If my goal is to move to big tech as a Product Manager, would it better to first go into a small business as a Product Manager? Or go ahead and get my MBA at a top 15 school?

Currently doing tech implementations for analytics dashboards.

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Would highly recommend getting out there and trying it before school. You may find that going back to school isn’t completely necessary, or perhaps consider doing part time with a PM role. It will likely depend on the role/company. Working at a high growth start up will give you the opportunity to learn a lot of PM basic quickly and prepare you for a transition to a larger org.

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I recently moved to a PM role at a smaller tech company. I didn’t got the MBA or consulting route, rather I killed in in customer success for a bit and then moved laterally in the company. I’ve watched someone at FB try to do something similar and still hasn’t been able to break into Product. If you try to go the lateral route into PM, I’d go to a small company. It’s hard to go straight to PM in a small company with no experience because they typically don’t have junior PM roles.

I love my PM it’s everything I imagined it to be. Sure, there is pressure and long hours, but I’d rather be in this situation than bored.

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Ditto. Management Consulting many years > small tech PM for a year > larger iPaas PM managing my own vertical.
Love what I do. Wouldn't trade it for the world. Hours are 50-60 a week though, but good WLB boundaries otherwise outside 8-6 M-Fri.

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I would recommend becoming a PM for at least a year BEFORE b school. Join a Series A-C startup and then get the MBA and move yo FAANG. It’s incredibly hard to get a PM job without product experience.

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Imo the former is a better option.

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Amazon experience is more likely to get you a job imo.

If you are interested, we have an open position for a PM intern in a small business that is scaling quickly. It is a 4months engagement. Let me know if you would be interested you can chat here

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Can you define big tech here? Are you only interested in FAANG? Or are you referring broadly to any significant/major tech company?

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I work at one of the companies mentioned above and we 100% hire non-technical PMs :)

Agree with getting any pm position first if you can do it. For at least a year.

Alternative is that you’ll have pm internship opportunities as mba but having a year of previous pm experience probably sets you up for a more senior position post mba.

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When I’m looking for a Product Manager I’m looking for what they have done. What have they successfully shipped from idea to market, how did they do it, who did they collaborate with, and how did they measure their impact. Having those types of experiences to me is more attractive than an MBA.

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Did you get your MBA?

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