Do you need an MBA to transition into product management?

Do I need an MBA to transition into product management?

I get this question a lot and my answer really depends on who’s asking. There’s two parts of the question if you really want to unpack it

1. Do you need an MBA (period)
2. Do you need an MBA for product management

I don’t want to conflate the two, especially because there’s so much discourse and debate about whether MBAs are relevant and necessary in this day and age. It was the right decision for me but I won’t presume that it’s right for anyone else.

I’m also going to assume that the person asking has agreed on point #1 because they believe there is general value in getting an MBA—whether that’s because of the brand, the learning, the network, or just a childhood dream.

The more pressing and frankly more interesting question for me is whether you need an MBA for product management (point #2). The simple answer as anyone in the tech industry will tell you is no, you don’t need one.

That’s usually my blanket answer, but then I look at the circumstances of the individual in question for a few exceptions.

• You want to enter the American job market
• You come from a non-traditional background
• You’ve tried your best to switch and failed
• You have no reason not to, you just want one

You want to enter the American job market

If you are a non-U.S. citizen looking to work as a PM in Silicon Valley and you intend to use the MBA* as your ticket to enter this country, then yes it can be worth it. This is a good route if you are open to working in big tech and less so if you’re aiming to work in startups. This is because only big tech can afford to sponsor visas and pay you enough to make the MBA financially viable.

If you already work as a PM at a big tech co in your home country, then an internal transfer could be a way to avoid the MBA entirely. I have friends in Google and Microsoft who did this successfully.

I’m also interested in seeing how things change after the pandemic. Timezones aside, it seems like most of big tech is open to remote work, so it’s possible the concentration of power gradually shifts away from the Bay Area… making the need to live and work here obsolete.

You come from a non-traditional background

I’ve seen engineers, consultants, investment bankers, and journalists successfully pivot to product management as a career without an MBA. These folks usually have some involvement and an existing network in the technology space, whether they write about tech or consult for tech. So a transition without an MBA isn’t going to be too challenging.

However, using an MBA to transition into product management can be useful for people in industries that are far removed from tech, such as teaching, theatre and acting, non-profits, oil and gas and similar.

MBAs* are great for career resets in general, but especially for PM roles since most tech companies will hire MBAs with zero experience in the tech space. Google is an exception, but Amazon is a famous example of a company that is background agnostic.

You’ve tried your best to switch and failed

Some people are stuck in soul crushing jobs they don’t like, and have tried everything under the sun to get a PM job. Even with a relevant background, it can be really hard to break into PM, I know.

Pre-MBA, when I was trying to switch from software engineering to product management, I applied to at least 50+ roles and got interviews for about three. It was a hard process and honestly, it was just dumb luck that a startup took a chance on me. Contrast that with the MBA recruiting process: every company I applied to invited me to interview, and the interview process itself was more structured and less-strenuous.

So yes, if you’ve tried and failed, but haven’t given up on your dream of becoming a PM, get an MBA*. It’s not going to guarantee you a PM role but it will get you pretty close.

You have no reason not to, you just want one

This is frivolous but true for a privileged few. If money is no object, and your life’s circumstances allow you to take the financial hit of an MBA, why the hell not? It’s the easiest, most fun way to transition into a PM role without having to do all the work.

* Caveat: I believe this to be true for U.S. business schools ranked in the top ~25