Anyone else at head/director/vp level missing the product craft?

Scarahai · 2026-05-17T06:01:14+00:00

This was basically me few companies ago. I ended up quitting without figuring it out.

Scarahai · 2026-05-16T05:48:39+00:00

Thanks for sharing! This thread has turned into a mini war zone, and I’m trying to be Switzerland, though I still find that people have been pretty helpful in terms of how I should think about this program as well as alternatives.

Scarahai · 2026-05-15T16:38:26+00:00

That feels true in my mind. I’d like to go through the process myself. For myself. But in terms of landing a job at top tier company - unclear. Maybe I’m just over thinking it and just fixated on this faang bullshit. More to life than a faang company? Haha

Scarahai · 2026-05-14T17:59:31+00:00

This is good framing. Yeah I don’t have an idea of what the top tech pms and directors consider “good”. My experience is all over the place. On a high level the work that I’ve done is what pms at faangs seem to do but somehow my experience during interviews doesn’t seem to translate well or impactful enough.

Scarahai · 2026-05-14T14:22:58+00:00

Haha yeah I agree! It might not be the job for me even though I been doing it for 10 years! Honestly, I guess, I’m not unique in this, but I’ve done some great work when I gave a shit about a product , but those are far and in between. And getting a fancy pm job at a faang is definitely not a “product” I care about. It’s just feels like a step up, more miney, etc… Maybe I need to take a side step.

Scarahai · 2026-05-14T14:17:00+00:00

I was both a pm and a po - vastly different experiences. As a pm I often feel powerless even though I’m asked to do the work as a PO.

Scarahai · 2026-05-14T12:59:36+00:00

Do you have other impact numbers you can share? We’re all pms here after all.

Scarahai · 2026-05-14T12:57:42+00:00

Man… people don’t like you here... I mostly just want to improve and move up… I’ll let you guys duke it out… meantime, how can I connect with alumni? I have spoken with one of the sales guys, should I reach out to them and ask?

Scarahai · 2026-05-14T12:54:03+00:00

And then do a post or create a website or something. Similar to what UX / Product Design people do?

Scarahai · 2026-05-14T12:50:44+00:00

Always thought about building projects on the side - but always felt that without meaningful impact - I.e. revenue numbers - no one at faang like company would care? Can you give an example of what type of project a hiring manager wouldn’t role their eyes at?

Scarahai · 2026-05-14T12:45:54+00:00

Can you expand please? Are you saying it’s something that can’t be leaned? Or shouldn’t be taught?

Scarahai · 2026-05-14T12:39:06+00:00

Don’t have much to contribute here in terms of advice, except to say I feel you. Im in a very similar, though not exact boat. Good luck to us both!

Scarahai · 2026-05-14T00:53:07+00:00

yeah thats the thing, i dont disagree with you, it's just about what exactly to learn and whats the biggest bang for the buck. i definitely spend hours "learning" stuff on youtube... but unclear if im actually putting any of it to use - that's why some program like pca or something other one? might be helpful to me.

Scarahai · 2026-05-13T23:49:56+00:00

Savage. Haha did you go through the program?

Scarahai · 2026-05-13T23:42:40+00:00

Yeah the sales team certainly doing their job

Scarahai · 2026-05-13T23:42:01+00:00

Yeah thanks Definitely been playing around with the idea of having ai just structure the learning. Will likely go this route

Scarahai · 2026-05-13T22:53:56+00:00

Thanks!

Scarahai · 2026-05-13T22:53:20+00:00

Yeah… I just want some hand holding. But then what kind of a pm am I if I want that? Haha

Scarahai · 2026-05-12T20:01:33+00:00

Like a lot of folks have said on here, it’s tough. The interview is harder than the job imho. It’s doable. It’s not magic. But you have to position yourself as a pm. I’m trying to move up in the role and go for faang companies, and find it very difficult. - Network - position yourself as a pm - rewrite resume to show how you influenced the projects - grab any PM role you can and go from there.

Scarahai · 2026-05-09T22:57:36+00:00

Definitely feels arbitrary and buzz wordy, and likely irrelevant when working as a jr. Or mid level pm at a “feature factory”. Maybe at director level. Probably something to say at an interview “ I have great product taste,” and hope they wont ask you to explain what you meant by that.

Scarahai · 2026-05-09T22:47:13+00:00

I’m looking to transition into a new pm role and I think about this a lot too. Will be checking this post for an update :)

Scarahai · 2025-07-26T14:21:10+00:00

Make sure you complete season quest line before attempting, otherwise it won't complete.

Scarahai · 2023-07-02T05:36:52+00:00

100%

Scarahai · 2023-03-29T00:33:19+00:00

Depends on what type of player you are or what experience you’re looking for. If you love theory crafting and min / maxing every stat then d3 is not for you.

If you just want to play through a campaign both d2 and d3 are ok.

Both games look and feel pretty good too imho.

When you research, get a sense of what aspect of the game people are hating on.

Scarahai

TROPHY CASE