A friend recently asked me about breaking into product – how did I do it, what would I do differently, what did I do that worked well etc. Since a few people have asked me this already, and I would like to share my experiences and hopefully help, I got inspired to write this blog post.
Mentorship note: I’ve been mentoring (aspiring) product managers since 2023. A mentee recently said this about me:
If you’re interested in mentorship with me, schedule a free discovery call here.
My Journey
I’m a product expert, maker, and author based in Belgrade, Serbia.
I’ve been in product for around 10 years, but my path wasn’t “standard” or “typical”. (On the other hand, I also believe there is still no one standard way of breaking into product for anyone.)
I started out in language and marketing (my first ‘real’ job was SEO manager for Norwegian and Danish markets at a mobile equipment and accessories e-commerce), moved into operations (Danish MarTech startup), focused on product within the same startup (3-sided marketplace & platform), went freelance for a few years, and the rest is history.
I’ve held positions like staff product manager, head of product, and senior product manager since ~2022, and also worked at Toptal since the same year (Toptal is no. 1 most reliable professional services company in America, with less than 3% acceptance rate.).
I also spoke at TEDx and over 15 product and agile conferences in 7 countries, and wrote a book on applying product management in personal life, and mentored (aspiring) product managers since 2023.
Overall, did a lot of interesting stuff. (And so can you!)
Curious to learn about my experiences? Check cv.mbelcevic.me or LinkedIn (feel free to connect as well).
Flavors of Product Management
Before we dive into breaking into product, a quick reference to another blog post.
What are universal product skills? What is the role of particular product skills or flavors? How important is domain expertise? How can you develop your superpowers? Read more here.
Now, let’s start the journey of breaking into product (finally)!
The First Steps
The first steps are always the hardest. Beyond ‘just’ learning a lot of new things, you’ll also have to deal with a challenging ecosystem that’s not built for early-career product professionals. If you’re breaking into product now (2026) – also, recession ✨
Two and a Half Paths
1. Internal Pivot
If you’re lucky to have this opportunity, many product managers start at their current companies by switching from (product-adjacent) positions. Oftentimes, if you’ve worked on delivery (project manager, Scrum Master, delivery manager…), QA, design, marketing or engineering, there might be an opening for switching internally to a product position.
This is also the most common way to break into product. The company that knows you and recognizes your potential is more likely to invest and take a chance on you.
2. Entry-level miracle
Sometimes, there are open positions for entry-level or early-career product professionals, like associate product manager, junior product manager etc. This is a great opportunity, but also remember the competition is tough, and there’s not many of these positions; in fact, very few (in the last 10 years, in the Serbian market I saw only two or three; and on remote job boards, less than 10).
* side-projects
This will also help you with the paths 1. and 2.
Go out there and do a project (or even better, a few). There is literally nothing stopping you. Bad job market, recession and all the fun things aside, there has never been this good of a moment to build something. You can vibe-code amazing stuff with free plans, do images for socials in Canva etc.
You can do side-projects for yourself, or you can try and get a paid side-gig on places like Upwork or Fiverr.
A paid side-project can sometimes grow into a full-time position, and even when it doesn’t, it’s a valuable experience. (The same goes for your own stuff.)
Learning
Continuous learning is one of the most important parts of the product manager’s work. You can learn from books, courses, schools and universities, social media, blogs, thought leaders, and influencers…
Here’s a brief overview of what you should learn as you break into product, and where to start.
Sidenote
Learning styles, previous knowledge, experiences, and interests are highly individual. What worked for someone doesn’t work for everyone. So take these recommendations with a pinch of salt, and pick and choose what makes the most sense for you. If you’re looking for product mentorship tailored to your unique needs, feel free to schedule a free discovery call with me.
What to Learn?
It’s always difficult to start. Product management is a young, multidisciplinary trade, which makes it harder. In my opinion, you need to develop a mixture of universal skills, particular skills and domain knowledge (see illustration above and read the full post here).
Books
When it comes to books, there’s a bit of everything, but I always highly recommend my favorite, which is the one that taught me the most: Escaping the Build Trap by Melissa Perri. It’s a great general product book for aspiring product managers, but a nice reminder and refresher for anyone in product.
The next book, and the “Bible” of product management, is Inspired by Marty Cagan. He also has a newer book, Transformed, which covers the product operating model, and Empowered, which is about leading and empowering product professionals.
(There’s also a book Loved, by Martina Lauchengco, published by Silicon Valley Product Group, which focuses on product marketing. Together with Inspired, Empowered and Transformed, it’s a holy tetrafecta. Product marketing is a good skill to have, especially if you’re working on B2C products.)
You need to learn about product discovery. A leading voice is Teresa Torres with Continuous Discovery Habits.
Moving on to agile product management, Bob Galen’s Scrum Product Ownership: Navigating the Forest AND the Trees is a top-tier. It’s a good alternative to a two-day CSPO course.
My advice is to read as much as possible.
Courses
I took many courses, and it’s usually a good investment. But it’s also a pricy one. “Smaller” courses focused on certain product areas usually cost from $250 to $450, and “bigger” ones are usually $1200+, and more advanced or expert-level are upwards of $4000.
In hindsight, I would maybe have taken fewer courses. But beyond learning and upskilling, they are also a nice place to meet peers, maybe explore other cities, expand your network etc. If you’re lucky, your company may have a learning budget that you can use towards the courses. Also, beyond knowledge, courses can give you more “legitimacy”, but it also depends on the brand and how the hiring person(s) perceive them.
Some INTRODUCTORY courses to consider
General:
- Mastering Product Strategy by Product Institute (founded Melissa Perri)
- SVPG Product Masterclass by Silicon Valley Product Group (founded by Marty Cagan)
- Product Management Nanodegree by Udacity
Discovery:
- Product Discovery Fundamentals by Product Talk Academy (founded by Teresa Torres)
Agile:
- Scrum Alliance or Scrum Org product owner courses.
- Kanban University‘s Kanban Management Professional*
*not solely product-focused
Master’s (!)
I have an unconventional suggestion, depending on how much time and effort you’re willing to invest. I think it could be interesting to complete a Master’s degree. With the “bigger” courses being upwards of $4000, or paying $1500 for a day or two, you may want to consider a Master’s.
There are online options, you can choose something relevant to product management, and a master’s opens many doors etc. In Serbia, a master’s at a private university is around $2000 per year or so. (In my case, I did engineering management with a focus on innovation management at Singidunum University, which cost me around $1800, but is likely a bit more expensive nowadays. I also did an online marketing and communication master’s at Rome Business School.)
Closing the Gap Between “Aspiring” and “Doing”
Breaking into product management is rarely a straight line. It’s more of a series of calculated pivots, side-hustles, and continuous learning and unlearning. Whether you are navigating the 2026 recession, vibe-coding your first MVP, or eyeing an internal move, remember that your unique background is an asset, not a hindrance.
The industry needs people who can connect the dots between marketing, operations, and engineering to build things that actually matter. The road is challenging, but the view from the other side is worth the effort.
Keep shipping, keep reading, and most importantly, keep curious.
Let’s Build Your Path Together?
If all of this feels a bit overwhelming, you don’t have to navigate it alone. I’ve spent a decade working in product and years mentoring and refining my approach to product, growth, and productivity.
If you want a structured, personalized roadmap to land your first product role or level up your current one, schedule a free discovery call with me here.
A mentee recently said this about me:
(Milos) is incredibly dedicated, well organised, and always available to listen and support. He consistently respects deadlines and brings structure and clarity to everything he does. We worked very well together