Bijan Shahrokhi 
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Article Contents
Is it possible to become a product manager without a technical background? This one question is powerful enough to stop you dead in your tracks. And if that happens, you may never realize your goal of becoming a PM.
Fortunately, there’s a simple answer: Yes, you can become a product manager without a technical background. Adding to that, there are many people currently working in this type of position who probably have the same amount or less technical knowledge than you.
Now that your mind is at ease, let’s look into the things you can do to become a PM without a technical background.
Remember That Relevancy Matters
Take a strong look at your job history to date, including the industries in which you’ve worked and the type of knowledge you’ve accumulated. From there, search for PM jobs that are relevant to your findings.
For example, if your career to this point has been in fintech, don’t apply for PM jobs in biotech or another unrelated industry. Instead, focus your search on companies that would benefit from your knowledge and experience in fintech. This can help make up for any gap that you may have on the technical side. It also lessens the learning curve as you get up and running at your new position.
Review your background to determine which types of companies — and in which industries — align with your knowledge and experience. This makes it much easier to conduct a time-efficient job search.
Search for Companies With User-Facing Products
This isn’t 100 percent necessary, but PM jobs at companies with user-facing products allow you to focus more on actual product management. You’re not looked at to make technical decisions.
These jobs generally require you to focus more on project management, product road mapping, requirements gathering, user testing and less on pure technical responsibilities, such as making technical trade-offs and decisions related to them.
Avoid Technical Product Manager Roles
Two general product manager categories come into play when searching for job openings:
- Technical product manager
- Product manager in highly technical products
As the name implies, a technical product manager focuses more on the technical aspects of product management. We discuss this in great detail in our “Technical product manager vs. product manager” blog post. Here’s an excerpt that provides more context:
Technical product managers generally work within larger product management teams since the size of the unit allows for greater levels of specialization. While they have specific skills and talents that distinguish them from standard product managers, their focus is still on product management rather than exclusively tech-related issues. Generally speaking, they have a greater understanding of the products’ technical components and inner workings.
So, while technical product managers don’t devote all their time to tech-related details and issues, they generally have a better understanding of technical components when compared to a more traditional PM.
It’s okay if you don’t have the background, experience, and knowledge to land a technical product manager role. There are plenty of other openings to apply for. There’s no point in wasting your time on super-technical positions. Even if you get a job, you’re likely to find yourself overwhelmed — and that’s not a good feeling.
Don’t Believe the Myth
It’s a common myth that product management roles are super-technical. But in fact, the opposite holds true. Most PM positions don’t require an abundance of technical knowledge. Instead, what’s most important is that you’re able to effectively and efficiently communicate with the engineering team.
Here’s the best way to think about it: You need to understand their language but not to the degree that you can do their job. It’s all about having enough technical knowledge to be able to communicate your thoughts and digest the information you’re provided.
Prepare Accordingly
By now, you should realize that it’s possible to become a product manager without a technical background. But don’t assume that the knowledge and experience you have is enough. You must still prepare accordingly to improve the chance of acing your interview.
There are several things you can do to prepare for a PM job interview:
- Hire a product manager coach: There are many benefits of doing so, such as learning more about how the interview process works and understanding how to approach technical questions.
- Take a PM interview prep course: For example, our prep course contains 50+ video hours and 100+ online lessons. It covers everything from how to answer questions to tips for giving your best performance.
- Review common PM interview questions: You can do this on your own and at your own pace. Our list of 2500+ product manager interview questions can be filtered by company and/or question type. You can also browse the answers from our community of 50,000+ members.
Along with the above, learn as much as you can about the role you’re applying for and the company itself. Should you find that you’re applying for overly technical jobs, take a step back to assess your approach. There’s no point in spending hours on end prepping for a technical PM role if it’s not something you’re interested in.
Summary
No matter what you’ve heard, remember this: You can become a product manager without a technical background.
By following the guidance above, you’ll better position yourself to land a traditional PM role at a company that can benefit from your unique background, experience, and knowledge.
When the time comes to prepare for your first interview, consider hiring a coach, taking a prep course, and answering as many example questions as you can. All of these things will bolster your confidence and improve your chance of receiving a job offer.
