SWE --> PM transition?

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#1

I’ve been an engineer for 3 years. I like coding, but I don’t feel like this is my calling. I work closely with some PMs and think I’d enjoy what they do.

What steps should I take to make the transition?

#2

So I switched between SWE and PM and back to SWE a few times.

The biggest things to keep in mind when becoming a PM from a dev is:

  1. Keep in mind you’re no longer in charge of technical decision making
  2. Always think about the business value/customer problem
  3. Be able to trust others are going to be able to deliver but be ready to step in when that doesn’t occur.

What you can do to transition is:

  1. Read Cracking the PM interview (the book is super cliche, but is helpful to a certain extent)
  2. Think about products you enjoy and how you would improve it (or products you see on a day-to-day basis)
  3. Think about trade-offs that PMs at other companies must have made when building feature A vs feature B.
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