Product administration is a lovely profession path, and entering into the sphere is more durable than ever. Does a tech assist agent actually have a shot?
Why is product administration a lovely profession? For starters, product Managers typically have engaging salaries. Constructed In lists the common Product Supervisor wage at $128,820. An article on Product College’s weblog claims it might be barely lower than that, however it’s nonetheless a big enhance for a lot of technical roles, particularly assist roles.
If the wage isn’t sufficient to inspire you, there’s additionally the diploma of autonomy. Product Managers work with out a number of course and oversight. That provides a number of flexibility in the way you construction your schedule and deal with your work.
Fortunately, most of the abilities you construct in technical assist translate nicely to product administration.
Curiosity and Downside-solving
As a technical assist agent, you’re inquisitive about buyer issues and deeply examine to unravel the problems and discover options. Product Managers do that as nicely, however in numerous methods. As a substitute of fixing issues one buyer at a time, you’ll remedy greater issues that influence a whole person base. You’ll additionally transcend easy solution-finding to offering extra worth.
Ambiguity and Structured-thinking
There’s a number of ambiguity in product administration. You by no means begin with all of the items to the puzzle; so it’s as much as you to search out as many as you’ll be able to after which select a path ahead. In technical assist, you’re used to approaching issues with structured considering. Should you don’t know one thing, you’ve got a course of for troubleshooting or discovering data. That’s a key ability in navigating ambiguity.
Buyer Focus and Empathy
Technical assist could be very customer-focused and the very best brokers have a excessive diploma of empathy. The identical will be stated about product administration. The nearer you’re to the purchasers, the simpler it will likely be to find their wants and ache factors.
There’s all the time a draw back. On this case, it’s all about time administration, emotions of accomplishment, and subject material experience.
Accomplishment
While you immediately assist clients, you get the moment gratification of fixing their issues in actual time. As a Product Supervisor, there’s no actual level at which an issue feels solved.
You’re planning upcoming initiatives whereas present initiatives are in progress. You’re negotiating scope and leaving pet initiatives on the backlog to optimize for total worth. Releases really feel anti-climactic. Metric measurement is ongoing. It’s a must to create your personal achievements.
That may be tough for high-achieving technical assist brokers. You’re used to having clear indicators of success, so that you’ll have to regulate and discover methods to really feel completed.
Time Administration
Moreover, there are not any scheduled breaks. Chances are you’ll not have set begin or finish instances on your work day. Having a versatile schedule is sweet, however it’s straightforward to finish up with back-to-back conferences all day or work time beyond regulation to get the whole lot accomplished. As a Product Supervisor, chances are you’ll have to search for in-office roles for those who wrestle to handle your time. In any other case, you could proactively schedule breaks, lunches, working hours, and focus time.
Topic Matter Experience
In technical assist, you’re the knowledgeable. You already know the product you assist from side to side, and your clients and coworkers can rely on you to be a font of data. In product administration, you do must develop some experience along with your product, however there’ll all the time be rather a lot you don’t know.
You received’t spend on daily basis troubleshooting points with clients, so you’ll have to refer clients to your assist workforce in the event that they want troubleshooting. You additionally don’t often develop or design your product, and you’ll have to refer coworkers to your designers and builders for some questions or get the knowledge from them your self.
The important thing right here is that you just’re not valued on your data however on your course of and abilities. As a Product Supervisor, you’ll depend on different folks’s experience the best way a technical assist agent depends on troubleshooting guides and inside data bases.
Should you’re nonetheless enthusiastic about product administration and assume you’d be match, it’s time to consider your transition technique.
Inner Transition
By far, the best strategy to transition into product administration from one other function is by altering roles inside your present firm. Being an inside candidate with a non-product title makes you a decrease danger than an exterior candidate with a non-product title.
However, understand that being an inside candidate could not offer you a leg up over exterior candidates with precise product administration expertise. You’re additionally more likely to get a decrease compensation supply. It’s extensively acknowledged that the majority firms don’t finances as a lot for benefit raises, promotions, and inside hires as they do for brand spanking new hires.
Exterior Transition
Should you don’t see any strategy to turn into a Product Supervisor at your present firm, exterior transitions are tough however doable. It really works finest if you understand somebody on the new firm who can refer you and vouch on your abilities, expertise, and work ethic.
For firms, hiring is all about minimizing danger. Demonstrating that you’ve got the best expertise for the job goes a good distance towards minimizing danger for the potential employer. Having an advocate throughout the group goes even additional.
Pit Cease
Typically, you’ll want to select up a couple of additional abilities to turn into a viable candidate for Product Supervisor roles. Technical assist doesn’t offer you a good suggestion of the enterprise aspect of product administration. Chances are you’ll have to take some enterprise courses, construct and market your personal product, or transition right into a advertising and marketing or enterprise analytics function first. Take a look at job posts and consider your ability set in opposition to the necessities to search out these gaps.
Hirable Qualities
A Product Supervisor’s worth is of their influence and processes. Exhibit your influence as early as doable by together with any metrics or key outcomes you drove in your resume. Speak about them in your interviews. Clarify your course of for getting from concept to influence, downside to answer, and ambiguity to determination. The folks answerable for filling the function have to know you may get outcomes and replicate these outcomes for his or her product.
Product administration is a extremely sought-after and aggressive profession path. You may really feel like you’ll be able to’t compete for those who come from a technical assist background, however a number of your abilities switch very nicely.
This recommendation relies alone transition into product administration, figuring out others who’ve made the identical transition, and success tales I’ve learn in product administration teams like Girls In Product.
Please take from this story what finest aligns along with your scenario, and preserve your head up.
