Will a Certification help My Product Manager Career Path?

A certification (and more generally, product management training) can certainly help you progress along a Product Manager career path by helping you build out key product management skills, validate your experience with essential product management tools and methodologies, and potentially increase your earning potential.

Product management certification programs are designed to offer students the most current possible training in an ever-changing field, equipping students with the latest skills and tools for handling a range of key digital product management tasks including wireframing and prototyping, user research, usability tests, and driving a successful launch.

How Much Does a Product Management Certificate Cost?

The cost of a product management certificate can vary depending on many different factors, including how comprehensive the course is, the delivery method of study chosen (online or in-person training), and the length of the program.

Ultimately, it might come down to the kind of product management training that you are looking for. Some are highly specialized programs intended for senior Product Managers who want to validate that they have a specific skillset, for instance that of a Product Executive. Certificate programs that are designed for aspiring Product Managers who want to develop product management skills from scratch will have a much different curriculum and cost.

Is a Product Management Course Right for You?

To determine if a product management course is right for you, start by considering your professional and learning goals, and reach out to current students and alumni to learn more about their experiences.

Determining which product management certification is right for you will have a lot to do with where you are in your career. A total beginner to product management will have different educational needs than someone trying to transition from a related tech field like UX design, web development, or project management. Senior-level Product Managers might be looking for a certification course to show they have a niche skill set, like a Product Leader.

Certificate programs in product management vary dramatically, so it is again important to do your research.

How to Prepare for a Product Manager Course

To prepare for a Product Manager course, you should look into free online resources on key product management methodologies and techniques, gain clarity on your educational goals, and explore the events and resources that could be provided by the product school you are planning to attend.

BrainStation's product management certificate course was designed to give students with minimal product management experience the chance to learn product management fundamentals from a professional in the field.

BrainStation also offers a range of industry and career-focused events to help you advance your professional goals.

Will a Product Manager Certificate Help You Get a Job?

A Product Manager certificate should help you get a job as it will validate your product knowledge and technical skills, but it will depend on the specific certification program you pursue as well as your experience level in product management.

It can only work to your advantage to show that you have experience with key concepts like product positioning, product marketing, go-to-market strategy, data analytics, and methodologies like Lean and Agile. Certified Product Manager salaries tend to be higher, which shows that employers value them, and all employers appreciate a commitment to continuous learning.

But aspiring Product Managers shouldn't expect that a certification alone will get them a product management career. Your product portfolio, other professional experience, and other intangible factors (like communication skills, time management skills, and more) will also play a big role.

Is a Product Manager Certification Worth It?

It is worth it to get a Product Manager certification if you are an aspiring product professional who wants to join a lucrative and rewarding field, if you are already working as a Product Manager or in a related role and you want to take your career to the next level, or if you are working in a related field but would benefit from building product skills (and especially new, digital product management skills).

Ultimately, product management certifications are worth it to most because product management jobs are considered among the best in the country. Glassdoor recently ranked Product Manager in the Top 10 best jobs in the U.S., noting the work-life balance, high job satisfaction, and national average salary of $113,446.

What Product Manager Skills Do I Need to Get a Job?

There are a variety of key Product Manager skills that can help you get a job in product management, including product strategy, Agile product development and project management, product planning, go-to-market strategies, wireframing and prototyping, customer development, and user testing.

A product management program should build the core skills necessary to develop a product management roadmap and guide a team through the entire product lifecycle, from problem exploration all the way through to driving a successful product launch and leveraging data analytics to ensure ongoing growth.

Product Manager skills span soft skills and technical. Product management course material should help you develop in both areas.

What Is the Product Management Process?

The product management process is a set of approaches for efficiently creating, developing, and improving products. Following the right processes is key to being a successful Product Manager. The most successful products are built following rigorous processes, including developing a product vision, usability testing, prototyping, wireframing, roadmapping, and planning. If you want to learn to become a Product Manager, you must master these product management processes.

BrainStation's Product Management course was designed to show aspiring Product Managers how to perform initial market research before going through each important step in an iterative product management process that will ensure you are building effective products that will resonate with your target customers.

What Product Management Tools Should I Learn?

A variety of product management tools are needed for tasks throughout the product lifecycle, including user research and creating user personas, prototyping and wireframing, collaboration and team building, and business analytics. The most popular product management tools include Google Forms, Xtensio, and Balsamiq.

Given the multidisciplinary nature of product management, the tools and software products that product professionals use have a diverse variety of applications. Other important tools often taught in a product management course include product roadmap software, user tracking, and data analysis tools, and customer survey tools, such as SurveyMonkey or Typeform.

What Is Agile Methodology and Should I Learn It?

An Agile methodology is a management approach that breaks projects into more manageable phases or tasks. This approach depends on collaboration, with cycles of planning, action, and evaluation. Agile development practices are crucial to empowering product management teams to work quickly and efficiently to deliver better products.

Agile should be at the core of any product management education. In BrainStation's Product Management, students learn Agile principles and variations in tandem with Lean methodologies to see how they work together to help product teams work together to constantly iterate and improve their products.

What Is a Product Life Cycle?

A product life cycle is a term that is typically used to describe the length of time a product is available to consumers, from its initial launch to a point where it can no longer be purchased. Usually, a product life cycle is broken up into different stages, covering a product's introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. The process by which product management professionals manage these stages is often referred to as product life cycle management, and it can include pricing, marketing, design, and more.

What Is a Product Owner?

Generally speaking, Product Owners are responsible for managing the product backlog, setting priorities for the team, and working with Developers to ensure targets are being met and that they are following the product roadmap.

This differs from Product Managers, who will help decide what products will be developed (or redeveloped), a process that often involves studying the customer's wants and needs. A Product Owner then takes that vision and ensures that the development team makes that vision come to life.