Start Build Practice

I often get asked whether having a technical background helps when you are a PM.

Yes, it does.

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However, I think that "technical" is a loaded term that needs to be qualified.

In my interactions with aspiring PMs, nearly ALL of them equate it to the ability to code.

The real advantage, however, is knowing:

- how data is stored, retrieved & manipulated

- how algorithms come together to logically produce an output

- how sub-systems interact with each other to make a cohesive whole

- how HTML/CSS help construct interfaces etc.

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Yes, if you have coded programs, you get practical exposure to this & it makes it easier.

However, a few basic courses in databases, algorithms and data structures will help a lot too. This know-how should get you by for a majority of your conversations.

But put that aside.

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Let's attack the real beast:

If your inability to code is giving you an inferiority complex, then it's time to take the bull by the horn and tame it.

Start coding. Take a Python course. Build.

What's that? It'll break? It'll have bugs? Darn right it will.

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SO WHAT? Practice.

I've maintained that coding isn't a pre-req for PMs.

But if this is what is holding you back, stop fearing it.

"Anyone can code" - modified quote from Pixar's Ratatouille.