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One of the things I like to do is look up job postings that are one to three levels above mine so as to assess areas for growth/improvement. This allows me to understand the Product Manager Career Path as well as gain clarity on where I want to be professionally.

Just as there isn’t one path towards becoming a product manager, there certainly isn’t one path to rising up the ranks. The field of product management isn’t standardized; as such, its definitions, requirements and expectations differ from company to company.

Regardless of the differences, there are still some overlapping skills that every good product manager should possess at every level.

At a high-level, I believe all PMs need be strong in the following areas:

  • Communication: Possess clear, concise verbal and written communication
  • Customer Empathy/Focus: Succinctly translate customer insights and needs into shippable features/products
  • Leadership: Increase scope of influence, impact on customers and the company
  • Logical/Strategic Thinking: Connect the dots and socialize product vision
  • Execution: Ability to work with engineers as well as cross-functionally to ship features/products
  • Independence/Autonomy: Be self-directed and take initiative

The degree of to which a product manager possesses these strengths is where leveling comes in. 

A typical Product Manager Career path looks something like this: 

Typical PM Career Path

Typical Product Manager Career Path

At larger companies, it may look like: 

PM Career Path at Larger Companies

Product Manager Career Path – Larger Companies

The higher you go, the fewer the available slots at each level. A decently-sized company has one Chief Product Officer, a handful of Vice Presidents and Directors, More Group and Principal Product Managers and Many Mid-Level and Senior Product Managers. A smaller company will have fewer Product Managers at any level.

PM Leveling Matrix

The table below contains some job descriptions and expectations for typical product management levels. They are intended to serve as guidelines and will vary from one company to another.

Click here for Google Sheets Access

Note these Career Paths are not Linear. There are certainly jumps, pivots, and lateral movements along the way – especially when you get and spend some time at the Senior PM Level. For instance at some companies, a Senior PM who wants to manage a team can transition to the managerial path and gain skills in that direction. Likewise, a PM who doesn’t want to manage a team or isn’t ready might be able to stay at the Principal level or higher as an Individual contributor. Again, these all depend on a company’s expectations for its Product team.

If you’re a people manager, check out this article for some practical tips and advice.

Individual Contributor & Managerial Paths

If you’re still trying to figure out if Product Management is the right career path for you or more generally, which career to pursue, I recommend reading these articles:

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