Hi, I’m Sam! I have been a product manager for years. Now I work as an industry mentor for the product, strategy, and operations track at Pathrise. I help people land their dream job through workshops and 1-on-1 mentoring. Check out my review of Mind the Product.
- What does Mind the Product do?
- Who is Mind the Product for?
- What does Mind the Product cost?
- Ratings and reviews of Mind the Product
- Alternatives to Mind the Product
- How does Mind the Product compare to Pathrise?
What does Mind the Product do?
Mind the Product is an online community of product managers with 150,000+ members. They offer memberships and paid workshops led by industry experts for new and experienced product managers all around the world. Due to Covid-19, workshops are now available virtually over Zoom.
They currently lead 5 different workshops. First, their basic Product Management Foundations training helps beginner product managers understand the role. Then, the Communication & Alignment workshop, which teaches product managers to collaborate more strategically. Next, people in the Metrics for Product Managers training learn a user-centered approach to measurement while the Mapping To Solve Product Problems workshop teaches them to use mapping tools to visualize complexity and spot opportunity. Finally, their Product Leadership workshop helps product managers foster a healthy culture within their organization and take on leadership roles.
Their remote workshops last multiple days and attendance is mandatory at all sessions. Attendees only participate in a few hours of concentrated learning per day. Each daily session includes live online lectures, discussions, Q&As, and hands-on group activities.
Mind the Product is the world’s largest professional network for product managers. Their free membership includes access to their public Slack community and meetups in over 200 cities. In addition, people can upgrade to a paid membership for access to their online training videos, industry AMAs, curated newsletters, peer-matched conversations, and discounts for their massive conferences. While they do not offer career services directly, their network and workshops can help people make valuable connections and learn the skills they need to land their dream job and become a product manager.
Who is Mind the Product for?
People with varying degrees of experience in product management can benefit from joining Mind the Product. Moreover, the program is especially helpful for those seeking networking opportunities and for those who prefer short training over longer, more intensive bootcamp experiences. Their membership options can also be great for current product managers looking to level up skills at their own pace.
What does Mind the Product cost? How much work is involved?
Training workshops cost about $749 each. Access to their Slack and meetups is free, but their standard Prioritized membership package costs about $150 a year. But, their premium Leader membership costs $690 a year. It includes expanded access and greater networking opportunities. Conferences range in price, but they generally run about $600+ per ticket.
Ratings and reviews
Mind the Product has mostly positive reviews. They are on Hubspot’s list of top 16 product management courses. In addition, they were among ProductCraft’s top 10 product conferences they were excited about in 2019.
A reviewer on Administrate was impressed by Mind the Product’s conferences. They praised them for their networking opportunities and insightful speaking events. He described the conference as “a great opportunity to step away from the day-to-day and think more strategically about how to apply these principles.” A reviewer on Brainmate said the conference “made me sit up and think” and energized her about working in the product management space.
Reddit users were also impressed with the conferences, active community, and membership options. One user appreciated that members get access to “really active Slack communities where you can hang out with (and get advice from) Product Managers across the globe.” Another user described Mind the Product as their “favorite product management resource”. They really enjoyed the “fantastic newsletter/community.”
On the other hand, a Reddit user felt the conferences and workshops were “good for new PDMs who are still building their base skills” but warned that the content was “pretty basic.” They explained that experienced product managers can find “better content for free at meetups and via blogs or real life experience.”
Alternatives to Mind the Product
If you decide not to enroll in Mind the Product, there are a number of other resources and bootcamps to help you land a job in product management.
- The product management associations Product Gym, ProductHood, Product Talk Academy, and Silicon Valley Product Group offer training and networking opportunities for aspiring product managers. Classes are flexible with remote options.
- Similarly, Product School, Product Management Studio, Product Faculty, and 280 Group offer full-time and part-time product management bootcamp courses. They provide weekly mentorship and career support to their students.
- Another option is Product Academia, which also has full-time and part-time product management bootcamps. Their focus is on helping women launch careers as product managers.
- Similarly, aspiring product managers might like One Week PM. Created by Product Manager HQ, both programs teach product management fundamentals and include networking with aspiring and current PMs.
- BrainStation is another bootcamp that offers product management courses. Their program features a hands-on curriculum and lots of 1-on-1 support. Students work on product management projects, participate in professional development, and have access to over 1,000 hiring partners including Google, Facebook, Microsoft, and more.
- One of the most well-known bootcamps is General Assembly. Students can choose full-time, part-time, and 1-day courses on a variety of topics including product management as well as software engineering, data science, UX design, digital marketing, and more. Students in the product track learn the fundamentals of product management, working with real tools they will use on the job. Read more about General Assembly in our review.
- Students can also check out Thinkful and Knowledge Officer, which have courses in product management, marketing, and more.
- Similarly, Product Hall and Blackblot are product management bootcamps with live courses and 1-on-1 mentoring opportunities. Or consider Product Innovation Educators, which gives grads official PM certificates.
More alternatives
- An online bootcamp, GrowthX Academy has courses for people who are interested in product management, UX design, growth marketing, sales, and business development. Their program is self-paced with 1-on-1 mentoring opportunities. Likewise, School16 teaches marketing, sales, and product management.
- The Pragmatic Institute and OpenClassrooms offer courses in product management, product marketing, and other technical subjects.
- The Tech Academy has in-person and online offerings in product management, data science, and other topics.
- Women, GNC people, and trans people can check out CodeOp, which has courses in web dev, data, and product management.
- You can also check out Bubble no-code bootcamps to learn how to make products without coding. Learn more about Bubble in our review.
- You can also consider Linky Product, which has self-paced courses and a bootcamp. Beginners can also check out Dorm, which helps people get into startups.
- edX is one of the largest online learning platforms. They have courses from top universities like Harvard and MIT as well as big tech companies like Microsoft. Learn more about edX in our review.
- A lower-cost and self-paced option, Coursera hosts free product management courses taught by professors at accredited universities. Their online courses feature recorded lectures, hands-on assignments, and community discussion forums similar to Mind the Product’s Slack channel.
- Students seeking affordable self-paced product learning can also check out Udacity. They offer low-cost course covers in product strategy, design, development, and launch. Students get the opportunity to work on projects for their resumes and interact with technical and career mentors. Learn more about Udacity in our review.
How does Mind the Product compare to Pathrise?
Mind the Product is an online product management community that offers training, networking events, and workshops. While students build their product management skills and their networks to boost their careers, Mind the Product does not actually help students with the job search.
Pathrise is a full service organization that helps product managers land their dream jobs. Our mentors work 1-on-1 with fellows on each step of their job search, including resume & LinkedIn optimization, reverse recruiting, cold emailing, behavioral and technical interview prep, salary negotiation, and more.
Our program is flexible. Fellows can schedule 1-on-1 sessions as needed and there are only 2-4 hours of sessions per week. Live sessions are recorded, allowing fellows to review materials later. The Pathrise income share agreement (ISA) means that fellows don’t pay anything until they start working at a new job they love.
Pathrise is a career accelerator that works with students and professionals 1-on-1 so they can land their dream job in tech. If you are interested in improving your job search by working with an experienced mentor, join a Pathrise.
Apply today.
