Best schools for career in Product Management

[silversss]

I have 4 years of experience in product management in internet product and online marketing as I have been working on web startups these past few years. I am interested to further grow in this role and take up a career in Product Management, which will also help when I start my own tech company (entrepreneurship). Which Business Schools offer good exposure to product management (both course wise and career options as well).

I've heard Kellogg's MMM & MIT's LGO are a few, any others? Even regular MBA programs that have relevant elective options might be good?

P.S: Not really inclined on perusing financial services or consulting for career - focus is general management with product & marketing exposure

[arun@crackverbal]

I am not going to give a list of schools here. But remember these general thumb-rules while making the selection:

1. Choosing a school with a higher pedigree always works. The blue-chip companies flock there and your chance of getting to a google/MS/yahoo/facebook are far more in say a Stanford than in McCombs.

2. Location, location, location. So think tech startups. What do you think comes to mind? Bay Area? Boston? I would recommend a Haas/Sloan over others.

3. Don't fall for too much of this "specialization" BS - MBA is meant to be a general management program. Schools end up becoming "specialists" for various reasons such as point #2. For example Colombia - location - New York/ Wall Street.

4. If it is part of an overall tech school then you might take advantage of other departments/programs that might help you. Just to pick - Yale! Maybe not from a tech perspective but you get the drift.

Arun

[money9111]

Stanford.... Haas.... Anderson

[saad.ahmed]

Besides location, access to local entrepreneurs/startsup, and product management education, look for schools that also have successful design or human computer interaction programs.

* Stanford has the d.school
* MIT has a few options: Mobile Experience Lab and it is near The Rhode Island School of Design, where they have an interdisciplinary product management class (https://www.risd.edu/Where_Art_and_Business_Meet/)
* Carnegie Mellon has arguably the most established HCI program in the country, and many top design firms (IDEO) recruit from CMU
* UCLA has the Design Media Arts department

Another school that you may want to consider is VCU BrandCenter. They are more selective than HBS and have a rigorous design/branding/marketing program.

Basically, start off your search with schools that have top b-schools but also have great grad programs in HCI, design, MFA, etc etc.

Good luck!
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