How to Learn Product Management

Product management happens at the intersection of tech, business, and design. You’ll need to develop skills in all three to become a Product Manager. The number of options for learning product management might be overwhelming at first glance. There are books, video tutorials, classes, and more to choose from; it all depends on your learning style and personal preferences. 

Here, we’ll discuss the various methods of learning product management so you can decide how you’d like to get started.

What is Product Management?

Product management is the process of managing a particular product, including physical products, software programs, and other digital products. A Product Manager oversees a product through the four stages of what product management calls “The Product LifeCycle:” introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. In product management, Product Managers are often referred to as the "CEO of the product."

Product management is at the intersection of tech, business, and design. Successful Product Managers must train in all three core product management skill sets: coding, user-driven design, and project management. Product management connects the different teams who develop a product. For example, a Product Manager might work simultaneously with a development team, a design team, a marketing team, stakeholders, and customers to manage the development and launch of a successful product. 

The Product Manager is an advocate for the customer and serves as a liaison between the teams developing a product and the users of the product. User experience is a critical part of product management, so Product Managers are expected to incorporate user-driven design principles and conduct user reviews of their product during the development and after launch. 

Read more about what product management is and why you should learn it. 

What Can You Do with Product Management?

Product management is a combination of tech, design, and business. You’ll need creativity, technical knowledge, and leadership skills to become a Product Manager. You will need to develop skills in all three to launch a new career in product management. However, the variety of skills creates a lot of flexibility in product management. 

Coding skills are essential to an aspiring product manager. You don’t need to be an expert coder, but you will need to understand the process of building a digital product. As you probably already know, coding skills are highly desired by employers. You could even work as a coder while continuing the rest of your product management education. 

Design skills are invaluable in many industries: design, digital design, fashion design, publishing, manufacturing, software development, art, marketing, web design, and animation. Product managers must know user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design. Training in these includes learning programs like Adobe XD, Adobe Sketch, and Figma. 

Project management skills are required for Product Managers. Developing project management skills is great for the job market: the Project Management Institute (PMI) estimates that more than 22 million new jobs will be created for people with project management skills by 2027. Project management skills are also highly versatile since Project Managers are in demand across industries. 

In-Person Product Management Training

In-person training is the most traditional form of learning a new job skill and most likely the method you have the most experience with. Learning face-to-face can offer considerable advantages in networking and mentoring, particularly for those new to product management who don’t have any current contacts in the field. One potential drawback of in-person training is that in-person class options might be limited in hyper-specialized fields such as product management.

You’ll need to see if there are in-person product management classes in your area before you enroll. Noble Desktop offers in-person product management courses at its state-of-the-art campus in Midtown Manhattan. Students are provided high-speed Wi-Fi, a computer lab, a student lounge, and complimentary coffee while learning. 

Product Managers need a combination of tech knowledge, design skills, and management education. Since Noble Desktop is a business, coding, and design school, they have a unique ability to teach the three parts of product management. For example, they offer a Software Engineering Certificate to help you build technical and coding skills. Their UX & UI Design Certificate trains students in user-driven design principles, user research, and product design software applications. And Noble Desktop’s Project Management Bootcamp provides comprehensive management training. One advantage of combining bootcamps in each focus is that you receive more in-depth training than you might in a course dedicated only to product management. 

Other in-person product management classes include UC Irvine’s Technology Project Management Boot Camp, which prepares graduates to become professional Scrum Masters. UC Irvine also offers a UX/UI Design Bootcamp relevant to aspiring Product Managers. Residents of New York and Toronto can train in product management with BrainStation, which offers courses in product management and design thinking. 

Live Online Product Management Training

The recent explosion in product management jobs has created a demand for more structured forms of job training. In-person course options might be limited in your area because product management is still relatively new as a career path. However, just because there are no in-person courses in your area doesn’t mean you can’t start a lucrative and exciting career as a Product Manager. 

