This post is targeted for those who are looking for their first PM job in Tech and aren’t quite sure what they want to do.
There are 3 dimensions to consider — location, industry and role.
- Location — Bay Area or Seattle for Tech start ups or big Tech companies; New York for digital advertising and retail; Texas for Oil & Gas; Michigan for Automotive etc. People and culture can make or break your experience so think carefully about where you want to be and if you would love to be part of that community.
- Industry — Fortune 500 has a very useful list of industries (https://fortune.com/fortune500/2021/search/)
- Role — PM roles vary by company and industry. You can get useful descriptions about expectations around PMs from this book “Cracking the PM Interview” (https://www.amazon.com/Cracking-PM-Interview-Product-Technology/dp/0984782818). Feel free to check out one of my older posts on the different PM types in Tech (https://sufenf.medium.com/thoughts-on-the-pm-role-in-tech-64604173b2e2). Other non-Tech roles that are worth considering include Business Development, Product Marketing, Legal (Patents), Compliance, Supply Chain, Operations, Product Operations, Finance.
If you have decided that PM is for you, here’s a useful list of the different types of industries/products that are available for your picking — https://productschool.com/blog/product-management-2/7-types-of-product-every-product-manager-will-encounter/
I hope this post has provided structure and clarity that will help you focus on your search for a PM role (potentially) in the Tech industry. PM roles these days can span across different industries that leverage Tech (e.g. Retail, Oil & Gas, Entertainment etc). Happy exploring!
