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Home | Resources | Articles

How to go from sales engineer to product manager?

SRPM_EBook_Cover125 I’m often asked about how people transition into product management. Few people seem to plan to be a product manager; they mos often stumble into it. And you almost always know very quickly whether you’ve made a good choice or a bad choice. While product management isn’t for everybody, it can be a great job, particularly if you’re being the business leader instead of the clean-up crew.

Jeff Lash at Ask A Good Product Manager recently asked me to reply to an inquiry about moving from sales engineer to product manager. It’s a fairly common path into product management. Read my response here.

If you’re interested in product management but don’t really know exactly what it is, read my free ebook, The Strategic Role of Product Management.

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  • Steve Johnson was a founding instructor at Pragmatic Institute, a role he held for more than 15 years before he left to start Under10 Playbook. In his return to Pragmatic Institute, Steve supports the complete learning path for product teams, ensuring they are fully armed for success.  Over the course of his career, Steve has helped thousands of companies and tens of thousands of product professionals implement product management processes. He has worked in the high-tech arena since 1981, rising through the ranks from product manager to chief marketing officer. Steve has experience in technical, sales and marketing management positions at companies that specialize in both hardware and software. In addition, he is an author, speaker and advisor on product strategy and product management.

Steve Johnson

Steve Johnson

Steve Johnson was a founding instructor at Pragmatic Institute, a role he held for more than 15 years before he left to start Under10 Playbook. In his return to Pragmatic Institute, Steve supports the complete learning path for product teams, ensuring they are fully armed for success.  Over the course of his career, Steve has helped thousands of companies and tens of thousands of product professionals implement product management processes. He has worked in the high-tech arena since 1981, rising through the ranks from product manager to chief marketing officer. Steve has experience in technical, sales and marketing management positions at companies that specialize in both hardware and software. In addition, he is an author, speaker and advisor on product strategy and product management.

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