Questions? Visit the CDO Welcome Desk or email us at askcdo@mit.edu.  | CDO Welcome Desk (Summer) Hours: Mon-Thurs from 9am-4pm | The Virtual Interview Room is available for bookings!

What is Product Management?

Product management is a strategic discipline that oversees a product’s journey through it’s entire lifecycle – from planning, development, launch, and support to ongoing enhancement. It involves defining the product’s vision, strategy, roadmap, and features, ensuring they align with business goals and customer needs.

Product managers own product vision and strategy as well as planning for the development of their product. Product managers must have deep understanding of business principles, market trends, and competitive landscapes to make informed product decisions. They must be effective cross-functional collaborators, as they often bridge work between different teams, like engineering and design. They must have exceptional communication skills to gather feedback from customers, convey strategy to stakeholders, and lead teams toward success.

Recommended Resource:
RocketBlocks PM Guide


Advice from Sloan Product Managers

“Breaking into product management is challenging, but I believed MIT Sloan could be the catalyst I needed to transition effectively and secure a PM role in tech. And it was!”

Javier Bello Medina, MBA ’24


Product Management Recruiting

Product Management is a popular career path for Sloanies, supported by a community of alumni and MIT Sloan’s newly launched Product Management Certificate. Companies prefer candidates with product management experience, or closely related experience, and a strong quantitative and technical skill set. They may also seek out those who have launched their own businesses as they have often developed the capabilities of a product manager. At MIT Sloan, the top industries where graduates have accepted Product Management roles are: Technology, Finance, Manufacturing, and Healthcare/Biotech/Pharma. Almost all successful candidates have 3+ years of experience, and the majority have 5+ years of experience.

Through the MBA/LGO Employment Surveys, we gather robust data on career outcomes that we share with the community. Below is targeted information for Consulting from that survey. Follow this link to view the complete PM Hiring Trends.

Top Industries for Accepted PM Offers

TechnologyFinanceManufacturingHealth/Pharma/Bio
60.9%13.0%8.7%6.5%

Percent of Class Accepting Offers in Product Management

20202021202220232024
16.7%13.2%17.8%16.5%13.6%

Top Destinations & Salary Summary

Boston Metro
New York City Metro
San Francisco Bay Area
Seattle Metro
Los Angeles Metro

Mean Base SalaryMedian Base Salary25th-75th Percentile
Class of 2024$166,208$163,875$160,000 – $174,000
Class of 2023$166,940$169,000$155,000 – $172,000
Class of 2022$152,366$155,000$67,000 – $215,000 (low-high)*
3-Year Average$160,314$160,000$146,750-$173,000

*Starting with Class of 2023, we shifted to reporting 25th-75th percentiles, instead of low-high range.


Product Management Clubs, Certificates, + Courses

MIT Sloan Product Management Club

Learn about the product management discipline and access PM events, career workshops, and peer/mentor networks.

Product Management Certificate

MIT Sloan’s newest certificate develops qualified product managers prepared to lead every step of a product’s lifecycle.

Product Management Lab (PM-Lab) 15.785

Hands-on introduction to product management with an emphasis on technology-driven enterprises across industries.


Resources for Your Job Search


CDO Support

Questions?
Click your program to see your team of career advisors/coaches: 
MBA/LGO/MSMSMFin | MBAnSFMBAEMBA

Page Feedback?
Did you encounter a broken link or do you have a resource to recommend? Contact our page manager.


CDO News + Blogs

New! Explore Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning Careers

Artificial intelligence (AI) is opening new professional paths for business graduates.

Explore the new Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning page to learn about career paths, in-demand skills, and companies hiring for AI roles.

By MIT Sloan CDO
MIT Sloan CDO
Read more

Job Market Update – Spring 2025 (SSO users)

; This content is restricted to certain users. Please login or sign up to see if you are eligible to view this content.

OVERVIEW

An increase in master’s-level job posting activity across most industries signals a promising start to the season.1 One of our top resources and jobs partners MBA-Exchange noted increases in job postings for a variety of roles, including financial management, …

By MIT Sloan CDO
MIT Sloan CDO

Technology/Product Management Spring 2025 Events, Updates, and Resources – UPDATED 3/17/25 with New Market Updates

As we kick off the spring semester, we at the CDO wanted to highlight resources and upcoming events related to Technology and Product Management. As we transition from a cohort hiring model in the fall to primarily just-in-time networked hiring …

By MIT Sloan CDO
MIT Sloan CDO
Read more