Live online classes offer all of the same benefits as in-person classes. Because the course is happening live, you will be able to communicate and interact with your instructor in real time. You can ask questions whenever you need. You can collaborate on projects with your classmates. You can even receive direct feedback on your work via screen-sharing software. One huge advantage of live online classes is that you can launch your new career as a Product Manager without ever leaving your home. You’ll also reduce commute time and leave more flexibility in your current schedule.

Noble Desktop specializes in training students in business, design, and coding: the three primary skill sets required for Product Managers. Noble Desktop offers live online product management courses taught by expert instructors to small class sizes. Their expert instructors begin with a “micro-lecture” introducing a topic. Students are then guided through hands-on, real-world projects to apply what they just learned. Courses also come with a “learn the skills guarantee” via their “free retake” option, which allows students to retake any course for free to continue developing their skills. 

Students interested in product management can receive extremely in-depth training through a sequence of three of Noble Desktop’s live online programs. Understanding coding is critical for a Product Manager who must oversee the development of a product. Noble Desktop’s Software Engineering Certificate provides comprehensive training in websites and applications' front and back end, including hand coding in HTML, CSS, JavaScript, Python, and React. Aspiring Product Managers can gain user-driven design skills with Noble Desktop’s UX & UI Design Certificate. Topics covered include design thinking and principles, conducting user research, and prototyping. To acquire business and management training, you should consider their Project Management Bootcamp. Students gain experience managing projects through real-world case studies and acquire project management education hours that they can apply toward certification. 

You can see other live online product management courses using Noble Desktop’s Classes Near Me Tool. Some schools offer product management courses, including Thinkful, General Assembly, BrainStation, and 280 Group. Course options include beginner courses, intermediate courses, and single-day workshops. 

Free Online Courses & Tutorials

If you’re not quite ready to commit to product management, free online courses are a great way to see if it’s a career path that you’d like to explore. You can learn some of the foundations of product management before you fully commit. For example, Udemy offers a free tutorial, Fundamental Steps of Product Management which covers the basics of product management using a real-world case study. A few colleges, such as the University of Maryland College Park, offer free product management lectures on their website. Or, you might consider Product Crash Course, which delivers its free introductory product management course directly into your email inbox. 

Read about more free product management videos and online tutorials.

On-Demand Product Management Classes

On-demand product management training includes paid and free online courses that you can take at your own pace. Most commonly, on-demand courses are delivered through video lessons. However, other types, such as ProductCrashCourse, deliver product management lessons directly into your inbox. 

On-demand product management courses are accessible and typically less expensive than instructor-led courses. They are great for visual learners with self-discipline to direct their learning. The flexibility of on-demand courses is great for those with busy schedules who need to fit their product management training into a current lifestyle. One drawback of on-demand training is the lack of an instructor and opportunities for mentorship. Some more structured product management courses, such as the ones offered by Noble Desktop, include 1-on-1 job mentoring and live instruction. It’s also possible for on-demand courses to be out-of-date or focus on material irrelevant to your career goals. 

Which Learning Method is Right for Me?

With so many different resources available to help beginners learn product management, you might be unsure about which one is best for you. Picking the right learning path can be especially tricky since product management combines different skills, such as coding, design, and management. Everyone has different learning styles and preferences, and you can experiment with multiple tools to see which one feels right for you. One of the great things about directing your learning is that you pick which combination of tools you prefer; you don’t have to stick with what a teacher chooses.

It’s also essential to consider your current schedule before selecting a learning method. If you have a lot of responsibilities like a full-time job or family commitments, you may not be able to devote time to a structured course that requires you to attend at the same time every day. In this case, a self-paced class or video tutorials may be better since you can access them when your schedule allows. On the other hand, those with a more flexible schedule may prefer a structured course offered in-person or live online. 

Why Learn Product Management?

Product management is a creative and rewarding career path. Current Product Managers report a much higher job satisfaction rate than most careers. Product management has been ranked Top 10 on Glassdoor’s Top 50 Best Jobs list for several years. Since product management is still developing as a field, there is a lot of flexibility in this career path.

