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Comment by canaus | Hacker News Reader

Are there any resources on how to move from developer to product X role?

I've realized I'm more interesting in creating solutions and ways to make them better than coding them, but the path to get from A to B seems muddied.

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This was the reason I decided to write this article, I was in a similar position and had to improvise somehow. I didn't find many resources for people transitioning from developer to product/project manager roles. I think one pragmatic way to approach it is to find an opportunity within your organization to try it out without having too big of an impact at first. This way you can learn what works for your business. I really believe that product management is not a 100% transferable skill like programming would be, it's more dependent on who and what you are dealing with, hence the lack of general resources adapted to devs. There might be some general guidelines here and there, but in my many interviews this year, I found out that product management at company A can be totally different than at company B. I'd gladly read some resources if somebody answers your question better than me though!

This is seriously I've of the best articles on project management with dev teams. It highlights tons of the important things without sugarcoating how dynamic and next the whole process can be. I was a tech lead at my last job, and it became mostly project management in a hardcore scrum environment. I definitely stumbled transitioning between the roles. I'm gonna pick up your book recommendation too!

I'm not sure if there's a great overall guide for this since different employers will expect different things. But you'll make progress if you show interest in not just building, but refining the product as a developer, plus telling your manager that you're interested in product manager/designer/etc. If you can provide examples or observations about the product and its lifecycle, it can help take those conversations to something tangible

I don't have any resources but I can share a personal anecdote, as I've recently been offered a position as a product manager after having worked as a developer for a few years. A couple of product people I used to work with at another company reached out to me about the job based on how they've seen me handle my work. Here are some of the traits they noted as to why they thought I'd make a good fit:

- Rigorous questioning of product goals

- Ability to write clear and well-organized documentation

- Ability to effectively communicate technical concepts to non-technical persons

- Consistently following up with stakeholders

- General curiosity

I guess I've always had a tendency of viewing my role as a developer more holistically than others (i.e., not just being interested in coding, but ensuring that what I'm building is truly a good product from a business perspective, and helping to demystify the development process when speaking with non-developers).

But it would have been tough to break into this role without having proven myself to others who are already in my professional network, which is probably why the general advice is to try to move into the role somewhere you're already employed.

If your org has a software consultancy sales arm, you can make this shift by becoming a solutions architect. You'll get to work with sales and product to create solutions for prospective clients. A good product person will jump at the opportunity of a dedicated architect to help them with the tech portion of pitch decks.

Get a PMP certificate and start approaching companies

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