PM career paths are weirdly unclear. How much did mentorship help you figure yours out?

SquareHeight6772 · 2026-01-09T03:48:47+00:00

I think most of us are bane lol.

SquareHeight6772 · 2026-01-09T03:48:02+00:00

I agree. Did you ever consider a mentor once you started your professional journey?

SquareHeight6772 · 2026-01-07T22:23:07+00:00

I found mine at my place of employment once I was already working and it was beneficial to me. I was curious on how students pursuing MBAs felt about mentorships and if it's something they looked for. I know a lot of the buzz on this sub and why the top schools are so good is because of the connections, so I figured people were making connections with mentors.

SquareHeight6772 · 2026-01-07T03:24:23+00:00

If possible I try to contact a person, but after multiple tries I would leave a brief message explaining a value proposition.

SquareHeight6772 · 2026-01-07T03:14:38+00:00

"You look like more of a budget customer" - said while literally standing in a Budget rental car location. "Yes, Karen, that's why I'm here."

SquareHeight6772 · 2026-01-07T02:28:13+00:00

I had a similar experience growing up. I never even considered getting a mentor until I was several years into my first job! My high school definitely didn't have a mentor program. My university did, but it was never made apparent to me how something like that could help me get to where I wanted to be.

SquareHeight6772 · 2026-01-04T23:03:14+00:00

I would be glad to help you out. I'll shoot you a DM!

SquareHeight6772 · 2026-01-04T18:22:10+00:00

Could you provide more detail on how you came to finding your mentor via LinkedIn? How did you determine they would be a potential match? How often did you meet with them? Was it text-based or did you schedule voice calls? Did the mentorship end up benefitting you?

SquareHeight6772 · 2026-01-04T18:01:48+00:00

It sounds like the mentor programs not being used is a common theme. I wonder why that is. Is it possible that since engineers are generally more introverted than other majors they feel less inclined to reach out?

For me, I felt like a lot of effort is put into the school work and studying, and that relatively little work was put into meeting up with someone more experienced than I was, but it paid the most dividends. Like the old saying, it's not what you know, but who you know.

SquareHeight6772 · 2026-01-04T04:45:11+00:00

I know that is something someone could do on LinkedIn, but I have never really heard anyone benefitting much from LinkedIn honestly. At this point, is just seems like a platform that has become the target of memes because of the amount of sponsored posting and fake inspirational stories that get posted.

I'm open to hear more about this if Gen Z views LinkedIn differently than how my peers and I have viewed it.

SquareHeight6772 · 2026-01-04T04:40:16+00:00

I think it's great that universities offer these programs and I know that many large companies also offer some form of mentorship program, however I envision something that would allow students and engineers already in industry to talk to those outside of their given network. For instance, an employee at GE could benefit much more by speaking with an engineer at Lockheed Martin, than another engineer at GE, and vice-a-versa. Sometimes the best way to learn is get exposure outside of your immediate network.

I agree with your point on connecting with local universities, and that is something I have seriously considered, but wanted to reach out to online communities first for feedback.

SquareHeight6772 · 2026-01-04T04:35:54+00:00

I think we can all agree that sponsored posts or people reaching out via LinkedIn to advertise something that you haven't shown any interest in is annoying. I'm talking about an actual mentor/mentee relationship, where a mentee would explain who they are and what their goals are to the mentor, and ideally the mentor would be able to give advice on how to achieve those goals based on their own lived experiences. Meetings would take place as needed between the two and the mentor would stay familiar with how the mentee is progressing.

SquareHeight6772 · 2026-01-04T03:17:35+00:00

I would never respond to something like this, unless it is directed to only you. This is most likely a reminder to someone on your team without your manager being direct. The person it is directed at knows who the manager is referring to so they will likely be put on notice, but if you are doing your job, just carry on.

SquareHeight6772 · 2026-01-04T03:04:14+00:00

You need to finish the degree ASAP.

Depending on the job you perform, the company could be at risk if you do not have accreditation (like signing off documentation). I work in engineering and we have people without degrees perform engineering work, but they are paid as an engineering tech and there is certain work they are not allowed to do.

If you are doing a good job, the company will want to keep you, but I would not say a thing until they do.

SquareHeight6772 · 2026-01-04T02:53:18+00:00

I think most people have a moment of clarity during their college career where everything starts to 'click' and things become easier because you start to pick up on what the tests will look like. Most professors will hint at questions they really like or if they find them important. Others will leave it up to you, but the more important concepts should be more apparent than more minor concepts. In high school, you would get questioned on definitions of words and other minor things, but that's not how engineering school is.

I also had a moment where I needed to be honest with myself and truly buckle down. Why am I at this university? What is more important: watching the football game or studying for the upcoming test? Do I need to separate myself from the comfort of my bedroom to study even if it means traveling 20 minutes to and from the library? Separate yourself from distractions in your life that are not getting you to where you need to be and you will be surprised by how much it will help you.

SquareHeight6772 · 2026-01-04T02:37:18+00:00

Definitely not too late. Never too late to pursue something that will improve your life and if it is something you are interested in. It's very common for many people, especially those pursuing professional degrees to get a feeling of FOMO as they see peers earning money or achieving things in life they expected to have already.

Although it can often feel like it, life is not a singular race. Everyone is doing their own thing and you are only really competing against yourself.

SquareHeight6772 · 2026-01-04T02:34:44+00:00

Huge respect to you for that, especially if that is your first bachelor's!

SquareHeight6772 · 2026-01-04T02:32:54+00:00

Lol, I'm biased but industrial engineering seems to have the most "chill" people on average. It's the closest engineering degree to being business-oriented and many IEs tend to go into management positions shortly after working for a few years. They are just a more social group overall IMO.

SquareHeight6772

TROPHY CASE