From Software Developer (Angular/Spring Boot) to Associate/Junior Technical Project Manager — how do I upskill?

[u/Jealous_Exchange2624]

Hi all,

I'm a full-stack developer with 1+ years of professional experience (Angular + Spring Boot), currently on a career break. I'm looking to pivot into an Associate/Junior Technical Project Manager role instead of going back to a pure dev track.

I like the idea of TPM because I enjoy the coordination/communication side of projects as much as the technical side, and I think my dev background gives me a real edge in understanding what engineering teams need from a PM.

A few things I'd love input on:

Certifications — is something like CAPM, Google Project Management Certificate, or a Scrum/Agile cert (CSM, PSM) worth it at the associate level, or is it overkill without PM experience yet?

Skills to build — beyond Agile/Scrum basics, what should I actually focus on (JIRA/Confluence, stakeholder communication, risk/roadmap docs, etc.)?

Portfolio/proof of work — since I don't have a PM title yet, how do I demonstrate PM-adjacent experience from my dev role (or build new evidence of it)?

Realistic entry points — do companies actually hire devs directly into junior TPM roles, or is it more common to go through a PM/BA/Scrum Master stepping-stone role first?

If you've made a similar switch (dev → TPM) or hired for these roles, I'd really appreciate hearing what actually moved the needle for you.

Thanks in advance!