30: Do Product Managers Need an MBA?

How To Succeed In Product Management | Jeffrey Shulman, Red Russak & Soumeya Benghanem

In this episode of the How to Succeed in Product Management Podcast, marketing professor Jeff Shulman and The Product Management Center advisory board member Red Russak welcome Kelcey Joyce (Bright Health) to talk about PMs having an MBA. Is it a necessary credential for all aspiring and existing PMs? Will it matter if you have one? Listen in to find out if pursuing advanced education is a must!

Support for How to Succeed in Product Management is brought to you by Apptentive, which enables product managers to measure shifts in customer emotion and gather actionable feedback across the mobile customer journey. To learn more, go to Apptentive.com/UW.

What to Listen For:

• 00:00 Intro
• 00:57 Do I need an MBA?
• 08:26 People with technical background may not need an MBA
• 10:01 How does having an MBA help?
• 12:39 Diversity for people pursuing an MBA
• 15:05 Juggling priorities between work and pursuing advanced education
• 19:27 Understand what other players are within your industry
• 25:29 Moving things through in a heavily regulated industry
• 31:00 What is the role of a product manager?
• 36:51 Help customers find the products that will solve their problems
• 41:54 It’s about presenting the product and giving value to it
• 47:23 Find a good resume matching tool
• 51:39 An MBA can help accelerate your career shift, but not a requirement
• 53:02 It depends on your end goal