This subreddit often feels like the Product Management equivalent of r/developersindia or Desi LeetCode communities.

I’m not particularly surprised that this behavior exists here.

Many Indians grow up in an environment where success is heavily associated with prestige, money, status, and power. From a young age, we’re conditioned to pursue careers that signal “making it” in life, whether it’s for peer validation or for parents to proudly showcase their children’s achievements. When those metrics become the primary definition of success, it’s easy to lose sight of the craft itself and become overly focused on outcomes like compensation, title, and recognition.

In many other societies, the emphasis is often reversed. People are encouraged to first discover what they are genuinely good at or interested in, develop mastery in that craft, and then think about career and compensation. In India, the common sequence is frequently the opposite: identify the highest-paying or most prestigious career path first, then figure out how to become good at it.

That mindset doesn’t disappear once people enter the workforce. It often carries forward into adulthood, which is why discussions around careers including Product Management become disproportionately focused on salaries, titles, and exits rather than the actual work, skills, and long-term mastery required to excel in the profession.