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Product Manager or Program Manager, depending on the org, probably makes the most sense. There is a lot of overlap with marketing. I see people go into that role from the development side from time to time--people who don't really enjoy coding or have grown tired of doing it as a job. More often, though, they come from disparate backgrounds. If you emphasize your strengths on the customer side, and develop your capabilities on the product side, I think you'll be in good shape. It might take a while, and concerted effort, but most good things in life do. It sounds like the PM role puts you right where you want to be. Study the lean startup materials (Eric Ries and Steve Blank). Learn about different agile methodologies, like Kanban (but don't become a zealot). Learn about continuous integration, configuration management, and get your feet wet using issue trackers and source code management environments (Github, Bitbucket). You don't have to get into the details, but at least understand how they work and what the state of the art is. With your background, I'm sure you can find a role that would allow you to transition. It might not be right away. Just be clear about what you can bring to a position now, and where you would like to go in the future. If you're working with a good company, or good management, they will try to make it happen to the degree possible. |