If you are reading this, there is a strong chance you have been thinking about product
management for longer than you admit. Not in a loud or dramatic way, but in a quiet, steady
way that keeps returning. You may have saved articles, watched videos late at night, or followed
people who talk about product online. Yet something still feels unresolved.
You might be asking yourself if this is the right path, if you are late, or if you are even qualified
to try. I want you to know this first. That uncertainty is not a weakness. It is often the sign that
you are thinking carefully instead of chasing trends.
I have spent over four years working around products and more than two years directly as a
product manager. I did not start with confidence. I started with confusion, curiosity, and a
willingness to learn by doing. That is why I am writing this as a mentor would speak to a mentee,
not as someone selling you a perfect plan. Let us talk honestly about how to begin.
Start by understanding the work, not the role Most people start with job descriptions.
That is usually the wrong place. Product management is not defined by titles, tools, or frameworks. It is defined by the kind of problems you sit with every day.
The work often involves unclear goals, limited information, competing opinions, and pressure to move forward anyway. Before you commit to this path, ask yourself one simple question. Do I enjoy thinking through problems that do not have clear answers?
You do not need to enjoy chaos, but you do need some comfort with uncertainty. Product
managers rarely have perfect clarity. What they have is the responsibility to make sense of incomplete information and guide others through it.
If you find yourself curious about how things work, why users behave the way they do, or how small decisions shape outcomes, you are already developing the right instincts. Your goal in 2026 is not to become a product manager overnight. Your goal is to learn how product managers think.
Reduce the noise before you add more information. There is no shortage of product advice online.
The problem is not access. The problem is overload. You do not need to learn everything at once. You need to learn how to observe, question, and reflect. Start with free resources that show you real thinking, not just polished success stories.
Reading that builds perspective.
Lenny’s Newsletter on the free tier is useful because it exposes you to how product managers reason through decisions, not just what they decided. The SVPG blog by Marty Cagan helps you understand how product teams function, how decisions are made, and why some products succeed while others struggle.
Product Coalition on Medium is uneven, but that is part of its value. You will see different levels
of experience, different mistakes, and different approaches. When you read, slow down. Do not try to memorise terms. Ask yourself why a decision was made, what trade-offs were accepted, and what constraints existed at the time. That habit matters more than any checklist.
Watch content that reflects reality, not shortcuts
Video content can be helpful if you are selective.
Avoid videos that promise quick transitions or guaranteed outcomes. Product management does
not work that way. Look instead for conversations about mistakes, confusion, and early career experiences. Search for discussions around first PM roles, lessons learned on the job, or what surprised people about the work.
These stories help you build realistic expectations. They also help you see yourself in the role
without idealising it.
Join communities, but engage with intention
Communities are valuable, but only if you participate.
There are several free spaces where aspiring and practising product managers interact. Product
School Slack, Mind the Product Slack, Women in Product community, and local or regional
product groups like ProductDive are good places to start. Even LinkedIn comment sections can
be more insightful than posts themselves.
When you join, resist the urge to stay silent forever. You do not need to impress anyone. You
only need to be honest. Ask how people learned. Ask what confused them early on. Ask what they wish they knew when they started. These questions open real conversations.
Most experienced product managers are more open than you expect, especially when they
recognise genuine curiosity.
Practice product thinking where you already are
You do not need a product manager title to develop product skills.
Look at your current role and start asking different questions. What problem are we trying to
solve? Who is affected by this decision? What trade-offs are we making? How will we know if
this worked?
Write your thoughts down. Even if no one reads them.
If you have the opportunity to support product-related work, take it. This could include helping
document user feedback, participating in testing, clarifying requirements, or supporting
customer conversations. This is real experience, even if it does not look impressive on paper yet.
Let go of the idea of feeling ready
One of the biggest blockers I see is waiting for confidence.
Most people believe they should feel ready before they apply, speak up, or try. In reality,
confidence grows after exposure, not before it. Your first attempts will feel uncomfortable. Your early interviews may not go well. Your first product-related role may be poorly defined.
That does not mean you are failing. It means you are entering the field honestly.
Progress in product management often looks like confusion followed by small moments of
clarity.
Adjust your expectations for your first role
Your first product management role may not match the roles you see online.
It might be in a startup. It might involve multiple responsibilities. It might come with unclear
processes and limited support. That does not make it a bad start.
What matters is proximity to decision-making, learning how products are built, and exposure to
real users and teams. Titles matter less than experience early on.
Think of your career as a series of chapters. The first chapter rarely looks polished.
A truth I wish more people said out loud
You do not need to move at the pace of the internet. You do not need to sound confident before
you feel grounded. You do not need to compare your beginning to someone else’s middle.
Some of the strongest product managers I know started quietly. They asked thoughtful
questions.
They observed carefully. They stayed curious longer than others.
If you are willing to learn slowly, reflect honestly, and keep showing up, you are not behind.
If I were mentoring you one-on-one, I would tell you this
Do not rush your learning. Increase your exposure instead.
Do not collect advice. Collect experiences.
Do not aim to impress. Aim to understand.
Do not wait for confidence. Build it through action.
Product management is not something you unlock in one moment. It is something you grow into
through decisions, questions, and mistakes.
The writer, Lavender Onyejuluwa is an AI product manager with over four years of product experience,
including two years building digital products in early-stage startups, and is certified in AI
Product Management by Duke University.
About the Author
