Product manager - early 30s
Work in tech. Avg 50 hours per week. A little more during certain weeks with launches, exec presentations, etc.
Pros of the job are that I get to define what we build, when we build, why we need to build it and then partner with design and eng on the how. Of course some things come too down and I have no choice but not often at my current company. Each day, there’s a set of common things I do but there’s also different types of challenges I get to face. Some days I’m diving deep into user data, debating with design on different UX treatments, getting into technical details, or how to frame a story to convince different stakeholders.
Cons are that you need to be great at many different things (data analysis, presenting, product sense, design, technical skills, industry knowledge, etc)to be a top performer and at times your impact is subjective. You have to work with a lot of different personalities and you don’t manage anyone as an IC. Out of 10 people, I usually come across 1-2 d-bags / lazy people that can spoil your week if you let it. A part of the job is babying people to stay on top of the project and you need to learn how to motivate underperforming people that can’t just be fired even if you asked.
Base: $250K Bonus: 20% ESPP: usually $3K-$5K profit RSUs: the rest
Without stock gains this year my total comp is closer to $400K. I’m expecting to make $650K-$750K next year.
Work in tech. Avg 50 hours per week. A little more during certain weeks with launches, exec presentations, etc.
Pros of the job are that I get to define what we build, when we build, why we need to build it and then partner with design and eng on the how. Of course some things come too down and I have no choice but not often at my current company. Each day, there’s a set of common things I do but there’s also different types of challenges I get to face. Some days I’m diving deep into user data, debating with design on different UX treatments, getting into technical details, or how to frame a story to convince different stakeholders.
Cons are that you need to be great at many different things (data analysis, presenting, product sense, design, technical skills, industry knowledge, etc)to be a top performer and at times your impact is subjective. You have to work with a lot of different personalities and you don’t manage anyone as an IC. Out of 10 people, I usually come across 1-2 d-bags / lazy people that can spoil your week if you let it. A part of the job is babying people to stay on top of the project and you need to learn how to motivate underperforming people that can’t just be fired even if you asked.
Base: $250K Bonus: 20% ESPP: usually $3K-$5K profit RSUs: the rest
Without stock gains this year my total comp is closer to $400K. I’m expecting to make $650K-$750K next year.