Product Manager Career Path

The Product Manager career path is a flexible one with a variety of entry points and exits. And that’s a good thing because it allows anyone to carve their own path as a professional. It’s probably why it’s a career that’s sought-after. 

If you’re curious about what the Product Manager career path looks like, continue reading as we explore the most common career path for a PM to follow, along with various other options for career growth. 

Is Product Management a good career choice?

According to Glassdoor, “product manager” is part of the top ten list of the best jobs in America for 2022. The “50 Best Jobs in America Report” is based on the jobs with the highest overall Glassdoor job score, determined by three factors: number of job openings, earning potential, and overall job satisfaction rating.

To give you an idea of how important this role is within an organization, picture this scenario:

If you’re part of a large organization that wants to enhance a specific feature on their app, it would be the PM’s job to ask questions like:

• Is this a good idea? Why?
• Will our product be at the top if we work on this feature? 
• Which segment of users will benefit from this? 
• Will this increase our revenue? How?
• Is the revenue worth the engineering costs?

The PM has to ask questions like these even before anything starts. When the answers have been determined, data has to be collected to support the decision to move forward. A Northstar metric then has to be determined to measure the success of the feature. 

It doesn’t stop there. The Product Manager has to reach out to all the teams involved in the project to communicate what the goals are – marketing, engineering, or sales, for example. With a goal-oriented roadmap, the PM has to get everyone to understand the plan and the expected outcome of the project.

This is how important a PM is to a company. Most people likely go into Product Management because the work is dynamic, PMs are compensated well, and the PM career path allows you to make and fulfill long-term goals. 

With Glassdoor’s report and the scenario we provided, Product Management could seem like an attractive career. But it’s much better if you can determine for yourself why you might want to go into Product Management.

We wrote an article that might just help you find the reason behind why you would want to go into Product Management. Read ”Why Product Management?” to further understand your purpose of becoming a PM.

How do you get into Product Management?

What’s great about Product Management is that a candidate doesn’t have to come from a certain educational background. You can have an MBA or no degree at all, and you can still become a Product Manager if you prepare thoroughly for the role and for the interview. Even professionals from any field, whether it’s marketing, accounting, or medicine, can transition into Product Management. 

So, where do you start? Your starting point will depend on where you are in your career or if you’re a fresh graduate who doesn’t have experience yet.

Transitioning to Product Management

If you’re going to transition to becoming a PM, you can follow the MVP Framework. MVP stands for Mindset, Value Proposition, and People, Project, and Process. Essentially, the framework focuses on your purpose of transitioning, pinpointing your greatest strength, and practical ways for you to start your transition.

It’s best if you learn more about the framework in detail through our article here.

Fresh Graduate

If you’re a fresh graduate, there are specific steps that you need to work on. For example, you have to impress the recruiter with a winning resume. You also have to read books and review other resources to immerse yourself in the Product Management field. Also, it’s advantageous to build a product or work on a project that allows you to do so.

You can read more about the steps in this article here.

Ace the PM Interview

No matter how you’re breaking into Product Management, you have to go through a PM interview which takes about four to eight weeks of preparation. Your process could look something like this:

• Research about the company you would want to work in.
• Take a PM interview course so you go into the interview with more confidence.
• Review possible questions and answers to PM interview questions.
• Join a community and giving feedback to answers to interview questions.
• Do a mock interview with another PM who is also preparing for an interview.
• Repeat the process several times.

What does the Product Manager Career Path look like?

Generally, Product Management has different levels. You break into the industry as an Associate Product Manager, then you work your way up. Usually, this is how the PM career path plays out:

• Associate Product Manager (APM)
• Product Manager (PM)
• Senior Product Manager (SPM)
• Product Lead or Group Product Manager (PL or GPM)
• Head of Product (HP)
• Chief Product Officer (CPO)
• Start-Up Founder

If you want to stay in the product management space, the Chief Product Officer is generally as “high” as you’ll go.

These levels can vary from company to company. In Google, for example, there is the Associate Product Manager 1. Then one can move to Associate Product Manager 2. After these levels, it’s Product Manager 1, 2, and 3 respectively.

This doesn’t mean every Product Manager follows the same path. Some strive to start a tech company that changes lives and remains impactful long after they’re gone. Others find themselves moving to an adjacent field, such as product marketing. In other words, you’re not limited. There are options to consider and detours to take. 

Product Manager Career Path by Position

Now that you understand the basic career path of a PM, let’s go into some of the finer details associated with each common position. 

Associate Product Manager (APM)

Associate Product Managers work in the same capacity as product managers but on a more individualized scale. For example, you won’t create the product strategy but you will work with others to carry out the defined plan. 

In one of our blog articles, we mention that “APMs have similar responsibilities as Product Managers but the role is more like an apprenticeship where an individual can gain experience and learn while working on the job. The APM role is more of a junior or entry-level role which makes it a great jump-off point to becoming a Product Manager.”

This starting role isn’t always referred to as APM. In Facebook/Meta, for instance, they refer to their entry-level PM position as RPM or Rotational Product Manager. In fact, they have a program called RPM program that specifically focuses on getting starting PMs more training and experience.

How much does an APM make?

An APM can make anywhere from 96K to 155K as base pay. 

Product Manager (PM)

Consider this a beginner-level Product Management role. It’s a step up from Associate Product Manager as your training is complete and you now have more responsibilities across the board. 

Product managers are responsible for leading product development in three key areas:

• Problem discovery 
• Solution finding 
• Product building

While you don’t necessarily need direct Product Management experience to land one of these positions, experience, and skills related to the position can help you start here (instead of as an associate PM).

