Product administration is a gorgeous profession path, and moving into the sphere is more durable than ever. Does a tech assist agent actually have a shot?
Why is product administration a gorgeous profession? For starters, product Managers usually have engaging salaries. Constructed In lists the typical Product Supervisor wage at $128,820. An article on Product Faculty’s weblog claims it might be barely lower than that, however it’s nonetheless a major enhance for a lot of technical roles, particularly assist roles.
If the wage isn’t sufficient to inspire you, there’s additionally the diploma of autonomy. Product Managers work with out lots of course and oversight. That provides lots of flexibility in the way you construction your schedule and deal with your work.
What does it take to be a great product supervisor?
Fortunately, lots of the abilities you construct in technical assist translate effectively to product administration.
Curiosity and Drawback-solving
As a technical assist agent, you’re interested by buyer issues and deeply examine to unravel the problems and discover options. Product Managers do that as effectively, however in numerous methods. As an alternative of fixing issues one buyer at a time, you’ll clear up larger issues that influence a complete person base. You’ll additionally transcend easy solution-finding to offering extra worth.
Ambiguity and Structured-thinking
There’s lots of ambiguity in product administration. You by no means begin with all of the items to the puzzle; so it’s as much as you to seek out as many as you’ll be able to after which select a path ahead. In technical assist, you’re used to approaching issues with structured considering. In the event you don’t know one thing, you’ve got a course of for troubleshooting or discovering info. That’s a key ability in navigating ambiguity.
Buyer Focus and Empathy
Technical assist could be very customer-focused and the very best brokers have a excessive diploma of empathy. The identical might be mentioned about product administration. The nearer you’re to the shoppers, the simpler it will likely be to find their wants and ache factors.
What are the trade-offs for a Technical Help Agent?
There’s at all times a draw back. On this case, it’s all about time administration, emotions of accomplishment, and subject material experience.
Accomplishment
If you instantly assist clients, you get the moment gratification of fixing their issues in actual time. As a Product Supervisor, there’s no actual level at which an issue feels solved.
You’re planning upcoming initiatives whereas present initiatives are in progress. You’re negotiating scope and leaving pet initiatives on the backlog to optimize for general worth. Releases really feel anti-climactic. Metric measurement is ongoing. It’s a must to create your individual achievements.
That may be tough for high-achieving technical assist brokers. You’re used to having clear indicators of success, so that you’ll have to regulate and discover methods to really feel completed.
Time Administration
Moreover, there are not any scheduled breaks. Chances are you’ll not have set begin or finish instances in your work day. Having a versatile schedule is good, however it’s straightforward to finish up with back-to-back conferences all day or work extra time to get the whole lot executed. As a Product Supervisor, you could must search for in-office roles when you wrestle to handle your time. In any other case, you have to proactively schedule breaks, lunches, working hours, and focus time.
Topic Matter Experience
In technical assist, you’re the knowledgeable. You already know the product you assist from side to side, and your clients and coworkers can rely on you to be a font of data. In product administration, you do must develop some experience along with your product, however there’ll at all times be so much you don’t know.
You received’t spend every single day troubleshooting points with clients, so you’ll have to refer clients to your assist crew in the event that they want troubleshooting. You additionally don’t normally develop or design your product, and you’ll have to refer coworkers to your designers and builders for some questions or get the knowledge from them your self.
The important thing right here is that you simply’re not valued in your information however in your course of and abilities. As a Product Supervisor, you’ll depend on different folks’s experience the way in which a technical assist agent depends on troubleshooting guides and inner information bases.
How do you get employed as a product supervisor?
In the event you’re nonetheless occupied with product administration and suppose you’d be a great match, it’s time to consider your transition technique.
Inner Transition
By far, the simplest technique to transition into product administration from one other position is by altering roles inside your present firm. Being an inner candidate with a non-product title makes you a decrease danger than an exterior candidate with a non-product title.
However, take into account that being an inner candidate might not provide you with a leg up over exterior candidates with precise product administration expertise. You’re additionally prone to get a decrease compensation supply. It’s extensively acknowledged that the majority corporations don’t price range as a lot for benefit raises, promotions, and inner hires as they do for brand new hires.
Exterior Transition
In the event you don’t see any technique to change into a Product Supervisor at your present firm, exterior transitions are tough however potential. It really works greatest if you already know somebody on the new firm who can refer you and vouch in your abilities, expertise, and work ethic.
For corporations, hiring is all about minimizing danger. Demonstrating that you’ve the best expertise for the job goes a great distance towards minimizing danger for the potential employer. Having an advocate throughout the group goes even additional.
Pit Cease
Typically, you’ll want to choose up a number of further abilities to change into a viable candidate for Product Supervisor roles. Technical assist doesn’t provide you with a good suggestion of the enterprise facet of product administration. Chances are you’ll must take some enterprise courses, construct and market your individual product, or transition right into a advertising or enterprise analytics position first. Take a look at job posts and consider your ability set towards the necessities to seek out these gaps.
Hirable Qualities
A Product Supervisor’s worth is of their influence and processes. Exhibit your influence as early as potential by together with any metrics or key outcomes you drove in your resume. Discuss them in your interviews. Clarify your course of for getting from thought to influence, drawback to answer, and ambiguity to choice. The folks in control of filling the position must know you may get outcomes and replicate these outcomes for his or her product.
What must you take away from this?
Product administration is a extremely sought-after and aggressive profession path. You may really feel like you’ll be able to’t compete when you come from a technical assist background, however lots of your abilities switch very effectively.
This recommendation is predicated by myself transition into product administration, understanding others who’ve made the identical transition, and success tales I’ve learn in product administration teams like Girls In Product.
Please take from this story what greatest aligns along with your state of affairs, and preserve your head up.
I wish to thank Tremis Skeete, Govt Editor of Product Coalition, for his helpful contributions to the enhancing of this article.
I additionally thank Product Coalition founder Jay Stansell, who has offered a collaborative product administration schooling setting.
Can a Technical Help Agent Grow to be a Product Supervisor? was initially printed in Product Coalition on Medium, the place individuals are persevering with the dialog by highlighting and responding to this story.
