For present and aspiring product managers, the query comes up repeatedly: Is product administration certification definitely worth the funding?
At Productside, we care deeply about serving to product professionals develop of their careers. That’s why we performed a survey of 200 product managers throughout industries like finance, healthcare, and tech to higher perceive the worth of certification. The outcomes have been clear: certification can speed up profession progress in tangible methods.
Whether or not it’s incomes a promotion, touchdown a brand new function, or constructing confidence on the job, certification helps product managers take their careers to the subsequent stage. Let’s break down the information and uncover how certification impacts actual product professionals.
Why Certification Issues in Product Administration
Product administration is a subject the place sensible expertise is essential, however formal certification affords one thing distinctive: a structured path to mastering core expertise. Certification ensures you’re constructing a complete basis in areas like technique, communication, and person research- expertise which might be essential for the function and onerous to acquire in different programs of examine.
One frequent false impression is that certification is nearly checking a field for hiring managers. Nonetheless, our survey exhibits that it’s way more than that. Certification displays dedication to progress, the flexibility to deal with advanced challenges, and even readiness for management alternatives.
In actual fact, employers more and more worth certifications for profession development. Many Human Assets professionals require certification for promotions or new roles. Our survey confirms that licensed professionals usually tend to transfer up the profession ladder. This information level will not be unique- in our Benchmark Abilities Report we additionally discovered that educated Administrators of Product Administration exceeded untrained Administrators throughout each essential talent space.
Certification isn’t nearly having a credential—it’s about gaining the arrogance and expertise to thrive as a frontrunner.
Profession Outcomes Backed by Information
The outcomes of our latest survey have been clear: certification considerably impacts profession progress. Among the many licensed professionals surveyed, 31% reported receiving a promotion throughout the final 12 months, in comparison with simply 17% of non-certified professionals.
The advantages didn’t cease there. Licensed professionals have been:
- Twice as doubtless to have by no means missed a promotion alternative.
- Extra more likely to obtain raises, with 30% of licensed girls particularly crediting certification for his or her wage will increase.
- 13% of respondents additionally cited being employed into their first product administration function, as seen in tales like McKenna Johnson, now a digital product supervisor at Aon.
Certification doesn’t assure profession success, but it surely creates alternatives by constructing expertise that employers worth. From technique to roadmapping and communication, these competencies have been among the many high outcomes for licensed professionals.
These aren’t simply theoretical ideas. They’re the sensible instruments that drive profession progress and management success.
When you think about these outcomes, the worth of certification turns into onerous to disregard.
What Units Productside Certification Aside
Not all certifications are created equal. At Productside, we’ve partnered with AIPMM, the one impartial third-party certifying physique within the business, to make sure our certifications meet the best requirements. This partnership means we don’t simply educate the fabric—we put together product managers to show their experience via rigorous, proctored exams that go far past easy quizzes.
Our dedication to high quality is mirrored in our outcomes. Productside’s instructor-led coaching applications restrict class dimension to a most of 20 learners and boast a completion charge of 100%, far surpassing the typical 5% for on-line programs supplied by Coursera or Udemy and the low engagement charge quoted by members of enormous programs supplied by Reforge. Even self-study programs with Productside see completion charges of 30–40%, effectively above the business normal.
If you select Productside, you’re not simply getting a certification—you’re becoming a member of a program designed to ship real-world outcomes.
Teacher-Led Coaching vs. Self-Examine
On the subject of studying, flexibility is vital, however the technique you select can significantly impression your outcomes. At Productside, we provide each instructor-led coaching and self-study choices to swimsuit completely different wants. Nonetheless, our survey revealed a major benefit for many who selected instructor-led coaching: 65% extra profession development.
Licensed professionals who participated in instructor-led applications have been:
- 43% extra more likely to get promoted inside 18 months in comparison with self-study graduates (26%).
- Extra assured in making use of their expertise in real-world eventualities, because of hands-on steering and collaboration.
Why does instructor-led coaching make such a distinction? It’s about accountability and interplay. With a structured schedule, knowledgeable instructors, and alternatives to have interaction with friends, members are way more more likely to full this system and retain what they’ve realized.
Self-study can nonetheless be efficient, particularly for these with robust self-motivation, however if you happen to’re severe about accelerating your profession, instructor-led coaching is the way in which to go.
Actual Tales, Actual Influence
Probably the most compelling case for certification comes from those that’ve skilled its advantages firsthand. Tales from Productside graduates present how certification can remodel careers, opening doorways to new roles, promotions, and raises.
Take McKenna Johnson, for instance. After incomes her certification, she reported extra callbacks whereas job searching and landed a task as a digital product supervisor at Aon. For her, certification wasn’t only a credential—it was the important thing to transferring ahead in her profession.
Cody Stokes, a product supervisor at Cirrus Perception, shared how certification boosted his confidence. He’s now seen as a go-to useful resource amongst his friends for creating high-quality artifacts and necessities.
A feminine learner shared the same perspective:
“I believe that merely having a baseline certification permits extra open doorways for these trying to develop their careers as product professionals, and I’ve really useful Productside’s programs to many people who’ve additionally turn into licensed.”
The information additionally highlights the distinctive outcomes for ladies in this system. 30% of girls surveyed obtained raises post-certification, a major step ahead in a historically male-dominated subject.
These tales aren’t simply outliers—they replicate the broader impression certification has on actual individuals’s lives. Whether or not it’s breaking into a brand new subject, incomes a promotion, or just feeling ready for management discussions, certification equips professionals with the instruments they should succeed.
Take the Subsequent Step in Your Product Administration Profession
Certification has the ability to open doorways, speed up profession development, and increase confidence in executing on the job. Whether or not you’re simply beginning out in product administration or aiming for a management function, Productside certification offers the construction and expertise that can assist you succeed.
With our instructor-led applications, you’re not simply finishing a course—you’re gaining a deeper understanding of technique, communication, and the market dynamics that drive profitable merchandise. And as our survey exhibits, the impression goes far past the classroom.
Now’s the right time to spend money on your profession. Throughout our Black Friday sale, you possibly can reap the benefits of unique reductions on our certification applications. Don’t wait—this provide is just accessible for a restricted time, and your future self will thanks for making the leap at the moment.
November 25, 2024
