If you think product management is all about high TC, strategic genius, and basking in the glow of tech innovation, think again. Product Management Sucks!! As an experienced product manager in the tech industry, I’m telling you it’s not glamorous. Whether you’re new to the field or an experienced PM, these truths about product management are painfully relatable.
Everyone Hates You, Oh It’s Also All Your Fault
As a Product Manager, you stand in the middle of everything, which can often lead to a perception that you are getting in the way. Engineers can be difficult to work with; they think product managers “don’t know anything” and that PM’s are not technical and set unreasonable deadlines. You’re always trying to get everyone around the company, including Marketing and Sales, to hurry up. No one likes to be nagged, but as a PM, that’s your job. Product leadership will blame you for any missed metrics, and you will become the scapegoat for leadership’s decisions. You are the face of the Product, even though those decisions were not yours to make. Sounds fun, right?!
Product Has No Authority, and No One Listens To You
You have to lead the Product, but you don’t have any authority. You don’t have any direct reports. People have no incentive to do what you say; you don’t control their raise or performance review after all. The idea that product managers have authoritative power is laughable. You’re accountable for your Product’s success but lack real control over resources or teams. It’s frustrating trying to do things with no authority. Why do you think most product managers are super outgoing and smooth talkers? Those are the PMs that succeed. Getting people to do what you want without hard reporting lines is your job.
PMs Have No Work Work-Life Balance
Are all PM roles very stressful all of the time?
byu/jonesy3142 inProductManagement
Work-life balance? What is that?! There is no work-life balance for a product manager. Meetings all day and Slack messages all night are your reality. The product launch never changes. The work-life balance gets worse when you’re on a distributed team worldwide. Congratulations, you have a second or third Product to lead if there’s a layoff. When you’re out on a date and the metrics dropped 56%, your date might have to wait. Slack is your significant other at this point.
Product Managers (Your Peers) Are Insufferable
Do you feel that a lot of product managerment folks are insanely pretentious?
byu/GazBB inProductManagement
Product Managers are a pretentious bunch. Please don’t take my word for it; a whole Reddit thread is dedicated to the topic. No other corporate profession has as many LinkedIn “Influencers” as Product Management does. Everyone thinks they’re a “rockstar” and out here selling you a course. Be ready for any PM to tell you what school they went to and their exes. Ex Amazon, Ex Meta, maybe even my Ex Google, they’re the best cook out of all the exes.
Product Managagers Burnout All The Time
Any moms here struggling with work life balance being in product?
byu/words31 inProductManagement
Product Managers are known for burning out quickly. You’ll be working all the time. At a job where no one listens to you, thinks they’re better than you, and then blames you for everything, it’s easy to see why PMs burn out quickly. Imagine you have kids who don’t listen to you at home, and you go to work, where adults act the same way. Sheeeeeeit.
Yep, Product Management SUCKS! – Kind Of
So, that’s why Product Management SUCKS! It’s often thankless, frustrating, and chaotic. But here’s the silver lining: it’s also deeply rewarding. Think of the sweet, high TC! I love the excitement of bringing a product to life, with a $500k+ salary. The thrill of tackling complex challenges and the satisfaction of making a tangible impact on our bank account keep us hooked. Embrace the chaos because, in the wild world of product management, the struggles make the successes so much more rewarding. If you still want to become a product manager, check out these interview questions and join the PM Discord, but don’t say we didn’t warn you.
After 15 yoe in product and 20y in the work force I can confidently say this line of work will never bring me joy or fulfillment. How is everyone else coping?
byu/playadefaro inProductManagement