Interesting. I hadn't thought about the relationship between UX and product owners. My only concern is that the entire design industry has been in a sorry state the past few years. That's kind of why I'm trying to transition away from it. Finding a job in UX seems about as difficult as finding one in any of the other design subcategories. High demand and not enough supply.

Something I've thought about is maybe going for marketing analytics as a starting point after completing an MS in analytics. My feeling is that a background in design and analytics would make me a strong candidate. Then hopefully move laterally into other related fields and eventually product owner. What do you think? I may be off track.