How much does a PM make?

A PM can make anywhere from 82K to 168K as base pay. 

Senior Product Manager (SPM)

After a successful stint as a Product Manager, this is the next logical step. Previous experience and demonstrated success across the PM spectrum will help you land this position. 

As a senior product manager, you’ll have more communication with individuals outside your department, such as key stakeholders. You’ll also have more responsibilities for problem and solution discovery.

Moving into this position means taking on more responsibility and having more power over product direction and your team. 

How much does an SPM make?

An SPM can make anywhere from 114K to 202K as base pay. 

Product Lead or Group Product Manager (PL or Group PM)

While not always the case, product lead or group product manager positions call for a minimum of seven years of product management experience. This is almost always true in larger, established organizations such as Amazon, Google, and Microsoft.

At this level, you move into more high-level responsibilities, such as:

• Developing the product roadmap
• Working closely with product managers and senior product managers 
• Working closely with team leads from other departments

Also, you’re looked up to by associate PMs, PMs, and senior PMs, so you must be comfortable taking on a mentorship role. 

How much does a Product Leader or Group Product Manager make?

A PL can make anywhere from 125K to 297K or more. On the other hand, a Group PM can make 124K to 302K.

Head of Product 

Head of product management is exactly what it sounds like. At this point in your career, you’re responsible for the entire life cycle of existing (and possibly new) product lines. 

In addition to managing a team, you’ll work closely with other departments, such as engineering and marketing, to maintain consistency from development through launch. If a strategic management role is what you want, you’ll find it as head of product. 

How much does a Head of Product make?

A Head of Product can make anywhere from 180K to 363K as base pay.

VP of Product and Chief Product Officer (CPO)

You’ve reached the top of the product management ladder. Congratulations!

In smaller companies, the VP of Product and Chief Product Officer are often combined into one role. But in larger companies, this generally isn’t the case. 

As a VP of Product, you no longer spend your days tackling hands-on activities. Instead, you move more into a support role. 

The key to reaching this stage of the PM career path is experience (10+ years) and demonstrated success with the positions detailed above. 

As for the CPO, this person is a strategic leader focused on building teams, developing processes, and setting strategic targets (to name just a few responsibilities). Think about it this way: the most successful CPOs take both a micro and macro approach to making things better across the board.

How much does a VP of Product or CPO make?

The VP of Product can make anywhere from 227K to 474K or more. The same salary range can be applicable to the CPO position. It’s possible that the company can offer a bonus and equity.

Note: For each role, the company offers a bonus and equity. Typically, the bonus is 15% of the base salary while the equity can be as much as the base salary depending on the size of the company. As the role and responsibilities go up, the bonus also goes up.

If you would like to know more about how much Product Managers make, check out our article How Much Do Product Managers Make in the United States (2022)?

Your Other Options

There’s nothing wrong with taking the PM career path detailed above. It’s the most common path to the top. However, there are other options to consider. These generally include:

• CEO: Once you reach VP of product, you position yourself to move into the CEO role of your company or to apply to outside openings.
• Moving into an adjacent role: Maybe you love product, but want to move away from the “management” side of product. Moving into an adjacent role, such as product marketing, is natural. 
• Become a venture capitalist: You know what it takes to develop quality products. So, you know what it takes to find products that can solve a problem. As a venture capitalist, you invest in companies that you believe can change the world.
• Create a startup: If you have the entrepreneurial bug, it may be time to leave the corporate world and start your own company. Think about it like this. Some of the most well-known entrepreneurs — including Elon Musk, Steve Jobs, and Jeff Bezos — are natural product managers.

You can carve your own path if you’re passionate about Product Management. You don’t have to move through the levels stated above. 

Becoming a Product Manager

If all of these sound interesting to you and you’re willing to take on a career that combines strategy, communication, design, and leadership, Product Management may be the career for you.

If you’re planning to become a Product Manager, you may want to check out specific sections on the PM Exercises website. We’ve put together a Product Manager Interview Course along with 2500+ Product Manager Interview Questions with sample answers from our PM community.

After you sign up and become part of the community, you can contribute questions and answers to the database, and have other members give you feedback.

With the PM Exercises prep course and database of questions, we also have a Practice feature where you can find other product managers who are also prepping for their interviews to practice with.

FAQ

What position is before Product Manager?

Before becoming a PM, candidates start off as an Associate Product Manager or APM in most cases. The APM is a junior role that focuses more on mentorship and gaining experience rather than working exclusively on product development.

It’s also possible that there may be no role before Product Manager. Most companies don’t have junior PM roles, especially if the company is looking to go with an internal transfer.

What is the career path for a product manager?

What’s great about Product Management is that the career paths can be different for each one. Typically, the common path would be: 

• Associate Product Manager (APM)
• Product Manager (PM)
• Senior Product Manager (SPM)
• Product Lead or Group Product Manager (PL or GPM)
• Head of Product (HP)
• Chief Product Officer (CPO)

But anyone can carve their own path and become successful in the industry of Product Management.

What is the next role after product manager?

The next role after Product Manager will depend on the company in terms of levels but in most cases, the PM can become a Senior Product Manage.

Is Product Manager a good position?

Yes, Product Manager is a good position if you’re passionate about building products,, communication, design, and leadership. It may be the right career for you.

Is Product Manager a stressful job?

Any job can be stressful. In particular, the PM role is very dynamic. If you’re the kind of worker who likes structure and repetitiveness, then Product Management will be stressful for you. However, if you’re a worker who welcomes the challenge and can adapt to any type of situation, you will find that Product Management is a fulfilling career since you get to work on products that can potentially affect the lives of people.