Careers in Product Management

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Looking for an entry level job or internship in product management? This is an overview of how to approach the search and a list of companies that might have relevant entry level and internship opportunities.

I think one of the most fascinating products out today is the Makerbot’s Thingomatic. Basically it’s a 3D printer, meaning it crafts material into a physical shape that you select. How cool is that!? This awesome product would never have come into existence without a product manager guiding it from concept to creation. Basically a product manager analyzes the environment, investigates, selects, and develops products throughout many stages of iteration for their company.

Product Management Careers

Photo Credit: Flickr user bre pettis

Product Management Career Guide Overview

  1. What a Product Manager Does
  2. A Typical Day for a Product Manager
  3. Salary and Career Progression for a Product Manager
  4. Best Locations for Product Management
  5. Pros and Cons of Being a Product Manager
  6. What You Need to Know for a Career in Product Management
  7. Product Management Resources
  8. Careers Related to Product Management
  9. Companies with Jobs and Internships in Product Management

What a Product Manager Does

A product manager investigates, selects, and develops products. To do this, a product manager considers factors like the intended demographic, the products offered by the competition, and how well the product fits with their company’s business model. However, due to tradition and intuitive interpretations by different individuals, the product manager title is used in many ways to describe drastically different duties and responsibilities.

For example, in the financial services industry, product managers manage products and their profit and loss while determining the business development strategy. Compare that to a tech environment, a product manager usually has the main role of developing and representing the product to the customer. Additional responsibilities may include product marketing and analysis of the competition.

In some companies, the product manager also acts as a:

  • Product marketing manager, performing marketing activities
  • Project manager, performing all activities related to schedule and resource management
  • Program manager, performing activities related to schedule, resource, and cross-functional execution

A Typical Day for a Product Manager

It would be unfair to say there’s a typical day for a product manager, but here are some tasks you might encounter:

  • Looking into what users have been doing
  • Answering questions from managers and user operations teams, meeting with them
  • Checking in with engineers
  • Making sure everything about the product is working and coordinating a fix if it’s not
  • Designing a new feature
  • Doing some longer term product planning
  • Talking to a client
  • Testing a feature that’s about to be released
  • Answering emails and voicemails, including customer support
  • Answering questions from consultants, sales engineers, and customers
  • Creating a training presentation

Salary and Career Progression in Product Management

A product manager makes between $44,000-$121,000 per year, while the average is about $95,000. You might go on to become a Senior Product Manager ($115,000), a Principal Product Manager ($114,000), or a Product Manager Director ($135,000).

Best Locations for Product Managers

Here are some hot spots for product managers:

  • San Jose, California
  • Florham Park, New Jersey
  • Foster City, California
  • Austin, Texas
  • Richmond, Virginia
  • Baltimore, Maryland
  • Sunnyvale, California
  • San Francisco, California
  • New York, New York
  • Boston, Massachusetts

Pros and Cons of Being a Product Manager

Pros
  • You create great products
  • You help move your company forward in their marketplace
  • Lots of creative thinking and problem solving
Cons
  • Can be frustrating when things aren’t built how you imagined
  • Constant debugging
  • Lots of working between different groups of people

What You Need to Know for a Career in Product Management

To be a product manager you’ll most likely need an undergrad degree, preferably in computer science, engineering or business. Beyond that you can get a product management certification (for example PMI and PMP), but in many cases it’s not required. Generally employers tend to care most about what skills you have and what you will be able to learn. Great product managers understand their markets and customers. They can discover and value the problems and opportunities faced by the customers in those markets and prioritize the problems and their solutions to achieve a product strategy. Furthermore, they need to be able to communicate effectively, both with customers and with internal stakeholders.

Product Management Resources

If product management still sounds like your cup of tea, here are a few things you should do to get started.

Required Reading

Blogs and Websites

Networking Opportunities

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Companies with Entry Level Jobs and Internships in Product Management

Sprout Social Logo

Sprout Social - Sprout Social is a Chicago, IL based company that offers “a management and egnagement platform for social business.”

See the complete Sprout Social profile


Domo Logo

Domo - Domo is an American Fork, UT based company that “transforms the way executives manage their business" by providing all of your important data in one intuitive platform.

See the complete Domo profile


Emerge Media Logo

Emerge Media - Emerge Media is a Chicago, IL based company that is “taking on the essential roots of everyday tasks and breathing real life into the technology behind them.”

See the complete Emerge Media profile


The Wirecutter Logo

The Wirecutter - The Wirecutter is a site that offers “a list of the best electronics and gadgetry" that will help you make the absolute best purchasing decision.

See the complete The Wirecutter profile


Rocketrip Logo

Rocketrip - Rocketrip is a New York, NY based company that aims “to enlist employees as engaged partners in managing corporate travel costs.”

See the complete Rocketrip profile


August Logo

August - August is a San Francisco, CA based company that has developed a “safe, simple, and social way to manage your home’s lock.”

See the complete August profile


Kitchensurfing Logo

Kitchensurfing - Kitchensurfing is an NYC based company that matches “up chefs and people who need a cook at high and low price points and for a variety of types of engagements."

See the complete Kitchensurfing profile


Optoro Logo

Optoro - Optoro is a Washington, DC based company that “unleashes hidden revenue for retailers and creates value for shoppers” by helping businesses with “reverse logistics.”

See the complete Optoro profile


SheKnows Logo

SheKnows - SheKnows is a Scottsdale, AZ based “women’s lifestyle media platform” that “allows brands to distribute authentic content and integrated advertising at scale.”

See the complete SheKnows profile


TuneIn Logo

TuneIn - TuneIn is a Palo Alto, CA based company that “enables people to discover, follow, and listen to what’s most important to them — from sports, to news, to music, to talk.”

