Studying MS in Product Management at Carnegie Mellon University
My experience of going through this program and answers to your questions
Hello Hello 👋
Welcome to this another edition of the ✨ Pragmatism ✨ newsletter.
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In this post I will be talking about my experience and journey of pursuing MS in Product Management at the Carnegie Mellon University. The motivation behind this post is to help you decide if a program like this is for you and if it is the right path to break into product. I have tried to answer almost every question that I have ever received on my email, LinkedIn, or Twitter DMs :)
Let’s jump right in!
Why did I decide to study product management 🎓
I completed my undergrad in 2016 and worked for a startup for 4 years right out of school. I worked as a software engineer for 2 years and later transitioned in to product management. My growth as a product manager was organic where I was exposed to different aspects of product management one piece at a time. I was never formally trained to be a product manager. I knew little about what product management was or what a product manager did. I later realized that I was a quasi PM as a lot of the work that I was doing as a software engineer was closely tied to product management, and I enjoyed playing that role.
I wanted to learn the art of product management more formally. I decided to take some time off and go back to school to explore this new interest of mine!
Why in the United States 🇺🇸
As a software engineer and product manager working at a startup in India, we all learnt to do and build things like the startups and tech giants of the Silicon Valley. Most of the books that I read on technology and startups were written by the co-founders, product and technology leaders based out of the US. My twitter feed was full of people building their careers and companies in the US. Sitting in India we all were replicating the culture of Silicon Valley. I always wondered what is so different about the Silicon Valley that it has created more than 500 unicorns. Even though so much has been written and talked about it, with both positives and the negatives, I just wanted to live and breathe it on my own :)
How did I pick a course and the university 🏫
When I had started looking for courses, there weren’t many options available that were entirely focussed on product management. Multiple schools like Cornell, Duke, Northwestern were offering MS in Engineering Management where the majority of graduates were getting into product management. But the curriculum was not exactly what I was looking for.
MBA was another popular route for getting into product management but I certainly couldn’t afford a foreign MBA. I also did not want to lose my technology roots. Moreover, new age companies and startups were looking for PMs with a strong tech backgrounds and not just strong business acumen.
I ultimately figured that I wanted something that was right at the center of business, technology, and design. I finally found the program MS in Product Management by Tepper School of Business designed in collaboration with School of Computer Science and Human Computer Interaction Institute (The number 1 schools in the US for Computer Science and Design respectively!). The curriculum had the right mix of subjects from business, technology, and design. The program was setup to help you develop skills and succeed as a product manager specifically. The CMU brand was a bonus and aided my decision to finally apply for this program!
What was the application process like 📑
I applied to only one program as I was quite confident and focussed on what I wanted to do and get out of the program. (Though I do not recommend doing this i.e. if you are seriously considering an MS program, apply to multiple schools). I did not want to do an MS just for the sake of doing it. If I didn’t get my admit, I probably wouldn’t have done my MS back then and continued with my job at the startup as I liked what I was doing and building.
In terms of the application process, I had to do the following:
Submit my resume.
Submit my undergrad transcripts.
Submit my GRE score. GMAT scores are also accepted and you can even request for a test score waiver.
Write and submit 4 essays describing my professional background, career goals, motivation to apply at CMU, and explaining how I was the right fit for the program.
3 letters of recommendation from people who I have worked with professionally.
TOEFL/IELTS score if you are an international applicant and if your medium of instruction during undergrad was not English.
Interviews with the hiring committee.
Pay USD 125 as application fees.
You can find more details here.
Do you need to be from a specific background to pursue this program? Do you need to know programming 💻
Nope, I don’t think so! Computer science or programming background is a nice-to-have and not a must-have. I remember people in my cohort joining from varied disciplines and professional backgrounds. The program itself encourages diversity within students and tries to admit people from different backgrounds. Learning from different perspectives and experiences of others is a huge part of the program!
What courses did I like the most and how did they align with product management ⚒️
Here is how my skillset looked before and after the program:
Given that background, here are some of my favorite courses that helped me fill the gaps in my skillset:
✏️ HCI for Product Managers - With this course I had the opportunity to pick an actual product, interact with its users in the real world, find their pain points, and improve the experience of that product. It took us through the entire lifecycle of product development and helped us get a peek into our future jobs in a fun and interactive way.
💼 Technology Strategy - This course helped me understand the unique economic characteristics of today's technology companies and how it impacts their strategic decisions. We studied and prepared case studies for every class and this used to be the one of the most engaging classes.
🗣 Negotiations - It is often said that product managers have to lead without authority, convince stakeholders, get buy-in from leadership, and work across cross-functional teams. This course is designed to help you learn on how to do all of this methodically. Assignments were the most fun part of this course as we were asked to negotiate with our peers based on real-life situations.
