Product Marketing Manager | Female | 25
25 year old Product Marketing Manager having trouble figuring out how to not let her career take over her life, and still move up
Disclaimer: For brevity and ease of read, some answers have been edited.
Snapshot
Job Title: Product Marketing Manager
Industry, or desired industry if unemployed: Tech
Time in workforce: 0-5 years
Age: 25
Company type, by FTE size: 8001+
Total compensation: 110k; Performance-based Bonus, 401k
Location: Texas
Sex: F
Degree: MBA with a Marketing concentration
Satisfaction with current role (1-5): 5
Satisfaction with overall career (1-5): 5
Exploring Career
What are your main responsibilities in your current role? Please list specific tasks in your day-to-day that you feel encompass the duty of your role.
On paper my job is to gather customer feedback to shape market strategies, create compelling product positioning and messaging, and managing product launches and sales enablement efforts. Day-to-day I just have a bunch of calls with my clients and team and put information into a sheet to present to my manager.
What about your job do you enjoy the most? What could be improved about your job situation?
I work completely remote, and I love the flexibility it gives me without having to compromise the pay (I think I have a good salary). But honestly, remote work is such a double-edged sword. I feel kinda guilty sometimes because I’ll go for runs during the day, and then I end up working really late to make up for it. It's like I’ve developed this unhealthy habit of not knowing when to stop working. I find myself working super late hours to overperform since there’s no clear boundary between work and personal time at home.
How much of required capabilities and skillsets in your role are coming from a formal education (your degree), certification, or apprenticeship (experience)?
Without my undergrad maybe, but definitely not without my MBA. I don’t even think it was so much the material (though it was useful) but the interpersonal skills you develop from being in a program like that. My class was very close knit (we would all go to the bars together and hang outside of class) and I feel like that’s kind of what the corporate world is: people who know their stuff working together to make something happen. I will say I did find simulations/mock interviews valuable.
What made you pick this career -- did you have a specific career goal growing up, or did your career path develop over time?
I’m originally from a big city where everyone is kind of high profile so I always knew I wanted to work at a big company just to be able to say I work at this big prestigious company that everyone knows about. My dad is an entrepreneur so the business route was a no brainer and my MBA opened my eyes to all the paths I could take within business. Long answer short, I figured it out as I went but I was always driven by prestige.
Please describe how you got your job and what the process was like.
It was post MBA, my program really facilitated the entire job search/land process. We had our resumes polished and we had an interview prep days. The program also had a couple of connections we could capitalize on so I submitted applications to most of them, interviewed with a couple and received a job offer from the one i’m at. I negotiated the salary and got a 20k bump.
How long have you been working at your current company? Are you considering leaving? If yes, could you briefly share the main reason driving this decision?
About 2 and a half years now. I wanted to move back home to Florida, and my company allowed me to work under the management there, which I really appreciate. As long as it stays remote, I’m happy here. It’s a big tech company, and the trend is that many are issuing RTO mandates. If that happens, I will probably start looking for a new job.
How well does your career progression match your vision or plan so far? Consider aspects like your timeline to promotion, compensation, and overall fulfillment.
I’m super happy with how my career is progressing. I’m 25 years old making more than a lot of people and I work at a big name company. I feel very successful and I’m only going to go up from here.
Getting Deeper
Share a career-related question you are currently or have struggled with. Make sure to give context!
I’m really comfortable in my role, and I don’t feel the need to climb up higher but I feel like if I don’t have that desire, then i’ll be outperformed and let go. How do you navigate a situation where you’re content in your role and don’t want to take on more responsibility, but also want to avoid being overlooked or cast aside for not growing? If I move up, I fear my role will consume too much of my time and I’ll lose my balance.
What specific activities or routines do you feel contribute to your success?
My active lifestyle. I feel like it sets me up to want to be my most productive self. I wake up in the morning, have some sort of quick carb then go for a run (usually 5k unless i’m training for a marathon then it’s whatever I have to train that day). When I get home, I shower, have my big, but healthy, breakfast and then I feel energized to start my day. The days I miss my morning runs, I feel a bit more lazy, so i’ll usually take time in the day to go and run.