See the complete TuneIn profile


Trefis Logo

Trefis - Trefis is a Boston, MA based company that has developed a set of tools that “helps you understand how a company’s products impact its stock price.”

See the complete Trefis profile


Ahalogy Logo

Ahalogy - Ahalogy is a Cincinnati, OH based company that is “pioneering the science of discovery on Pinterest.”

See the complete Ahalogy profile


Whalerock Industries Logo

Whalerock Industries - Whalerock Industries, based in Santa Monica, CA, brings together the "best and brightest minds to create world-class content, spanning all mediums and screens.”

See the complete Whalerock Industries profile


Rover Logo

Rover - Rover is a Seattle, WA based company that has built a “community for dog lovers to connect owners with sitters for home dog stays.”

See the complete Rover profile


Limeade Logo

Limeade - Limeade is a Bellevue, WA based company that is aiming to “measurably improve well-being in the world through happy, healthy, high-performing workforces.”

See the complete Limeade profile


Digital Intent Logo

Digital Intent - Digital Intent is a Chicago, IL based company that helps clients "create and grow digital businesses."

See the complete Digital Intent profile


Loverly Logo

Loverly - Loverly is a New York, NY based "one-stop-shop for wedding planning where brides and grooms find ideas, people to hire and things to buy.”

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Tree.com Logo

Tree.com - Tree.com is a Charlotte, NC based company that aims to be the place “where good decisions start” whether you're buying a home, new car, or college education.

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Easton-Bell Sports Logo

Easton-Bell Sports - Easton-Bell Sports is a Van Nuys, CA based "designer, developer and marketer of sports equipment and accessories that enhance athletic performance and protection."

See the complete Easton-Bell Sports profile


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Pocket Gems - Pocket Gems is a San Francisco, CA based company that “develops free-to-play mobile games that are ridiculously fun.”

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Hudl - Hudl is a Lincoln, NE based company that has developed a platform to “help coaches and athletes win with video.”

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Bedrocket Media Ventures - Bedrocket Media Ventures is a New York, NY based company "leading a revolution in creating networks and programming that people love, delivered through the cloud.”

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MOpro Logo

MOpro - MOpro is a Los Angeles, CA based company that expands “the digital possibilities for small businesses" through video, social media, web design, and more.

See the complete MOpro profile


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Treatspace - The Internet plays a huge role in how people find doctors, and Pittsburgh, PA based Treatspace wants to ensure that patients accurate, helpful information.

See the complete Treatspace profile


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GSN - GSN “is a multimedia entertainment company that offers original and classic game programming and competitive entertainment" on tv and online.

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Coldwater Creek - Coldwater Creek is a multi-channel "specialty retailer of women's apparel, jewelry and accessories" that started as a one-room mail order business.

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iMentor - iMentor is an NYC based non-profit that “builds mentoring relationships that empower students in low-income communities to achieve their ambitions.”

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The North Face - The North Face is an Alameda, CA based company that pushes “the boundaries of innovation so that you can push the boundaries of exploration.”

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PitchBook - PitchBook is a Seattle, WA based company that provides “clients with the highest-quality PE and VC data, news and information."

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HelloWallet - HelloWallet is a Washington, DC. based company that offers a “financial wellness” tool designed with the help of behavioral economists.

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HomeAway - HomeAway is an Austin, TX based company that offers “the world’s leading online marketplace of vacation rentals."

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American Student Assistance - American Student Assistance is a Boston, MA based non-profit that empowers "students and alumni to successfully manage and repay their college loan debt.”

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buuteeq - buuteeq is a Seattle, WA based company that offers an “easy-to-use web application that improves hotels' online marketing on the web, mobile, and Facebook."

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Beats by Dr. Dre - Beats by Dr. Dre is a Santa Monica, CA based company that “provides a premium sound experience at every touch point of the consumer’s life.”

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Newegg - Newegg, which is based in City of Industry, CA, is "the leading electronics-focused e-retailer in the United States."

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Citrus Lane - Citrus Lane is a Mountain View, CA based company that offers curated monthly “care packages for parents.”

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AxialMarket - AxialMarket is a New York, NY based company that “is revolutionizing the capital formation process for private companies.”

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Main Street Hub - Main Street Hub is an Austin, TX based company that helps “great local businesses around the world connect with customers” through social media.

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Spindle - Spindle is a Boston, MA based company that is building “the discovery engine for the social web.”

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Squarespace - Squarespace is a New York, NY based company that provides “elegant solutions that set new standards for online publishing.”

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AdRoll - AdRoll is a San Francisco, CA based advertising startup that specializes in retargeting (showing advertising to people who have already indicated interest).

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Dataminr - Dataminr is an NYC based company that is transforming “social media streams into actionable signals for clients in the financial and government sectors.”

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1stdibs - 1stdibs is a New York, NY based company that runs an online marketplace for “the most beautiful things on earth" (antiques, jewelry, fine art, etc.).

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Blueleaf Logo

Blueleaf - Blueleaf is a Cambridge, MA based company that provides super simple software that helps financial advisors more easily communicate information to clients.

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Betterment - Betterment is a New York, NY based company that is making investing frictionless for the average person, and they have a ton of job openings.

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Velcro - Velcro is a Manchester, NH based company that makes hook-and-loop fasteners (you knew they were called that, right?), and they're hiring.

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FindTheBest - FindTheBest is a site that makes decision-making easy through an unbiased comparison engine, and they're hiring.

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MeetMoi - If you’d like to work in the mobile dating space, then go take a look at NYC based MeetMoi and their job opportunities.

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