[shadowmore]

On a tangential topic, do respectable online certifications for product management exist?

Plenty of Udemy courses and the like, but nothing I've found with certification.

Is certification generally reserved for specific technical skills like networking, security, cloud infrastructure, etc.?

[gelstudios]

I think certification gives the holder some potential credibility in a narrowly defined area IF an employer chooses to believe that a specific certification sufficiently covers the skills required for a business process.

That is clearer for roles that primarily need to operate software packages (word processing, CAD, etc) or systems where there is training content created by a solution vendor (cisco, juniper, etc), than it is for a multi-disciplinary "squishy" role like product management.

Consider that a product manager role might greatly by company size or by level of product / market fit. I'd say that an employer shopping for a PM might be looking for a combination of: subject matter expertise, deep knowledge of a specific market, and maybe a track record with KPIs. All of which are probably not easily evaluated by a common certification.

[geeklord]

Actually with Project management the case is a bit different. There is a central body called "Project management institute". They have a selected number of certification options that are recognized globally. You can defnitely attend free courses but only PMI can certify you to be certified Project Management Professional.

[tanzbaer]

He said product management, not project.

[asdf21]

Then Udacity nano-degree is probably best imo.

[geeklord]

Oops I mistook it for "Project" management. For such a certification in Product management you could check out Coursera's Brand management course: https://www.coursera.org/learn/brand