How to Break Into Product Management: A 2024 Guide

Ah yes, the breaking into product management question that I usually get once a week from people on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Here’s my take on how I would approach “How to break into product management” in 2022 with a brief glimpse into how I did it in 2015.

I got into product management, the extremely traditional way of doing an MBA and then getting into the field. Even then, it wasn’t a cakewalk. This is a much longer approach that can take 1 or 2 years and a lot of money. I don't always recommend this approach now.

Let’s list down this approach:

How to Break into Product Management

How to Break into Product Management Build proof-of-work Read the best PM content Create an online presence Network with relevant people Related Posts

Build proof-of-work

If you don’t have any full-time experience, you will need to showcase that you have the required skills and interests to make you suitable for the role.

Certificate courses on their own wont get you anything, because there is no entry barrier there, and there’s no separating one person from the other. You can join some of them, I would highly recommend The Product Folks’ free Insurjo program

UX Teardowns

UX Teardowns are one way, but I think they are very narrowly focussed on design. Whereas in product you have to consider so many other factors like the competition, the market, user’s needs, etc

What worked for me was taking part in product case competitions, doing well, and showcasing my proof of work

Write

Write longer deep dives into a product or a space and cover more aspects than just a UX teardown. What to build is an important question for a product manager. How to build can be a more pertinent question for a designer or developer

Build

You have several no-code tools available. Identify a problem or idea and build a solution, get feedback from users, and iterate on the product.

Internship

Offer to do an internship or help startups or solo creators with side projects and learn while doing