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This in-demand career blends strategy, creativity, and collaboration to bring products from ideation to launch. But how do you become a product manager (PM), and what sort of education do you need?
Whether you’re just beginning your educational journey or considering going back to school for a career pivot, it’s crucial to understand the various degree paths and options. This guide breaks down the role of a product manager, different educational routes to become a PM, and how to set yourself up for success.
The Role of a Product Manager
First, what is product management? Simply put, it’s a strategic function overseeing product development from concept to launch. An important role in the product lifecycle, a product manager defines the product vision, oversees and coordinates cross-functional teams (possibly including engineers, UX designers, and end users), and plays a major role in guiding products from inception to release and beyond.
To do this effectively, product managers need skills including:
- Strategy and strategic planning to set a product strategy roadmap and vision, prioritize initiatives and product features, and ensure long-term success
- Stakeholder communication, both technical and non-technical, because PMs act as a liaison between engineering, design, marketing, leadership, and other departments
- Market research and analysis to understand user needs, the competitive landscape, and market trends and challenges
- Data analytics, as PMs use data to track product metrics and performance, validate new ideas, and discover opportunities for improvement
- Technical fluency, because while PMs don’t typically need to code, they do need to understand what goes into creating a product so they can plan timelines, estimate effort, and evaluate feasibility
At its core, a PM’s job is to manage the entire product development process to solve problems for the end user. While some of these skills may come naturally or be learned on the job, traditional degree programs can also help aspiring product managers hone their talents.
Traditional Degree Routes
While it’s rare to find a specific product management degree — and there is no single best degree for a product management career — there are several degree routes you can consider, all of which are available from City University of Seattle.
An undergraduate business degree lays a strong foundation for a career in product management. In a comprehensive business program, you’ll learn about how companies operate, how they design and market their products, and how people (both customers and colleagues) work and behave. You’ll also build skills in market analysis, data analytics, finance, and strategy.
Alternatively, a technical degree, such as computer science, can help you along the path to product management by equipping you to understand the behind-the-scenes details of what goes into building a product and how engineering teams collaborate.
Once you’ve completed a bachelor’s degree, is an MBA worth it for a PM? It can be. While it’s not necessarily required to earn a second degree or master’s degree, an MBA will further build your leadership and strategy skills, which can be particularly helpful for product leadership positions such as a Chief Product Officer role.
Also worth considering is a Master’s in Technology and Product Management, offered by CityU. This program, like an MBA, provides advanced continuing education for professionals. Unlike an MBA, however, it’s focused specifically on product management. Graduates will exit the program with a deep understanding of strategy, innovation, and leadership — all with a product management lens.
Alternative Educational Backgrounds
If neither a business degree nor a technical degree suits you, there are a few other paths to consider. A degree in marketing can equip you with business know-how, insight into what customers want, and an understanding of go-to-market strategies.
Along those lines, with a degree in human-centered or UX design, you can gain expertise in gathering user feedback, developing user empathy, and thinking like a user to define and build an excellent product.
And while it may not seem like it at first glance, education or experience in disciplines such as teaching or journalism can prime you for a PM role. For instance, those backgrounds provide you with skills in communication and storytelling, which are key to engaging stakeholders and working with users.
Benefits of Product Management Knowledge
Regardless of the exact degree you earn on your way to becoming a product manager, you’ll gain knowledge that is invaluable throughout your career path.
You’ll be better equipped to think strategically across the entire product lifecycle, from discovering market needs to delivering a satisfying user experience. Additionally, you’ll be able to effectively collaborate across stakeholders and functions, driving measurable outcomes such as revenue growth and user satisfaction.
Enhancing Your Degree With Continued Learning
After you’ve completed your degree, build upon your knowledge with additional certifications, continuing education programs, or workshops and courses. These can enhance your expertise by expanding upon what the foundation you gained in your CityU program, giving you a leg up over the competition.
Certifications to Deepen Specialization
Certifications don’t replace a degree, but they can be a great way to deepen your skill sets and knowledge in specific areas. For example:
- An Agile or Scrum certification can help you improve delivery processes and team collaboration, as well as project management skills like backlog management and iterative planning.
- A certification in data analytics can expand your ability to understand complex information and make informed, data-driven decisions, as well as help you learn tools like SQL or Tableau.
- UX design certifications can give you a deeper understanding of the design process and hone your user-centered design thinking.
- Product management certifications can build on and deepen your existing product knowledge or give you exposure to new types of products.
- Certifications in full-stack development (or front-end or back-end development, for that matter) can provide a glimpse into the technical side of product development and give you an understanding of what goes into crafting a finished product.
Continuous learning is key for product managers. Many CityU students and alumni pursue certifications after their degree programs — including CityU certificates like Full-Stack Development or Data Analytics — to gain exposure to topics their degree didn’t cover in depth or to dive deeper into an area of interest. Earning additional credentials is an excellent way to keep your skills fresh and continue growing even after your formal degree program ends.
Doctorate Path
If you’re interested in conducting deeper research, innovation, or even teaching others, you could consider a doctoral program. CityU’s doctoral programs neatly complement prior education and help experienced professionals reach higher career heights while deepening their expertise.
These programs are designed for working professionals, offering flexibility and affordability that make them a good choice for professionals looking for higher education.
Essential Soft Skills for Product Managers
While role-specific skills such as strategy and technical knowledge are critical, some of the top traits of an effective PM are soft skills.
To successfully develop a product roadmap, set a product vision, and provide an exceptional user experience, these are the top skills for a product manager:
- Strong communication and collaboration skills to coordinate cross-functionally and align stakeholders
- The ability to develop strategies and solve problems, which helps define product direction and navigate different trade-offs
- Customer understanding and user empathy to develop solutions that solve user problems
- Critical thinking and creativity to stay innovative
Aligning Personal Skills With Organizational Needs
A major part of figuring out how to become a product manager is identifying how to align your strengths with an organization’s needs. You want to demonstrate your unique value and what you bring to the table, while showing how you can solve a problem for the company (think of them as your “customer” and yourself as the PM doing market research).
One of the most useful interview techniques is to frame your experience — whether in technology, innovation, or customer experience — in a way that’s tailored to the organization’s needs.
Don’t forget to do your own assessment of the company. Make sure it’s the right fit for your needs by evaluating the company’s size and stage, the type of product(s) you’d be working on, the company culture, and opportunities for growth and impact. Keep the mission and values top of mind, too.
Start Your Product Management Journey Today
CityU’s degree programs offer excellent educational opportunities spanning business, technology, project management, and more. If you’re looking at a career in product management, check out the bachelor’s programs in Business and Data Analytics, Project Management, Business Administration, or Applied Computer Science.
If you’ve already completed a bachelor’s degree and want to further your education for success in product management, look no further than CityU’s Master of Science in Technology and Product Management. You’ll gain a foundational understanding of product strategy and development frameworks, hone your product and UX design knowledge, and learn the skills to track and analyze crucial data points.
Ready to get started? Reach out today to learn more.
