Ask HN: Career Advice on Engineering Manager vs. Product Manager | Hacker News Reader

Ask HN: Career Advice on Engineering Manager vs. Product Manager

11 pointsnirali356 comments

My background has been in Software Engineering (California, Fortune 500). And now I am thinking of moving into either Engineering Management or Product Management. I already have an offer to be an Engineering Manager. I am open to MBA for the Product Manager role.

I have always wanted to move into either EM or PM role. Based on my experience, I think I would enjoy both of those roles equally. I want to learn more in EM / PM role and then aspire to be at VP/Director position in 5-7 years.

1. Does EM or PM have a higher likelihood of getting to a Director / VP level position?

2. Is an MBA a good investment for either role in the long-term (should be able to get into the top 10 MBA school)? Especially, given I already have a very strong technical background and have business certification from Stanford.

3. Overall, what path should I follow (Engineering Manager or Product Manager)?

Thank you so much for reading and helping!

These are both very different roles, so I'd take a step back and think about three things:

1. What excites you (Desire)

2. What you're good at (Talent)

3. What roles are available (Opportunity)

The right approach is target two out of the three, and if your goal is to climb the career ladder to a VP, it's best to focus on #2 and #3.

But you may find that once you are on this path (or even achieve it), your lack of desire can be a pretty limiting factor. So for many people, they are happiest if they focus on #1 and #3. It will be a longer, harder road before you achieve what most people would call a successful career. But you may end up more satisfied in the long run.

You do not need an MBA to be a PM. Unless you expect other serious ROI on it (which is plausible), I would save yourself the time and money.

I moved from EM to a PM role. Did this at a startup where I expressed interest/aptitude in product, and they let me transition over. I recently moved on to another startup where I was hired as a PM.

It basically came down to showing interest and effort, taking on product type tasks even without the title or permission, and forming relationships with decision makers.

Answer to #3 highly depends on what you want your days to look like and what you want to achieve. Both roles require you to talk to a lot of people, cross-functionally. PM you'll likely have more say in the business strategy, direction, and more interaction with other disciplines (e.g. design is just as important as eng to a PM). EM's will require more people-management, like 1:1s, mentorship. Expect to be your team's leader, therapist, and professional unblocker, even if that means running to the office supply store to get them another whiteboard.

If I could reduce it to its simplest terms, as a PM you will have more impact on the product (duh), and as an EM you will have more impact on the people on your team.

Both seem equally likely to lead to VP roles - to me that will come more down to your reputation and relationships than your specific job title.

Engineering manager is someone who has a head count and is responsible for managing it (hiring, firing, giving feedback, promoting, assigning to teams, resolving dramas etc.), while Product Manager is often a glorified analyst (depends on the relationship with the business). Given that, for managers, headcount is a way of assessing one's respectability, I'd say that EM has a higher change of going further up the ladder.

An MBA (full or part time) would take years and it won't be cheap. You would grow your network and learn some things, and it would open up some PM opportunities.

Both seem about equally likely to lead to Director / VP level positions if you excel. Maybe EM slightly more, but it's similar. You can start one now, the other takes more interviewing or possibly an MBA.

Day to day they will be kind of different. Do you want to worry about how to manage a team of engineers well, help with their professional and personal development, and get them the resources they need? Or help your company figure out what to build, for whom, figure out if that's working, etc? Both require operating well cross functionally, product especially.

If you care equally, I'd do engineering management now. Less resistance, and you can always go into product and / or get an MBA later.

> Is an MBA a good investment for either role in the long-term...

There are a variety of ways to to calculate ROI on an MBA. Naturally, Big Ed wants you to believe its a smart play.

Assuming you're reasonably autodidact, Josh Kaufman has roadmap for hacking your own MBA Education > https://personalmba.com/

In my opinion, product management roles are extremely difficult to land. I’m not sure that an MBA would provide the necessary skills. However, it might provide additional connections.

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