👨💼 Business Fundamentals - The central element to this course was a business simulation game that we played in teams with our cohort. Through this game we learnt the basics of market dynamics, pricing, competition, and effectively how to run a company. This course had one of the most innovative methods of teaching.
How did I finance the course 💵
I took an education loan from India.
Are there scholarship opportunities 🗞
Nope, there are no scholarship opportunities as such. But during my cohort in 2020, the program had a tie up with a company that would sponsor the entire cost of tuition and living with a lock-in that you’d have to work with them for at least 3 years. Though, I cannot comment if that is still true or not.
How are the job opportunities after graduation 👩💻
This program is relatively new and less than 5 years old. It is still in its infancy as compared to the other established programs out there. Though the program is rapidly and steadily building its reputation among recruiters and companies. The alumni from the program is well placed with established companies and startups.
With that being said, job search is not easy and requires a lot of hard work, preparation, consistent effort, and luck. The school and the program provides you the brand, platform, and the right resources to help crack the jobs and the internships. There’s a career center to help you with the resume reviews, mock interviews, company networking events, career fairs, speaker series, alumni meets, etc. but it is you who has to get out there and find a job for yourself. The product management job market is extremely competitive. The best case scenarios during the program is to convert your internship into a full-time role. Or you could even graduate from the program and still not have a full-time opportunity with you. A lot of it depends on your timing and luck as well!
Is a program like this the only way to get into product management 🛣
Definitely not! Product Management is one of those roles where there is no conventional path of making into it. You could:
Start right out of school, land a product internship and convert it to a full-time role.
Transition from any other role to a product role within your same company. You might have to shadow a PM, take up product responsibilities, and demo that you are capable of leading a product.
Start as an Associate Product Manager, Product Analyst or any other product adjacent role with a new company.
If you had your own startup/company, you could jump into a product role right away.
Complete online product courses and certifications to develop skills and showcase them to the product recruiting teams.
These are a few common paths to product management. Your path to product management can be completely unique. You just need to have right skills and stories showcasing those skills to become a product manager and your background does not matter a whole lot!
I’ll be writing more on this topic in the upcoming editions of my newsletter.
How is the overall course quality and is it worth the investment 📈
Honestly, that’s a very tough question to answer. It really depends on the overall career goals that you have for yourself. For me:
I was able to move to the US and land a product role in the Silicon Valley. ✅
I was able to get better with the business and people side of product management. ✅
I became more structured with my approach and thinking towards building products. ✅
I was able to establish a healthy network of professionals and build long term relationships. ✅
I can now associate myself with the CMU brand which will play an important role for my career in the future. ✅
But..
I did not get the desired educational experience that I was hoping for as the cohort was forced to take the classes online due to the pandemic and I could attend the school in-person for only 2 months. Attending school in-person, networking with the peers, and engaging in classroom activities was a huge part of the program! ❌
With median salaries of about $127,300 as per the program website, you could potentially recover the cost of the program in 2-3 years once you start working. The length of the program is 12 months which helps you save money on living expenses and start earning early as compared to traditional 16/24 month MS programs. It makes an even bigger difference when you compare this with MBA programs that are approximately 2X-3X the cost of an MS program.
When should you consider pursuing a program like this 🤔
You have no product management experience, and want to break into it.
You are in a product adjacent role, and you’d like to formally break into product management.
You have just started as a product manager, and you want to learn the art and science of product management to accelerate your career growth and prospects. Though, there is no better way to learn than being on the job.
You are currently not in the US and you want to start a product management career in the US. (You may or may not be a product manager in your native country)
When should you not consider pursuing it 😒
You do not have any work experience in the industry. It is better that you have at least 2 to 3 years of work experience to get the most out of the program.
You are a seasoned product manager. Duh.
🛑 Disclaimer 🛑
This edition of the newsletter is based entirely on my experience and latest knowledge of the program. Information here might get dated pretty soon in this ever evolving education and job markets! 😉
Here are some other useful links:
MSPM blog where other alums have shared their experiences.
I hope you enjoyed reading this and found it insightful 💡
Questions? Just reply to this email and ask! Would you like to read similar stories in the future as well?
Sincerely,
Tanay 👋
Hi Tanaya!
My name is Geody Gantira , I'm from Indonesia (: I am a product manager in one biggest e-commerce in Indonesia, Tokopedia.
Thank you so much for the post, I learn a lot from your post regarding overall of the MSPM program.
I would like to ask what resources that you use to prepare for the IELTS and GRE/GMAT? I'm aspiring to apply next year (2024), and currently preparing for the IELTS and GRE, but don't know where to start.
if you're willing to, please kindly share your resources, would be very helpful for me.
you can reach me at geodygantira@gmail.ciom
Thank you !