest, I stumbled upon Product Management and came to love it. I never really knew what it was until my manager suggested I try it out because he thought I could do good in that area of the company I work for. Before being a PM, I’ve been in Sales/ Business Development, Product Marketing, UI/UX Design, and considered many other careers while in business school. (You can read more about my business school journey here). I have now been a PM for a year and a half, and I feel like I finally found a career that I know I will love and enjoy for a very long time. Here are the top reasons how and why I chose PM as a long-term career, and why you might want to be one too:
1. I thrive best in collaborative roles
At school and in previous roles, I always worked best when I collaborated with other people on ideas and task delegation. I always tried my best to have a highly engaged and cooperative team so that we can achieve the best results. One thing I’ve come to learn and love about the PM role is how team-oriented the role is!
Product Management involves constant communication with design, development and business teams to plan and ship features that are useful and delightful to customers. Although it requires a lot of discipline and patience to track and manage many projects, and speak the language of different teams, it gives me purpose because I learn something new on a daily basis.
2. I love working in a dynamic environment
No day is the same in Product Management. One day, you are planning a sprint with your team. The next day, you are in the field talking to different customers. The day after that, you are preparing decks to present to leaders in the company to show your product vision and roadmap.
For someone who loves doing something new and learning constantly, PM is the perfect role. Like I mentioned previously, PMs work with most of the teams in the organization, especially with design and engineering. Everyday is an opportunity to talk to and work with different people and generate exciting ideas together that would help propel your product to success
3. I am obsessed with design, customer experience and storytelling
Before becoming a PM, I worked in Marketing and UX Design. I loved being able to design experiences that would make people’s lives easier and better. I always wanted to make sure that every detail of our products, marketing materials, and even investor presentations told a story of how and why our company and our products exist.
Product Management sometimes gets a reputation for being only for former engineers or Computer Science graduates. In reality, Product Designers, UX Designers, and creatives can thrive in PM. A huge part of being a PM is advocating for the customer and designing engaging content and user-friendly products. If you’re a creative and think you can’t be a PM, know that your strengths are extremely valuable to building and shipping products.
4. I am challenged by problem solving
A big part of being a Product Manager is asking relevant questions, and seeking the best solutions to answer these questions. The challenge in problem solving is knowing how to use data, customer insights and feedback to test hypotheses in solving problems. Many times, it takes a lot of iterations, experimentation, and compromise to come up with the best solution, but it is well worth it when you see customers engaging with your product.
As much as this part of the job is the hardest for me, I love doing it because I enjoy being challenged. That way, when I come up with solutions with my team, I feel happy and fulfilled knowing that I did something hard but meaningful for the customers.
5. I simply love building and shipping products
Seeing your product launch is one of the best feelings in the world. Being a vital part of the process of how things came together from the ground-up is such an exciting thing too.
Conclusion
Being a PM is like being a conductor of an orchestra, working with many different musicians who play various instruments, and creating beautiful music by guiding the tempo and making sure everyone is in sync. In my day-to-day as a PM, I do the same with the many teams in my organization.
I chose PM as a long-term career because I love collaborating with others, solving problems with data and design thinking, and most of all, being an advocate for the customer.
