Associate product managers can start at around $60K–$70K, with a senior product manager salary in the $100K–$150K range. JB: According to Glassdoor, the average base pay for a product manager is $110,500. What is the typical product manager starting salary? What’s important for product managers is the willingness to learn about the technology that’s used in building their products so they can better communicate with their development teams. A graduate degree like an MBA, while not required, is a plus. If your degree is in business, liberal arts, or one where you’ve had to do a lot of writing, even better. JB: You don’t need a tech background to be a product manager unless you’re working on very technical products. What kind of educational background does someone looking to get into product management need? There are also analytical tools like Google Analytics, Tableau, or Pendo that help to understand how products are being used. Aha and Productboard are two products that are designed for PMs to use for product planning, though usage is not widespread. Though not designed for PMs, they use it to work with their development teams. Jira is very popular as a tool for tracking development tasks. Depending on the role, they may use some prototyping tools like Sketch or Balsamiq. JB: Most use standard office products - MS or Google spreadsheets, presentations, etc.
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What are some of the programs or software tools that product managers use? Project managers also exist in other industries outside of tech in everything from insurance products to tractors. The PM role is also becoming more popular in IT organizations as they are thinking more about products, rather than projects, for their internal customers. Or in other sectors like retail - anywhere products and services are being sold online (eCommerce, FinTech, review sites). JB: In the tech sector, at companies that build software and hardware products. And, oh yeah, make sure your products are making money for your company! Where are some of the places a product manager works? Wherever possible, you should be using data to make those decisions.
The role involves wearing many hats, along with the ability to juggle multiple priorities and stakeholders, make good decisions for your company and customers, and work hard to solve customer problems. JB: The primary role of the product manager is to understand customer problems and to work with a team of designers and developers to help create solutions to those problems. For someone not familiar with the product manager role, can you explain what they do? From then on I was hooked, and grew my career working for some very successful companies. After a while, I realized I needed more formal training so I went to work for a larger company that trained their product managers to be focused on the customer. I was at a startup and there wasn’t anyone doing “ PM stuff” so I just jumped in and started doing it. JB: I got into product management the way many people do - by accident.
What initially inspired you to get into product management?
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He weighs in on how to pursue a career in product development, the job outlook for product managers, the average salary, and the industry tips he has shared with hundreds of aspiring mentees. To get a sense of what working as a product manager is like, we called on John Bartlett, a product management expert who has been bringing products to market for over 20 years. It’s a sense of accomplishment like no other, and it’s why many product managers report high job satisfaction. Taking products over the finish line, often in a leadership capacity and as part of a team of designers and developers, has huge rewards. Being a product manager requires flexibility, agility, and thinking on your feet because reacting and responding to the shifting needs of the business is exactly what you’ll do. But if doing the same thing day after day is your idea of job fulfillment, look elsewhere. Working as a product manager in tech can be an exciting career. An Interview with product management veteran John Bartlett