Product School
Product School Overview and Guide
Whether you want to become a business analyst or are already working in a software or finance career, investing in yourself by updating your skills is always a good idea. One option for doing this is to get certified as a product manager through Product School.
Although some may say that you need to have a background in software engineering to work as a product manager, Product School says otherwise. This training institution offers programs for aspiring product managers taught by professionals who are currently employed in the field of product management.
Below, we’ll take a deep dive into what this bootcamp has to offer.
What You Need to Know About Product School
Find Your Bootcamp Match
- Career Karma matches you with top tech bootcamps
- Access exclusive scholarships and prep courses
By continuing you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy, and you consent to receive offers and opportunities from Career Karma by telephone, text message, and email.
Product School is a global institution that provides short training courses. At the end of each of these programs, students will receive a certificate that is recognized globally. All of this school’s programs are taught live online. To make it easier for working professionals to attend, Product School offers both part-time and full-time courses.
The institution has produced more than 20,000 alumni who are poised to become, or have become, the next generation of product management leaders. The school also offers in-house training to companies, including some among the Fortune 500, that want to upskill their teams.
- Cost: One certificate: $4,199; All three certificates: $9,999
- Schedules: Full-Time, Part-Time
- Courses Offered: Product Manager Certificate, Product Leader Certificate, Product Executive Certificate
- Upcoming Start Dates: Rolling monthly start dates
Product School Curricula: What Can You Study?
Product School offers three certificate programs designed to be taken consecutively, with a major discount available if you sign up for all three at once. These courses are designed to provide you with the skills you need to secure promotions as you move forward in your project management career.
In all three courses, students will participate in live online lectures taught by world-class product leaders.
Product Manager Certificate
This certificate program does not require prior product management experience. You can also apply to the Product Manager Certificate program regardless of your professional background. In this course, you’ll learn how to manage a product by first defining a development strategy, then building the product until it’s ready to be deployed.
After you complete the 40-hour program, your instructor will provide further job training to help you land a project management job. This course can be taken full-time over five days, or part-time over two months.
Product Leader Certificate
The next level is the Product Leader Certificate, which also requires a 40-hour commitment. Unlike the previous program, to get into this course, students must have at least three years of experience as a product manager. Students will learn about product strategies, customer development, product design, targeted marketing, and product analysis skills.
Additional topics include data visualization, machine learning, and web development. Product leaders will also learn how to hire and retain talented team members. As with the previous program, this course can be taken full-time or part-time.
Product Executive Certificate
This exclusive 20-hour Product Executive Certificate is the most advanced of the three programs. Only very experienced product leaders can participate in this program. In this course, the instructors and students will learn from each other’s experiences in product leadership, team management, and adapting to change.
This unique experiential learning method is something other online certificate providers don’t offer.
Product School Campuses: Where Can You Study?
In 2020, Product School started delivering all of its interactive courses live and exclusively online. Cohorts are composed of students in similar time zones, so you don’t have to worry about attending lectures at an inconvenient time. Previously, the school had campuses worldwide.
Product School Schedules: When Can You Study?
Full-Time
If you want to finish Product School’s certificate programs as fast as possible, you should take an intensive full-time course. In this track, it will only take you five days to complete the 40 hours required for the Product Manager and Product Leader certificate programs.
Part-Time
If attending class on weeknights and weekends works better for you, you should choose the two-month, part-time schedule. Weeknight classes last two-and-a-half hours. Weekend classes usually take place on Saturday and run for five hours, excluding breaks.
Part-time courses can be tricky for full-time professionals, especially if a work-related problem arises unexpectedly. In this case, you need to inform your instructor or student adviser so they can help you find a suitable replacement class.
Product School Tuition
You can start investing in your product management skills by paying $4,199 for your Product Manager certificate. Product School also offers flexible installment plans to ease the financial burden.
Product School Financing and Payment Options
- Climb Credit. Product School has partnered with Climb Credit to offer loans of up to $9,499. These come with an interest rate of 6.99 percent to 12.15 percent. Students can pay the principal amount plus interest while completing their program, and must repay the loan in full within a predetermined period of 24 to 36 months.
