Where a product manager can go next
10 destinations recorded, ranked by how much of the target role a product manager already meets. The closer to the top of Table 1, the less there is to learn.
Product managers are responsible for managing the lifecycle of a product. They research and develop new products in addition to managing existing ones through market research and strategic planning. Product managers perform marketing and planning activities to increase profits.
Also known as product marketing manager, research and development manager, sports product engineer, product development manager, product developer.
Managers 62 skills on file 10 career moves 0 above 60% overlap Closest: product development manager, 56%
- 70% and above · short step
- 50 to 70% · real move
- Below 50% · substantial retraining
Table 1 · Within reach
Table 2 · A bigger jump
Possible, but expect real retraining rather than a sideways step.
- category manager 28% covered · difficulty 79.6
- promotion manager 27% covered · difficulty 78
- banking products manager 26% covered · difficulty 76.3
- sales manager 24% covered · difficulty 81.8
- chief product officer 23% covered · difficulty 74.8
- marketing manager 23% covered · difficulty 84.7
- brand manager 21% covered · difficulty 82.1
- online community manager 19% covered · difficulty 86.3
- research and development manager 15% covered · difficulty 87.4
Table 3 · What the job itself asks for
A product manager needs 28 required skills and areas of knowledge. These 10 are the ones fewest other jobs share, so they say the most about the work.
- socio-economic trends in your sector social sciences, journalism and information
- combine business technology with user experience information skills
- design customer experiences communication, collaboration and creativity
- prepare market research reports communication, collaboration and creativity
- develop new products communication, collaboration and creativity
- product life-cycle business, administration and law
- draw conclusions from market research results information skills
- plan product management management skills
- develop communications strategies management skills
- organise participation in local or international events management skills
Table 4 · Jobs that lead here
The reverse view: occupations whose skills already cover much of what a product manager does. The figure is how much of this job each one brings.
Look up another occupation
Product manager is filed under Managers, ISCO major group 1. The full index lists all ten groups.
How these figures were compiled
Overlap is how much of the target role is already part of a product manager’s work. It is directional: the figure for the reverse move differs. Every entry above opens the full comparison for that move: what carries over, what is missing, and where to start. The full method.