Product management, particularly in the tech industry, is acknowledged as an exceptionally challenging role. A product manager juggles business, technology, and user experience, and has to build expertise across multiple disciplines. They’re role involves constant prioritizing and organizing, as well as a solid understanding of how distinct teams within the company operate.
To manage this many responsibilities, specialized training is essential. A product manager needs to master the latest strategies, techniques, tools, and processes in order to maintain a high-level view of current projects and support upcoming ones.
If you’re looking to earn your stripes as a product manager, one of the best ways to learn new skills is from industry experts. There are a broad range of product management certification courses on the market. And while it’s not a necessity to validate your skills with a certification, it will certainly set you apart from your non-certified counterparts in the field.
To save you some time, we’ve put together a brief list of popular product management certificates, which will hopefully give you a good idea of what’s out there.
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Product Management Certificate Programs
Product Management Bootcamp from Thinkful
If you’re looking for a structured yet flexible online course that offers an industry-relevant curriculum, one-on-one mentorship, and covers all aspects of product management, then Thinkful’s Product Management course is your best bet. In this online bootcamp, you’ll learn from industry experts about how to manage complete product lifecycles, as well as how to think like a product manager and launch your first product. This course aims at to make you a more strategic product manager, with a greater impact on your company and its products.
You can even try a free 15-day trial. Sign up online for immediate access to course materials, one-on-one mentorship, and career guidance. Any work done during this time counts towards your graduation if you choose to enroll at the end of the 15 day period.
Digital Product Management Certification – University of Virginia from Coursera
Not long ago, product managers were largely involved in assessing limited amounts of market data and sketching requirements. Today, product management involves troves of data analysis and could put you on the path to senior leadership. This course from Coursera will teach you modern product management tactics, explore new ideas for products, and consider improvements on existing ones.
Product Strategy from Northwestern – Kellogg School of Management
“Discovering, developing, managing and marketing products as a business” is this course’s tagline–which nicely sums up the program. This course is designed for current professionals involved in a product’s lifecycle, such as business managers and leaders, as well as salespeople who are often indirectly involved. It’s also aimed at those pursuing a more formal product management role. The certificate requires you to achieve marks of at least 80% to complete the program.
Brand and Product Manager Certification Course – Coursera
This online certification will help you to manage products ‘from cradle to grave’. On completion of the program, you’ll be able to sketch an activity plan to turn your strategies into action. This course has received great reviews and is definitely worth checking out.
Product Management Certificate – Product School
If you’re looking for a platform that focuses solely on product management, this could be the one for you. The Product School’s Product Management Certificate is the first of three certificate courses that can be taken one after the other. If you’re already working in the field, you can skip ahead to the second, which is a Product Leader Certificate. The third is a C-suite level course, Product Executive Certificate, which is restricted to proven leaders in the field.
Certified Product Manager – 280Group
This is one of the more extensive programs, with 18 learning modules and multiple quizzes, exercises, and assignments. The modules are divided into two sections—the first covers material from 280Group’s Optimal Product Management and Product Marketing course, and the second gets you ready to pass the Certified Product Manager exam administered by the AIPMM. Once you pass this exam, you’ll have credentials that are recognized and respected globally.
Free Product Management Training Courses – LinkedIn Learning
We couldn’t end our list without throwing in something from LinkedIn Learning—which you may know by its previous name, Lynda. The platform offers free access for a month, meaning you could essentially take a self-guided course in product management for free. You can select classes based on your experience level—beginner, intermediate, or advanced—from the wide range of options available.
Next Steps in Your Product Management Path
If you’re interested in a well-paid job in an exciting and challenging industry, and you think you might have a knack for communication and leadership, then it’s time to become a product manager. The starting salary for entry-level product managers is $70,000, and the industry is still on the rise—which means you’ll have job stability for years to come.
Head over to Thinkful’s blog to read more about careers in product management (and how much they pay).
Which Tech Career is Right for You?
Ready to change your career and join the world’s next workforce? At Thinkful, we’ve got your back with various tech programs to get you equipped with in-demand skills.
- Learn Product Management