- Installment Plan. Product School’s installment plans are interest-free. With this opinion, you can pay for your certificate in multiple payments while completing your course.
- Scholarship. To give students from all backgrounds a chance to succeed, Product School has pledged $500,000 in scholarships to adults from underrepresented communities. These scholarships can be used toward any of the courses offered by Product School.
Product School Admissions: How to Get In
Product School only accepts 20 students per class to ensure a more intimate learning experience. This also ensures that instructors can dedicate time to offer career support to students once they graduate.
Getting into Product school is as simple as following these two steps: Submit an application form, and pass an interview.
Product School Application
If you want to secure a seat at Product School, you should first fill out and submit your application online. If your credentials match the certificate course you have applied for, one of the student advisers will reach out to you to talk about your career to help you decide which course to take.
If you get in, note that Product School will only give you a few business days to finalize your payment. If you don’t, you will lose your spot in the course.
Product School Interview
Product School interviews aren’t very difficult, but it still helps to be prepared. Ideally, you’ll want to be familiar with the terms and concepts that will be used in your prospective certificate program. This will help the interviewer understand your enthusiasm and your basic knowledge of the industry.
The Product School interview will last between 30 minutes and an hour. If you perform well, you can expect to receive notification of your acceptance soon.
Product School Admissions Rate: What Are My Chances of Getting In?
Your chances of getting into Product School depend on your credentials and how well they align with your preferred certificate program. Product School has not made its admissions rate public. Although only 20 students are admitted per cohort, these classes take place monthly, so you will stand a good chance of getting in.
Product School Outcomes: Will I Find a Job?
Product School emphasizes the effectiveness of its job placement program. Companies can submit job openings to the school, which are then posted on a job portal that is accessible to all students and alumni. Graduates can search through these openings and apply for those that interest them.
Job Placement Services at Product School
The professional product leaders who teach the courses at Product School give students one-on-one mentorship and career support even after they have completed their certificate program. Product School has a vast network of alumni, hiring partners, and product development communities that graduates can interact with to boost their careers.
Once you graduate and are employed as a product manager, you can make up to $140,000 per year.
Should You Apply to Product School?
Product School is a steadily growing institution that aims to educate anyone who wants to work in product management. Below are a few things you can take into consideration as you contemplate whether to apply to Product School.
- Industry-recognized certificates. Certificates from Product School are highly-regarded by employers worldwide who deal with product development.
- Designed for working professionals. Product School offers class schedules that are specifically designed for the busy lifestyles of working professionals.
- More affordable than other bootcamps. Product School’s courses are hyper-focused on one specific area of expertise, and cost less than a bootcamp that would cover more general topics.
- Free resources. Product School offers a robust collection of free resources for students and alumni. These include online events and conferences, a book, a podcast, a job portal, a glossary, and a blog, to name a few.
There’s no denying the success that you can achieve as a well-educated product manager. Product School is a reputable institution that will teach you all the skills you need to land a job in product development. It guides students toward a career in product creation by teaching modern techniques and providing crucial networking opportunities.
Anonymous
I wanted to learn more about product management in order help me transition into the field. Went to many of their events and decided to enroll into the course. Loved the experience b/c our instructors were all real practitioners and we went through the entire product management cycle learning a ton along the way. Highly recommend this school if interested in product management.
November 20, 2019
Anonymous
I enrolled in Product school shortly after taking on a PM role at my current job and found it very helpful. The Product School curriculum packages the product life cycle into a simplified form that is easy enough to memorize but robust enough to apply when confronted with a mental roadblock. The lectures cover all aspects of their framework and augment the curriculum with additional tips that really empower you to tackle the demands of a career in product.
I decided to attend the course in person on Saturday mornings and while that may sound like a drag I actually found myself looking forward to it knowing how much I was learning by applying what we learned to case studies. The lectures and case studies were very engaging!
