mepine/PMHQ slack discussion

## PMHQ slack discussion
pine Aug 25th at 7:08 PM
hey guys I’m doing a research about the professionals of PM together with my gf who works for a consulting firm in Beijing. Our main goal is to find the key differences of PM professionals in China and US. We found it’s very interesting that in China, giant internet companies tend not to emphasize the education background of Engineering/Design/Business, they mark it as a ‘plus’ instead, they rather care more about things like ‘passion at great product’, ‘empathy’, ‘business sense’, etc. So all soft skills you know. While in US, big firms tend to ask for the education background I mentioned above as a Must. However, when I search about things like ‘What makes a good product manager’, articles in both languages talk about the same set of soft skills. So my question is, do you think having education background of Engineering/Design/Business as a hardline is good? Why? Do you have any more to say about the topic I’m researching about? It’s really an open question. Thanks guys!!
p.s. We’re mostly focusing on B2B products, not sure what difference there can be you think. (edited)
3 replies

Ryan Darling  9 days ago
I guess one development that sort of gets into the difference between roles requiring an engineering-specific background is the dichotomy between a Product Manager and a Technical Product Manager. Our company has both roles, and the differences in our candidates that we recruit into each are stark. I think it varies from organization to organization, but that might also be another avenue to explore. Is the TPM role as common in China as it is in the US?
Are you focusing on only big firms? Because ‘pedigree’ requirements for those are certainly different than at smaller companies. Some of the best PM’s I’ve ever worked with studied liberal arts in college, and did not transition into PM until several steps into their career - and this was, like you said, due to a high degree of customer empathy and ability to synthesize and communicate inputs and goals from multiple stakeholders. (edited)

pine  9 days ago
Thanks Ryan! The role of TPM actually exists in very few companies in China. The responsibility is usually taken by tech lead of the dev team, who is also usually responsible for breaking down tasks.
We’re actually focusing on B2B products, especially the popular ones, so yeah that almost equals to big firms I think.
The case you mentioned about liberal arts is very interesting, and I’m not surprised at all. When it comes to individuals I believe anything can happen. But when it comes to ‘professionals in the country in general’ I think it’s set by the most influential companies and the most common backgrounds of the professionals. Thoughts? (edited)

xian  8 days ago
fascinating questions
	pine Aug 25th at 7:08 PM
	hey guys I’m doing a research about the professionals of PM together with my gf who works for a consulting firm in Beijing. Our main goal is to find the key differences of PM professionals in China and US. We found it’s very interesting that in China, giant internet companies tend not to emphasize the education background of Engineering/Design/Business, they mark it as a ‘plus’ instead, they rather care more about things like ‘passion at great product’, ‘empathy’, ‘business sense’, etc. So all soft skills you know. While in US, big firms tend to ask for the education background I mentioned above as a Must. However, when I search about things like ‘What makes a good product manager’, articles in both languages talk about the same set of soft skills. So my question is, do you think having education background of Engineering/Design/Business as a hardline is good? Why? Do you have any more to say about the topic I’m researching about? It’s really an open question. Thanks guys!!
	p.s. We’re mostly focusing on B2B products, not sure what difference there can be you think. (edited)
	3 replies

	Ryan Darling 9 days ago
	I guess one development that sort of gets into the difference between roles requiring an engineering-specific background is the dichotomy between a Product Manager and a Technical Product Manager. Our company has both roles, and the differences in our candidates that we recruit into each are stark. I think it varies from organization to organization, but that might also be another avenue to explore. Is the TPM role as common in China as it is in the US?
	Are you focusing on only big firms? Because ‘pedigree’ requirements for those are certainly different than at smaller companies. Some of the best PM’s I’ve ever worked with studied liberal arts in college, and did not transition into PM until several steps into their career - and this was, like you said, due to a high degree of customer empathy and ability to synthesize and communicate inputs and goals from multiple stakeholders. (edited)

	pine 9 days ago
	Thanks Ryan! The role of TPM actually exists in very few companies in China. The responsibility is usually taken by tech lead of the dev team, who is also usually responsible for breaking down tasks.
	We’re actually focusing on B2B products, especially the popular ones, so yeah that almost equals to big firms I think.
	The case you mentioned about liberal arts is very interesting, and I’m not surprised at all. When it comes to individuals I believe anything can happen. But when it comes to ‘professionals in the country in general’ I think it’s set by the most influential companies and the most common backgrounds of the professionals. Thoughts? (edited)

	xian 8 days ago
	fascinating questions