What is a Product Manager?
To learn about how to become a product manager, We will first start with the basics and learn what is a Product Manager and the corresponding roles and responsibilities associated with it. A product manager is considered as an asset of an organization who is responsible for the development, launch, and management of the entire lifecycle of a product. Their tasks include holding audience surveys, understanding and defining product vision, and prioritizing customer requirements to develop products that incline to their needs and market trends.
Thus we can say that these managers play a very crucial role in the production of products and are part of the entire process. They act as mediators between all three disciplines i.e. User Experience Design, technology, and business, and need to balance various teams like Software engineer, design Team, Digital marketing team, and sales team. They also perform the task of ensuring that the product meets market needs and is designed for customer satisfaction.
Product Manager – Key Takeaways
- Understanding the meaning of product manager and the basic difference between product manager and product owner.
- Getting insights into the roles and responsibilities of a product manager
- Understanding how to become a product manager.
- Learning about the various product manager certifications
- Understanding how to become a product manager without experience
- Getting familiar with the product manager salary for different roles.
Product Manager vs Product Owner
Many people often confuse product managers with product owners, product owners work more closely with the development team and are mainly restricted to the development part only with minimum interaction with the sales department while a Product Manager has a wide range of responsibilities in an organization from development to testing and further launching the product.
Roles And Responsibilities Of A Product Manager
As discussed earlier Product Managers act like a mediator who bridges the gap between various functions such as engineering, design, marketing, sales, and customer support. They are responsible for a wide range of product manager roles and responsibilities including:
- Resource Gathering: Product Managers generally analyze the feedback of potential users to improve the quality of their product. They are also responsible for gathering information about the current resources of the organization, that can be used for designing user-friendly products.
- Product Vision and Induction of Strategies: The product managers are capable of developing a clear vision for the product, its features, and the basic steps to achieve the desired product. They are responsible for building proper strategies and crisp roadmaps for the product’s development.
- Market Research and Analysis: This is one of the most crucial responsibilities that involves understanding the needs of the user. This can be done by examining market trends by conducting market research and analysis to understand customer preferences.
- Project Management: They also ensure that the product is developed and managed as per the resources gathered. They generally keep a check on the product timelines and other deadlines. Coordination between teams should also be maintained by the managers.
- Product Launch and Testing: After the production, the product is all set to be exposed to the market for further action. A product manager responsibility includes planning the proper launch the product, including sales strategies and other marketing campaigns. Apart from this regularly performing various automated and manual tests using various testing tools are essential for finding bugs and fixing them as soon as possible.
Skills Required For Product Manager
- Technical Knowledge: Even though you don’t need to yourself build the code for a product, having basic computer science fundamental and technical knowledge is essential. Your concepts about basic technicalities used in the process should be clear so that you can understand the product well and can persuade the customers to buy them.
- Leadership: As a Product Manager you represent your company and are the face of the product, hence you should have the ability to lead teams and communicate the idea and vision of the product to your fellow colleagues.
- Problem-Solving: You should be confident while dealing with the issues of the customers and should have the ability to think critically in order to find the best and unique solutions for their issues. Making quick and data-driven decisions with agility and quick responses is also a desired skill.
- Analytical Skills: The product manager should be capable enough to operate various Data analytic tools to analyse large amount of data and factors responsible for the sale of a product and should hold expertise in making quick decisions.
- Soft skills: Every day you will be dealing with many people, researchers, stakeholders, dealers, etc. thus a good hold on the essential soft project management skills will definitely give a boost to your personality to work as a product manager.
How to Become a Product Manager?
Now, Many of you must be wondering about the process of becoming a product manager, Let us look into the basic step-by-step procedure explaining how to become a product manager. Following these steps and acquiring these qualifications will surely make you a standout candidate for the role and enhance your chances of getting selected.
