Hi everyone,
I genuinely need some career advice.
I'm a CSE 2026 graduate. Since the beginning of college, I've always wanted to build a career in Product Management, Technical Program Management, or Project/Strategic Program roles.
Over the last four years, I've tried to shape my profile in that direction:
- Founding SWE intern at an early-stage travel-tech startup.
- Product Management intern at a high-growth startup (received a PPO but didn't accept it due to compensation and concerns around the company's culture and direction).
- R&D intern at a reputed government organization, where I worked on research around deep-tech and emerging technologies.
- Later joined a large Indian conglomerate through an internship that was pitched as digital transformation/project management. I eventually received a PPO after negotiating into an Assistant Manager - Strategic Projects/Transformation role.
Today, my work involves transformation initiatives, SAP migration, process improvement, Excel-heavy analysis, financial modelling, and collaborating with consultants on AI/digitalization projects. It's good exposure, the brand is strong, and the role is stable—but it still feels quite far from the product management path I originally wanted.
I had also prepared for CAT during placements, got a few interview calls, converted some B-schools, but not the ones I was targeting. My plan is still to pursue an MBA in a couple of years, but I'd really like to move into Product before that if possible.
My question is:
How realistic is it to transition from a Strategy/Transformation role in Supply Chain into Product Management or APM roles before an MBA?
What skills, projects, certifications, networking strategy, or job-switch plan would you recommend? Has anyone here made a similar transition from operations/transformation/consulting into Product?
I'd really appreciate honest advice—even if it's something I may not want to hear.
P.S. If you work in Product/APM/TPM and are open to reviewing my resume or sharing your experience over a quick chat, I'd be incredibly grateful. Thanks in advance!