Is product manager a good role in 2025?

Current economic issues aside, the answer to the question, “Should you become a product manager in 2025?” lies in the answer to “Why did you want the job in the first place?”

You might already be a product manager, or perhaps you find the prospect of becoming one alluring and wonder if 2025 might be the year to finally make a career move. With all the economic uncertainty, prominent tech layoffs, and ‘product management is dead’ rhetoric, you may wonder if it’s still a career path worthy of your time, especially if you’ve been caught up in a layoff and are currently in between roles.

Over the years, I’ve talked with teachers, mathematicians, scientists, marketers, engineers and designers who have all transitioned to product management. It can be a challenging transition in the best of times, is it even possible now? Of course it is.

Current economic issues aside, the answer to the question, “Should you become a product manager in 2025?” lies in the answer to “Why did you want the job in the first place?” It’s a lot of work, so it helps to really want it.

These may not all apply, but here are a few reminders:

• Impact

  It’s likely that in your previous roles, you’ve wanted to have more impact. It might be impact at scale, across a team or multiple teams, or a greater impact by making better decisions than your predecessors.

• A little bit of everything

  You like working with data, customers, designers, and engineers. Maybe not all of those things, but you no longer enjoy staying in your lane, that’s for sure. You prefer to wear many hats, adding your touch to everything.

• Big picture

  You can’t help but think about the bigger picture. In your previous roles, you asked about impact and wanted to understand better what led to the decisions that resulted in the next new thing.

• Strategy

  You weren’t content with just building the next great thing; you always wanted to help decide what the next great thing would be. You may have sat in on planning or strategy meetings, hoping to have your voice heard.

• Hard work

  You’re willing to work hard and understand that not all worthwhile things come quickly.

• Customer advocacy

  You may feel connected to the mission or empathize with your customers' daily struggles. When you hear, ‘voice of the customer’, you picture yourself.

• Tough decisions

  You’re good at making hard decisions. You leverage data and consider the impact your decisions have on others. You’re not afraid to make the tough calls and admit when you were wrong.

• Experimentation

  You’re a tinkerer and like to experiment with new ideas. You might have side projects, are always looking to improve processes, and like to try new things.

• Lifelong learner

  To succeed in your career in product management, it’s helpful to be a great learner. You have to be an expert in many different areas, and the world around you is constantly changing. It’s essential to keep up with the times.

• Process driven

  You’ve implemented processes in your previous roles, and wish you could do so at scale across the whole product org.

So, which values do you align with? Did I miss any?

2025 may not be the greatest year for anyone in tech, not just product managers. If you’re looking to transition to product management and are currently in between roles, it might be an excellent way to expand your options.

If you’re already in product management, it may make sense to double down. Unless you were very recently an engineer, designer, or analyst, going back to your previous roots may be more of a struggle than pushing forward with your current career. Some alternative job titles you might want to consider if you’re open to a slight pivot but still want to stay within the realm of product management: Marketing Manager, Strategic Director, Chief of Staff, Growth Marketer, or Product Operations Manager.

Anything is possible; I’ve made several career changes myself, from Photographer → Engineer → Designer → DevOps/Engineer → Product Manager.

If you want help navigating the current hiring environment (I’ve recently been through this myself, see my post on my recent job search), or you need help dealing with the struggles of product management, I offer ongoing coaching options, and am available for one-off calls.