STEP 1: How To Become A Product Manager After 12th
The first step explaining how to become a product manager after 12th is to get an appropriate degree in job-specific or relevant field. Thus, after your 12th if you wish to be a Product Manager you first need to get qualified for the same. Some of the much-considered fields for the role are given below for your reference:
What To Study To Become A Product Manager
After completing your 12th, you can pursue your Bachelor’s degree in any of the following streams. These streams will help you to be prepared for a relevant role.
- Business studies
- Administration, Marketing
- Computer Science
- Engineering
- Other related field
Apart from all these degrees, An advanced level post-graduation degree, or we can say a master’s degree in relevant streams like- MBA proves to be advantageous in gaining higher-level job positions but is completely optional.
STEP 2: Product Manager Certifications
Now, once you complete your graduation and post-graduation, you can either apply for campus placements or you can polish your skills through certain project manager certifications or internships. These certificates will help you to enhance your skills and build a strong portfolio. The basic product management certifications include:
- PW Skills Product Management With AI Certification – If you are a fresher looking to learn everything from basic to advanced level then this comprehensive certification course is for you. It will help you to understand all the essential and in-demand concepts of product management along with the concept of artificial intelligence and knowledge of various project management tools and software’s used in today’s time.
- Certified Digital Product Manager (CDPM): This is offered by the Digital Product Management Institute and mainly focuses on skills like digital product management and agile methodologies.
- Certified Scrum Product Owner (CSPO): Scrum Alliance offers this online course for building strong skills in Scrum framework and other agile principles.
- Product Manager Certification Program: Offered by the Product School this certification incorporates various skills dealing with the launching of your products and its management at later stages.
Apart from these, there are several other product manager certification offered by our team as well, which deals with different skills and roles in the Production domain.
Step 3: How To Become A Product Manager Without Experience
Now that you have finally done your certifications and built a strong profile, you may apply for jobs. But you might be wondering about “how to become a product manager without experience.”
So as you don’t have any experience, having a good knowledge of all the concepts and the certifications from various prestigious institutions will surely enhance your profile. apart for this building a good resume will also improve your chance of getting shortlisted for the role. At first, you will have to start from junior roles or maybe as an intern, and later after gaining 3-5 years of experience in product management or a related field, you can apply for advanced job profiles like senior product manager, senior analyst, etc.
Product Manager Salary
The product manager salary can vary a lot based on things like where you live, skills you have, the company you work for, and how much experience you have. It’s a great and demanding job that can pay well, but the amount can vary. For students who are curious about this career, it’s important to know these differences.
We have mentioned a simple table below showing the average annual salaries for different product management roles, which will help you to understand the concept better.
| Product Manager Salary | |
| Roles | Average Annual Salary |
| Associate Product Manager | 6 – 8 LPA |
| Product Manager | 10 – 15 LPA |
| Senior Product Manager | 12 – 18 LPA |
| Product Lead | 20 – 24 LPA |
| Director Of the Product | 30 – 40 LPA |
Become A Product Manager With PW Skills
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This 6-month-long job assistance program is specially designed by experts considering the various needs and demands of the individuals. Like- Live online classes, daily doubt-clearing sessions, industry-relevant curriculum, job assistance guarantee, industry-recognized certification and much more
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How To Become A Product Management FAQs
Which tools do product managers use?
Product managers use several tools like product roadmapping software, customer feedback systems, and management platforms. The usage of these tools depends upon the kind of action which has to be performed. Analytical tools are used for carrying out analysis and research, while other tools are used to develop the process lifecycle.
What skills are essential for a product manager?
Key skills for a product manager include:
a. Analytical and problem-solving abilities
b. Good communication skills
c. Leadership and management abilities
d. Analyzing skills for market research and customer needs
e. Technically sound
How do product managers measure the success of a product?
There are several parameters to measure the success of a product. Success and growth is measured using key performance indicators (KPIs) such as:
a. Sales and revenue growth
b. Market revenue
c. Customer feedback
d. User engagement
e. Product performance
