Gopal Shenoy is a software product manager leader with more than 13 years of experience in the field. Shenoy has a master's degree in mechanical engineering and a master's degree in software engineering. His passion for product management resulted in the creation of his blog, Software Product Manager. It has been recognized as one of the top 10 product management blogs in the world and has a large readership.

Why did you decide to pursue this career field?
It was not that I chose to pursue this career, given that there is no formal training available for product management. I should say that I ended up in this role via self-discovery and past experience. I have a passion for solving problems. As a product manager, I am able to solve customer's problems by either enhancing existing products or building new products. I have been fortunate to work on some very exciting products during my career. I spent 11 years designing the popular SolidWorks 3D CAD design software that is currently used by over 1 million users worldwide in designing everything from premie baby incubators, automatic defibrillators and other products that save or enhance the quality of our lives. Currently, I am heading product management at Gazelle.com where consumers can trade in over 250,000 used electronic items such as cellphones, laptops, digital cameras, movies, video games, etc. for cash, such that these electronics do not end up in trash and eventually into landfills—another noble cause to save our planet.

What type of preparation did you do to get into this field?
Unfortunately, there are no formal training courses currently available in universities that prepare one to be a product manager. Given how cross functional a product manager's role is, it requires not only good technical and business skills, but also very good personal skills. Very often, you do not have anyone reporting to you and hence you have to lead by influence and not authority. My initial work experience implementing CAD [computer aided design] software helped me "accidentally" discover my passion for building new software products to solve customer problems.

What types of classes and projects did you have to do?
I have a master's degree in mechanical engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (Troy, N.Y). This helped me when designing SolidWorks software since it was used primarily by mechanical designers and engineers. But more importantly, the engineering degree provided me with analytical and logical skills needed to identify and solve problems. Since then, I have also got a master's degree in software engineering from Brandeis University (Waltham, Mass.) which has helped me appreciate what it takes to develop good software. If one wants to develop more business skills and is looking at product management in industries such as consumer goods, I would recommend that one get an MBA.

What was your career path like in this field? 

I started my career as a mechanical design engineer helping implementing CAD software. This led me to joining SolidWorks when it was a startup helping the founding team design the right product for the market. I started designing small features, then progressed quickly into design of entire modules and products, taking on jobs of increasing responsibilities. Eventually, I managed the team that was responsible for designing all of the functionality for the company's product line of eight products that were generating over $350 million in annual revenues. I have personally visited customers in 10 countries to better understand their problems and figuring out what products to build to solve their product design problems.

What types of skills is someone required to have to work in your position?
To become an effective product manager, you need both business skills and interpersonal skills. You have to be both strategic (big picture thinker) as well as tactical (attention to detail). As a product manager, you will be leading more by influence than authority. Hence, interpersonal skills and the attitude that you can move a mountain if needed is paramount. If you don't like working with people of different personalities (and egos!), product management is not likely for you. But, if you want visibility within an organization and the ability to work directly with customers and every other department in the company, then I cannot think of a better job than product management.

What do you do on a typical workday?
My workday starts with looking at our website analytics data to understand the website performance of Gazelle.com on the previous day. I then spend a lot of time reading feedback submitted by customers via the feedback form we have on the website. Answering emails from engineering regarding implementation, product planning etc. also is very typical during the day. Given that my job involves working with a lot of departments, meetings with marketing, business development, customer care, engineering, etc. are quite common. A lot of time is also spent writing requirements for new features to be implemented to improve the user experience on the website and also working with the management team in creating a product strategy. There is nothing called a typical day in the life of a product manager—every day brings in new challenges, fresh perspectives and can truly be a roller coaster ride.

Do you plan to advance to another position within your career field? 
Eventually, my goal is to become a vice president of products for a startup with a killer product idea. Whether I will start my own company in the future also remains to be seen, depending on what comes knocking.

What type of person do you think is best suited for a job in your field?
Someone with passion, good technical and business skills and above all, a people person. You should love meeting with people, empathizing with your customers and having the fire to solve their problems via products/services so that you can make a difference. You need to be able to lead people with influence, because none of them may report to you. You need to have a very positive attitude because a product manager's work life can be a roller coaster ride, full of ups and downs.

Do you have any advice for those who are looking to launch a career in your field?
Be passionate, have the drive to go and seek opportunities and grab them. Get a job that will put you in close touch with customers, whether it is in sales, customer support or implementation services. Figure out if you enjoy working with customers first. If you do, start taking the initiative in helping your product team improve the product. Eventually, seek positions in the product group to start a career in product management. For more information, I would recommend that you read the product management tips I have posted on my blog.