Become a Product Manager: A Complete Guide for 2025

A product manager conceives the vision for a new product and develops a strategy to execute that vision. CareerFoundry is an online school for people looking to switch to a rewarding career in tech. Select a program, get paired with an expert mentor and tutor, and become a job-ready designer, developer, or analyst from scratch, or your money back. If you’re brand new to the field and looking to become a product manager, a course or certification program is an excellent route into the field. With so many options to choose from (and lots of variation in terms of quality), it’s important to do your research before investing.

• PMI’s other certifications also have unique educational and professional requirements, so make sure to check the institute’s website for the most up-to-date information.
• The senior product manager role involves solving problems that occur from project conception to completion while developing the best possible solution for the customer.
• For instance, you might not require an MBA to progress your career if you are currently employed in the product management industry.
• With the roadmap in place, product managers coordinate all the moving parts of the product development process, keeping everybody aligned and working towards a common goal.
• Join online communities, attend local or virtual meet-ups and events, and connect with fellow aspiring product managers on your course.

How To Become a Project Manager

You can also seek out PM opportunities in your current job to gain product manager experience. If you want a successful career at a top company, you will need a professional product manager resume. You Project Product Manager job must tailor your resume to each job application to fulfill the necessary job requirements and keep the information you provide relevant.

Careers Related to Project Manager

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reports that industrial product managers—a category that excludes product managers in software—earned a median annual wage of $116,970 in 2023. If you’re curious about how to become a product manager, the good news is that the job doesn’t require an advanced degree. If you want more advice on embarking on a product management career, then book a chat with one of our program advisors and they’ll be happy to help. Choosing the right product management course is absolutely critical to your success, so we’ve included a round-up of some of the best courses available towards the end of this guide. Of course, not all product management courses are created equal—there are many options on the market that won’t provide all those benefits we just listed.

Develop your product management skills on Coursera

With that in mind, let’s consider the most important product management skills and qualifications. They are the in-house product expert—the number one go-to person for anything and everything relating to the product. They gather, manage, and prioritize ideas for new products or features, considering both the user needs and the wider business goals. They define success metrics for the product, and build a roadmap to outline the product vision—together with a plan for how that vision will be.

• Product managers have to bring a product from conception to its official launch.
• Consider early-stage startups where you can take on broader responsibilities.
• The last and most crucial part of becoming a technical program manager is to prepare for the interview questions.
• To become a successful product manager, you need to develop a diverse skill set like planning, talking well, understanding what customers want, understanding customer needs and market dynamics.
• Career advancement can mean better job opportunities, increased pay, greater job security, and enhanced job satisfaction.
• Product management serves as a strategic role within an organization, steering the entire lifecycle of a product from its inception through development and onto its market positioning and pricing.
• Observing your product manager helps you get a sense of how you must deal with challenges on the job when you land a job in the future as an AI product manager.

To help you narrow it down, we’ve rounded up some of the best product management courses on the market for newcomers and career-changers learning how to become a product manager. Ideally, your chosen product management course will include career coaching and guidance on how to apply and interview for relevant product manager jobs. If you have product management colleagues you can connect with at work, reach out to them and ask for a quick coffee or video chat. Join online communities, attend local or virtual meet-ups and events, and connect with fellow aspiring product managers on your course.

Some certifying organizations require that you become a member in addition to enrolling in their program. Earning a PM certification is intended to advance your career as a project manager. Career advancement can mean better job opportunities, increased pay, greater job security, and enhanced job satisfaction. The salary of a Project Manager in India varies depending on experience, location, and industry. In major cities like Bangalore and Hyderabad, the salary can go up to INR 20 lakh or more, especially in IT and consulting sectors, which are key areas for anyone looking to become a project manager. A Project Manager is responsible for overseeing the planning, execution, and completion of projects.

• While technical skills can be helpful, especially in industries like IT and engineering, they are not mandatory to become a Project Manager.
• We synthesized all the responses into a few key user needs and brainstormed a few potential solutions.
• A course specifically designed for aspiring product managers might be a good place to start.
• In most cases, you can pursue entry-level project manager positions if you hold a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field like business or project management.
• To increase your knowledge, collaborate with coworkers in sales, business development, and finance.

Taking steps in your current /situation to think like a PM will allow you to better structure your experience and increase your chance of landing a PM job. Learners are advised to conduct additional research Line code to ensure that courses and other credentials pursued meet their personal, professional, and financial goals. Product Management may seem ‘hard’ from the outside because it’s fast-paced. Product Managers are known for bouncing in and out of meetings, and they have to make a conscious effort to carve out time for their individual contributions. The buck usually stops with the product team, meaning that a PM carries whether a product will succeed or not on their shoulders.