The instructor for my cohort was Dr. Joel Palathinkal who was very energetic for Saturday mornings! He always came in ready to tackle the days lecture and share product idea/experiences and challenged us to think on our feet. I truly appreciated his approach to teaching the course as it was very dynamic in that he covered everything on the syllabus but reacted to our input and tailored the lectures to focus on what students wanted to expand on. Joel went above and beyond by reaching out to his network of alumni to bring in guest speakers for every lecture. I can be a bit shy but he’s really cool and approachable making it easy to feel comfortable participating.
One of my favorite things about Product School is the Slack channels that offer a network where you can get help on a range of things from the need of advice from a SME to interview prep and even job leads! Whether you are new to product or early in your career I highly recommend the Product Management Course by Product School!
December 3, 2019
Anonymous
Taking Product School’s PM course has been one of my best career decisions so far! Switching careers, when you are already well established in your current role, can be quite a daunting task. So it was imperative for me to learn from the best and get the right level of support to break into product after completion of the course. I am so happy that I chose this as it delivered and exceeded my expectations from the course!
A few aspects that make this stand-out course are the thoughtful curriculum that hones student’s hard and soft skills, the access to an ever-expanding and helpful alumni group and, most importantly, the mentorship from your instructor during and after your course.
It was a privilege to be taught by Chris Maliwat – a PM veteran with solid experience in eBay, Netflix, Warby Parker and start-ups . Chris’s passion for his craft, teaching and mentorship elevated the entire experience for our group. He truly cares for his student’s career growth and it showed in his engagement with our group right from the very beginning. He is a phenomenal teacher and a great mentor, and I look forward to his guidance as I take next steps into becoming a PM.
I highly recommend Product School’s PM course for anyone seeking to transition into product or improving PM skills to become better in their role. It was totally worth the time and investment! Thank you Product School, you guys are doing an amazing job!
January 10, 2020
Anonymous
I just finished my Product Management class that I took at Product Management School in Bellevue Washington. I definitely feel like it was worse my time and the money I have invested in it. The class was twice a week in person for 8 weeks. I really liked the in-classroom interactive learning process. Almost every class, we had guest speakers from different big companies such as Google, Amazon, IBM, Best Buy and more. Us students had live Q&A sessions with the PMs where we could ask them any questions directly and get the answers right away. Throughout these 8 weeks, we have worked on a homework assignment which was an entire product that we had to build from the ground up. My teacher Swati was excellent at clarifying all the gray areas to me, answering all my questions, directing me to the right path, proving all the necessary tools for the interview preparation and much more. I could tell she was really invested in her teachings and truly was enjoying it which always makes the learning process so much better. I have already recommended this course to my colleague who trusts my research and knows that I would only recommend the best.
April 8, 2020
Anonymous
Product school (www.productschool.com) has a curriculum. The course touched upon many topics right from user persona, interviews, design, A/B testing, metrics, marketing, and the entire product development life cycle. You have to choose a product that you like and work on providing an opportunity hypothesis and launch that idea to market. All of this is done in 8 weeks with the help of the instructor and the lesson notes. Everyone chooses different products (mostly). Some are B2B, some are B2C, some are SaaS and some were PaaS products. At the end of the seventh week, we all presented our product-> idea-> Go-to-market strategy.
I liked every bit of the class and the assignments. But the question mostly asked that did it help you find jobs? I would say it helps you build your network and learn a few product management fundamentals. I am in the process of looking out for jobs now.
I will list out the pros and cons of the course now.
Pros:
A good outline of the 8-week course.
Great instructors.
Extremely active slack community.
Free networking events and webinars by reputed and established Product Managers.
Cheaper compared to General Assembly.
ProductCon is a great conference to meet and network.
Cons:
Less focus on product management interview preparation. I wish they had a couple more weeks to cover more on this.
Overall a great learning experience. I recommend to someone pivoting from another industry into product management and looking to network.
More on :https://medium.com/@atashijain/why-i-went-to-product-school-8a808f83a2b1
June 10, 2020
Anonymous
Thanks to Product School I established a solid foundation of PM knowledge that served me to get my first job as a PM @flybondi. The course content is invaluable and I still refer to it at work. Highly recommend it.
August 17, 2020