How to Become a Product Manager

By Dillon Price, Monster Contributor

From small gadgets to large machine parts, innovative products enrich our lives and help us solve problems. Want to drive progress at the cutting-edge of product development? When you learn how to become a product manager, you can become the mastermind behind the next breakthrough product.

The product manager career path is a rewarding one with tons of room for advancement. Many product managers go on to become senior product managers, directors of product management, VPs of product management, and chief product officers. Plus, you can enjoy a nice salary with the potential to boost your earnings through bonuses and promotions.

Are you ready to learn more about how to become a product manager? Read on to find out what being a product manager entails and how to get your foot in the door.

What Is a Product Manager?

A product manager is a business professional who oversee the development of products that fulfill customers’ needs. They’re responsible for the entire product strategy and work in a variety of industries.

There are several types of product managers, including:

  • Technical product managers (TPM): TPMs possess engineering skills and focus primarily on the technical aspects of product development.
  • UX product managers: UX product managers focus on user experience in product development and focus on accessibility and ease-of-use.
  • Digital product managers (DPM): A DPM is responsible for the lifecycle of digital products.
  • Software product manager (SPM): SPMs oversee software development and often work with software engineers, developers, and design teams.
  • Growth product managers (GPMs): GPMs often experiment with product concepts and designs. They also focus on improving existing products and use consumer data to make their decisions.

What Does a Product Manager Do?

The primary role of a product manager is to lead product development from concept to launch. Product managers determine customers’ needs and demands through market research. They also determine which purposes products will serve and how to best fulfill customers’ needs.

Typical product manager responsibilities include:

  • Conducting market research.
  • Developing product strategies, production timelines, and pricing plans for products.
  • Reviewing product specifications and requirements.
  • Making product line recommendations.
  • Determining the stakeholders involved in product development.
  • Establishing and monitoring metrics for product success.
  • Obtaining customer feedback on new products.
  • Leading product development and marketing teams.

Product Owner vs. Product Manager: What’s the Difference?

Product owners and product managers often work together to ensure that development teams follow product roadmaps and that customers’ needs are met. However, product managers usually take on strategic roles within a product lifecycle, while product owners take on a tactical role.

Product owners typically handle day-to-day activities such as managing product backlogs, determining the value of products developed by scrum and agile teams, and deciding which user stories best fit into the product backlogs. They also act as communicators between development teams, customers, and stakeholders.

Both product managers and product owners work on scrum and agile teams. However, the product owner role only exists in the scrum and agile development cycle. Product managers are responsible for the entire product development lifecycle and often work outside of scrum and agile as well. Some product managers act as a jack-of-all-trades and take on the responsibilities of product owners.

How to Become a Product Manager

Not sure how to get into product management? Start with your education. Many employers prefer candidates who have a bachelor’s degree in business, engineering, marketing, or a related field. Some product managers have a master’s in business administration (MBA).

Becoming a product manager typically requires you to understand user experience (UX), product design and development, key performance indicators (KPIs), computer-aided design (CAD) tools, and System Applications and Products (SAP) software. Additionally, many employers want to see that you have a proven track record of innovation and development.

Along your technical knowledge, employers look for product managers with these skills and qualities:

  • excellent problem-solving skills.
  • a good eye for detail.
  • strong analytical skills and the ability to understand data.
  • strategic thinking skills.
  • good communication and interpersonal skills.
  • team management skills.
  • public speaking and presentation skills.
  • finance management skills.
  • decision-making skills.

Learn more about how to become a product manager by reading this job description sample.

Obtain Product Management Certification

When it comes to product development and management, employers look for the best possible candidates. Obtaining a professional certificate is a great way to build and enhance the skills needed to be successful in product management.

The Association of International Product Marketing and Management (AIPMM) offers the Certified Product Manager (CPM) credential. As a CPM, you’ll be able to demonstrate proficiency in market, business, project, and product launch planning. You’ll also develop skills in phase-gate processes, product and marketing data, and product lifecycle project modeling. 

Another option is the New Product Development Professional (NPDP) certificate from the Product Development and Management Association (PDMA). The NPDP certificate program will help you develop skills in portfolio management, new products process, lifecycle management, team management, tools and metrics, and market research.

Familiarize Yourself With Important Product Management Tools

It’s highly recommended that you familiarize yourself with scrum and agile work management before applying to jobs in product management. Scrum offers several courses that can help you gain hands-on experience in the scrum framework. The Project Management Institute offers agile certification programs that can help you demonstrate your proficiency in project management.

You can also boost your value to employers by becoming proficient in product management tools such as analytics, road-mapping software, customer surveying tools, presentation software, and flowcharts.

Product Manager Career Path

Have you thought about how to get into product management, but are not sure how to get your foot in the door? You’ll probably need to start as an associate product manager. This role involves assisting product managers with marketing research, data gathering, and customer research analysis.

Many associate product manager jobs are entry-level and give you the opportunity to gain experience and advance to a mid-level product management position. As a mid-level product manager, you have tons of room for advancement, including into these positions:

  • Senior Product Manager: The senior product manager position typically requires an MBA and 3-5 years of product management experience. As a senior product manager, you perform the same duties as a mid-level product manager but take on a much broader role in the product development process.
  • Director of Product Management: If you have at least 10 years of product management experience, you could move up to a director of product management position implementing process improvement strategies, leading and supervising development teams, and building overall consensus within a company.
  • VP of Product Management: VPs typically need an MBA and seven or more years of experience in product management. They must also be proficient in marketing, consulting, financial planning, and business software. As a VP, you oversee the product development team and monitor the entire development process from the concept to the final stage.
  • Chief Product Officer: You must have an MBA and at least 10 or more years of product management experience to become a chief product officer. As a chief product officer, you would be in charge of the entire company’s product-related matters. That includes the product strategy, vision, design, development, and marketing.

How Much Do Product Managers Make?

According to Monster’s salary data, the median product manager salary is $96,129 per year. An entry-level product manager salary could be around $71,081 per year, while an advanced position in product management can pay as much as $116,244.

Want to know how much product managers earn in your area? Just enter the job title and location into Monster’s Salary Tool to find the median salary, pay range, and potential next steps in your career path.

How to Find Product Manager Jobs

Do you get the gist of how to become a product manager? If so, let’s put your job search into focus. Start by creating and refining your product manager resume, so it provides employers with a comprehensive overview of your skills and experience. Also, make sure you have a cover letter ready to send with your resume before you apply.

Then, search for product manager jobs across the U.S. on Monster. Want to know where product managers are in the highest demand? Check out opportunities in these five U.S. cities:

Develop a Successful Career in Product Management

Now that we’ve guided you through the lifecycle of how to become a product manager, what’s next on your agenda? Complete your profile at Monster to find product management jobs in your area. We’ll streamline your job-search experience by making your resume visible to hiring managers and sending you free job alerts. Plus, we have a wealth of career advice resources to help you successfully land a new job.