How can I switch to a Product Owner role?
Hi everyone,
I’m 24M, and my career path has been a bit strange, so I’d really appreciate some advice.
I was hired as a Junior Software Engineer about two years ago. However, in my company, most of the architecture and coding work is handled by external vendors. Because of that, I don’t actually write much code, and I feel like my technical/coding skills haven’t grown much.
Because of my current responsibilities, I’ve been thinking about shifting my career path toward Product Owner/Product Manager roles. It seems more aligned with what I’m already doing, and it might also help me prepare for moving to another company in the future.
Right now, my responsibilities include:
- Designing and reviewing system flows and business logic
- Writing documentation, system designs, pseudocode, SQL, etc.
- Managing the backlog, recording issues, and translating business requirements for the development team
- Having daily meetings with the vendor development team’s project manager to align on tickets, releases, and priorities
- Handling UAT testing and supporting project rollouts across multiple new regions
Because of this, I have a few questions:
- Apart from communication skills, what skill sets are considered essential for a Product Manager across different companies?
- How can I develop those skills within my current responsibilities, or how can I improve them on my own?
- Are certifications necessary to get a PM/PO job, or is relevant work experience usually enough?
Any advice would be greatly appreciated.