Arjun Nair, Co-founder, Great Learning

Product management teams are the centre point of innovation and growth in organisations. They balance both soft and multi-functional management skills like emotional intelligence, relationship building, product leadership, product design, and data interpretation to conceptualise the product of a company. A product manager is often viewed as a mini CEO who takes the final decision on business and product strategy along with launching and upgrading the product features to ensure impeccable user experience without compromising on the return on investment for the company. Product managers dawn multiple hats of tech experts, management professionals, communicators, and success evangelists.  No wonder the global tech giants have filled their CXO positions with product managers in the past. CEOs of Google, Youtube, Microsoft, and Yahoo – Sundar Pichai, Susan Wojcicki, Satya Nadella and Marissa Mayer in their time climbed the ranks via product management roles. They were experts at managing change and putting new technology and innovation to use.

Owing to the rapid market and technology changes, the demand for skilled product managers has gone through the roof. According to PayScale, the average salary of product managers in India is Rs 1,741,318 per annum and can go up to 20 lakhs per year with experience and upskilling. With many ed-tech platforms offering online programs in association with leading universities, learners who want to have a thriving profession now have access to a comprehensive curriculum, skills-based training through interactive sessions, and world-class faculty to power ahead in this field. If you are looking for a challenging and rewarding new career direction, here is a list of top programs to advance in PM roles :

Great Learning – PG Program in Product Management and Analytics – This PG certificate course designed by the faculty of the Great Lakes and leading industry leaders, is taught by the best-in-class professors and practicing product management professionals. Learners get an opportunity to learn through the Product Innovation Project- the capstone project. The objective of this programme is to familiarize learners not only with the scope of product management but also, a step-by-step approach to apply the concepts learned in the product innovation project. The centerpiece of the programme is an immersive product design and innovation experience that integrates the project with the development of professional success skills.

Duration: 6 months

Eruditus – Certificate Programme in Product Strategy For Business Success – The programme offered by IIM Kozhikode is designed to give you an end-to-end understanding of a product’s life cycle, the program will help you develop comprehensive product strategy skills, give you an in-depth knowledge of product positioning and branding, and marketing communication and logistics to execute product strategy successfully. Graduate or Diploma (10+2+3) in any discipline.

Duration: 3 months

JigSaw Academy- Postgraduate Certificate Program in Product Management – This Postgraduate Certificate Program in Product Management, in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Management, Indore, is the only Product Management course in India that conforms to the 5i Framework. Along with an extensive curriculum designed & taught by IIM-I experts, the course also includes Bring Your Own Product (BYOP), interaction with Product Experts from Fortune 500 Companies, batch immersion and HBR case studies for a holistic learning experience.

Duration: 6 months

edX –  Professional Certificate in Product Management – The programme is in collaboration with the university system of Maryland will offer a basic understanding of the keys to successfully navigate the roles and responsibilities of being a product manager to champion change with internal and external collaborators and influencers. One can learn how to truly know your target customer, your customer’s underserved needs, your value proposition, your product feature set, and your user experience, then integrate this knowledge into product and market requirements and positioning plans. Translate product ideas into tangible assets by creating wireframes, 3D renderings, prototypes, and minimum viable products (MVPs) to test assumptions and validate customer interests. Develop techniques for designing and modeling for fast feedback and idea-sharing, system optimization with open architectures, validating functions and verifying performance, and leveraging and enabling the system designs, platforms, and ecosystems.

Duration: 5 months

The product manager is a role that is prevalent in all sectors. With the emergence of digital technologies product managers of today should be well versed with avenues like AIML, Blockchain, Data Science, Data Analytics to advance the product in order to meet the evolving consumer needs with the help of the latest technology tools. As the talent pool of product management gets recognized in India, the aspirants with deep-rooted fundamentals, strategic thinking and business acumen will be a valuable asset to an organization.

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