Product Management, as we know it, had its humble beginnings during the early 1940s, when a top FMCG manufacturer realized the importance of Product Managers in driving the overall business growth.
Since then, Product Management, in general, and the Product Manager role, in particular, has become more extensive, vast, and inclusive. At present, the role of Product Manager is the most valued in many top-notch business organizations.
Recent statistics show the growth of the Product Manager role has far surpassed the growth of other coveted designations like let’s say, the Software Engineer.
Between 2017 and 2019, while the demand for Software Engineer roles grew by 21%, the need for Product Managers grew by a whopping 32%, according to Medium.com. While 2020 has disrupted the standard chain of events, you can expect the demand for Product Managers to shoot up once things return to normalcy.
Go through this article in its entirety if you want to know what you must do to take up a coveted role in this high-growth sector and the best way to stay ahead in the race. Just in case you need some more motivation to stay put, check the Google product manager salary so that you are aware of the magnitude of the money.
What Does a Product Manager Do?
The role of a Product Manager is continually evolving.
Following are the top-11 responsibilities you can expect as a Product Manager:
- Research about the customers
- Align the business goals to the requirement of the customers
- Devise strategies to optimize product development and brand acceptability
- Liaison with various departments, key stakeholders, and customers
- Coordinate with the Associate Product Manager and the Product Management team
- Assign day to day tasks to the product development team members
- Design the product lifecycle and timeline
- Build and test a product before launching it in the market
- Analyze data to gauge the reaction of the customers
- Restrategize, rework and restructure products
- Conduct research and development activities
What Formal Qualifications Do You Need to Grab a High-Paying Product Job?
If you ever enroll at a Product Management course, you would be amazed to see the diverse nature of candidates as your peers. You would find engineers, doctors, lawyers, managers, accounting, IT, finance staff, and many others. You would also find employees of reputed multinational organizations like Facebook, Microsoft, PayPal, Adobe, Spotify, and so on.
If the diverse nature of candidates pursuing Product Management courses is any indication, to qualify as a Product Manager, the only qualification you need is a strong desire to understand customers and make your product the best in the market.
However, having a bachelor’s degree in management, sales, marketing, advertising, commerce, statistics, communications, or economics would give you a definite advantage over others. It will also help you if you have some experience in handling products.
While having a formal qualification puts you on a higher pedestal, not possessing any formal qualification usually never acts as a deterrent. If you are genuinely passionate about taking up a Product Manager course, you can join a short-term online Product Management course that can give you a solid thrust into the world of Product Management.
What are the Desirable Traits in a Product Manager?
A certificate in Product Management will give you a kickstart, whether you survive in the field or not will depend on a few other essential skills. Interviewers prefer candidates who display the following traits:
Leadership Skills
A Product Manager has to have natural leadership qualities. As you would be the sole decision-making authority on whose shoulders the success or failure of a product depends, you have to be an exceptional leader who can drive people to realize the lofty goals you have set for the product.
Communication Skills
As a Product Manager, you would have to communicate 80% of your time at work. A skilled PM is one who knows how to negotiate and take everyone on the same page. If you are not already a master communicator, it is high time you should buckle your shoes and start to learn the art of communication, especially DISC.
Relationship Management
A Product Manager is, by default, a relationship manager. In this age, a business can only survive if its products can create loyal users. As the chief architect of a product, you have to build a robust product development team and form a rapport with distributors and other key persons who can take your case forward.
Subject Knowledge
Take a look at the Facebook product manager salary and find out what makes a Product Manager command such a hefty sum. It would not be wrong to say that to become a successful Product Manager, you require 75% subject knowledge, and 25% other skills.
Choosing the right course is the essential thing that you should do to increase your subject knowledge. It is not mandatory to enroll at a long-term course, as any industry-approved short-term course can be equally informative as a long-term course.
Your course’s most important topics must have included the fundamentals of Product Management, PM interview tips, live projects, and industry interaction sessions.
How Much Salary Can You Expect as a Product Manager?
According to Aha!, some top companies across the US pay up to double the amount you can command in smaller organizations. Generally, as an Associate Product Manager, you may expect your salary to be in the range of $58,000 to $117,000 every year.
As a Product Manager, your payroll can be in the range of $78,000 to $154,000. And, as a Senior Product Manager, your salary can be anywhere between $97,000 and $185,000.
For a Product Manager, the sky’s the limit, literally. Sample this – a Chief Product Officer can earn anywhere between $130,000 and $274,000.
Conclusion
The Product Management field is buzzing with activity. If you feel there is a limited growth opportunity in your current role, then taking up a high-paying Product Management role can be the right thing for you.