According to a study by Product Management Insider, Product Manager jobs increased by over 33% from 2017 to 2019 and have only continued to grow. A few factors driving this growth include the need for digital products and platforms, increased competition in a global market, digital transformation of industries, and data-driven business decisions. Some industries experiencing the highest growth in product management jobs include finance, ecommerce, tech, entertainment, and healthcare. For example, the adoption of streaming services has driven the need for Product Managers in the entertainment industry. Likewise, the adoption of digital tools by financial institutions has created a demand for Product Managers in the finance sector.

Product management is also a lucrative career path: according to Glassdoor, the median base annual salary for a Product Manager is around $125,000. Product Managers make more than double the average annual salary of $52,000 across all occupations. Jobs in product management are growing at a rate of five times the national average. Some companies hiring the most Product Managers include Google, Bank of America, Airbnb, Capital One, Adobe, and Visa. Some companies, such as Uber and Slack, pay Product Managers an average salary of around $200,000. 

Read more about why you should learn product management. 

Level of Difficulty, Prerequisites, & Cost 

Product management is still defined as a field, meaning there is no single path to becoming a Product Manager. Before you can begin working as a Product Manager, you will need to learn the core skill sets of product management: coding, user-driven design, and project management.

Because there are a lot of skills to learn, training in product management could be more expensive than other career paths. However, there are fast tracks that can speed up the training process. For example, bootcamps provide comprehensive training in typically much less time and can also save you money.

Combining bootcamps is a great way to reduce your learning time and costs. Another advantage of learning through bootcamps is taking all your classes from the same school. For example, Noble Desktop is a coding, design, and business school which offers bootcamps in all three core product management skills. You could receive certificates in software engineering, UX & UI design, and project management in less than a year. 

Read about how difficult it is to learn product management.

Learn Product Management with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

Since product management is a relatively new career, there is no single path to becoming a Product Manager. To become a Product Manager, you do not typically need a bachelor’s degree. You will need a mix of the three product management core skill sets: coding, user-driven design, and project management. Bootcamps in coding, UX design, and project management are a great way to acquire the knowledge you need to become a Product Manager. 

Noble Desktop offers bootcamps in coding, design, and business live online and at its state-of-the-art campus in Midtown Manhattan. Since Noble Desktop offers bootcamps in all three core product management skills, it is an excellent choice for aspiring Product Managers. All of their courses have guaranteed small class sizes. Noble Desktop’s expert instructors teach a “micro-lecture” introducing a topic and then guide students through applying what they learned through hands-on, real-world projects. There is a “free retake” option on their courses, allowing students to retake the course free to refresh their knowledge or continue developing their skills. 

Noble Desktop’s Software Engineering Certificate is a great option for aspiring Product Managers who will need to understand how applications are made. This bootcamp immerses students in coding and building applications using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, Python, Django, and Node.js. Expert instructors will guide students through hands-on projects to develop skills in coding the front and back ends of websites and applications. Students receive over 500 hours of live, hands-on instruction and twelve 1-on-1 mentoring sessions. Graduates earn a New York State Licensed Certificate in Software Engineering. 

Product Managers are required to put users first. Understanding user-driven design is critical for a Product Manager. Noble Desktop offers a UX & UI Design Certificate that provides comprehensive training in user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design. Students in this project-based bootcamp master user-centered design essentials, conduct research and product testing, and digital product design. Students become experienced users of Figma, Sketch, and Adobe XD. Students develop a professional portfolio and receive 1-on-1 job mentoring. Graduates earn a verifiable digital certificate which is shareable on Linkedin. 

The successful development and launch of a product is a project. Product Managers are required to have highly-developed project management skills. Noble Desktop’s Project Management Bootcamp provides comprehensive training in project management principles, practices, and methodologies. Topics covered include the “Project LifeCycle,” risk management, resource management, budgeting, and project management terminology. This boot camp includes training in project management methodologies Waterfall, Critical Path, and Agile, including Scrum, Kasan, and Extreme Programming (XP). Graduates earn a Certificate in Project Management which is shareable on Linkedin. 

Key Insights

• An important step to learning product management is deciding how you want to learn.
• Free online resources are great for learning the basics, but people serious about pursuing product management should get live instruction.
• You can receive comprehensive product management training through an in-person or live online course with Noble Desktop.