Ashby Houle
I attended Product School's Product Management Course in NYC and really enjoyed it. I come from a consulting background where I have had some experience working as a Product Owner for clients and wanted to figure out how to transition into a true Product Manager role. The course covered every aspect of Product Management from understanding a company's context and goals, identifying new product opportunities and validating them using both quantitative and qualitative analysis, how to bring ideas to life via the product development lifecycle, and how to effectively market a product. The course goes into the right level of detail for you to understand all the potential responsibilities of a Product Manager at different companies. The last week also focuses on the PM Job search process, which I found to be super helpful. Throughout the course you pick a company of interest to you and propose a new product feature or idea. All of the homework assignments build on each other and help you with your final project of presenting the product idea to the class. Outside of class, I would estimate that the homework assignments took me about 6 hours (on average). Alex, my instructor, was incredibly helpful and professional throughout the entire course. She offered a unique perspective on Product Management, as she has experience as a PM at a large company as well as an early stage start-up. She made herself available outside of class to answer any questions about homework assignments, final project ideas, and the job-search process. This is definitely a great course to take if you are looking to understand the role of a PM better, get a feel for what it takes to be a successful PM, meet a lot of smart, like-minded people, and eventually transition into Product Management!
