Product Management Certifications and Certificates

If you’re looking for a way to demonstrate your skills in product management, you might be overwhelmed by the different certifications and certificate programs available. You might also have many questions, such as which certifications or certificates I need? Will a certificate help me get a job? How do I prepare for them? This article aims to answer these questions so you can efficiently choose the right path toward a product management certification. Keep reading to find out more.

What is Product Management?

Product management is the process of managing a particular product, including physical products, software programs, and other digital products. A Product Manager oversees a product through the four stages of what product management calls “The Product LifeCycle:” introduction, growth, maturity, and decline. In product management, Product Managers are often referred to as the "CEO of the product."

Product management is at the intersection of tech, business, and design. Successful Product Managers must train in all three core product management skill sets: coding, user-driven design, and project management. Product management connects the different teams who develop a product. For example, a Product Manager might work simultaneously with a development team, a design team, a marketing team, stakeholders, and customers to manage the development and launch of a successful product. 

The Product Manager is an advocate for the customer and serves as a liaison between the teams developing a product and the users of the product. User experience is a critical part of product management, so Product Managers are expected to incorporate user-driven design principles and conduct user reviews of their product during the development and after launch. 

Read more about what product management is and why you should learn it. 

What Can You Do with Product Management?

Product management is a combination of tech, design, and business. You’ll need creativity, technical knowledge, and leadership skills to become a Product Manager. You will need to develop skills in all three to launch a new career in product management. However, the variety of skills creates a lot of flexibility in product management. 

Coding skills are essential to an aspiring product manager. You don’t need to be an expert coder, but you will need to understand the process of building a digital product. As you probably already know, coding skills are highly desired by employers. You could even work as a coder while continuing the rest of your product management education. 

Design skills are invaluable in many industries: design, digital design, fashion design, publishing, manufacturing, software development, art, marketing, web design, and animation. Product managers must know user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design. Training in these includes learning programs like Adobe XD, Adobe Sketch, and Figma. 

Project management skills are required for Product Managers. Developing project management skills is great for the job market: the Project Management Institute (PMI) estimates that more than 22 million new jobs will be created for people with project management skills by 2027. Project management skills are also highly versatile since Project Managers are in demand across industries. 

Certifications vs. Certificates: What’s the Difference?

There is a difference between a certification and a certificate. Certifications are typically provided by a professional organization and require applicants to sit for an exam administered by a third party. Certificates are earned for completing a training program and provide verifiable proof of your training. 

Because product management is a relatively new career path, no standard professional certifications are offered specifically in product management. Product management certificate programs are the current standard in the industry. Tech schools and graduate programs offer product management certificates to fill the talent gap for employees trained in product management. 

Top Certifications & Certificates for Product Management

With the huge increase in demand for employees with product management skills, many tech schools and universities have added certificate programs that teach the core skills a Product Manager needs. 

Because product management is still being defined as a career path, these certificate programs won’t always be marked as product management training. Instead, you should look for programs that offer certificates in product management’s core skill sets, especially if you’re a total beginner. 

Product management is at the intersection of tech, design, and business. Product Managers are expected to have skills in coding, user-driven design, and project management. One way to pursue product management would be to earn certificates in all three skill sets. For example, Noble Desktop offers certificate programs in all three of product management’s core skills. Noble Desktop’s Software Engineering Certificate program graduates earn a New York State Licensed Certificate in Software Engineering and obtain certified proof of their coding skills. 

Then, you might pursue a UX & UI Design Certificate from Noble Desktop. You could take Noble Desktop’s Project Management Bootcamp to finish your training, which provides concentrated professional training in project management. Combining all three certificates on your resume will show potential employers you have trusted hands-on training in core product management skills. 

Some Product Managers pursue a Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM), the entry-level certification from the Project Management Institute (PMI). Before sitting for the certification exam, students must accrue hours of project management education, such as from a Project Management Bootcamp. You can also take a certification exam bootcamp, such as Noble Desktop’s CAPM Certification Bootcamp, designed to prepare you to pass the certification exam. 

Some universities have begun offering certificates in product management, including Stanford University and the University of Texas at Austin. The Association of International Product Marketing and Management (AIPMM) also offers certifications in product management. For example, their Agile Product Management certification is recommended for Product Managers who plan to work in an Agile environment. While this could be great for particular job types and industries, Agile certification is not required to become a Product Manager; training in Agile is included in many certificate programs, such as Noble Desktop’s Project Management Bootcamp. 

Should I Get Certified in Product Management?

According to Pragmatic Marketing, over 70% of Product Managers have a certification. While it is recommended to get certified, it is not required to get hired. The best way to get hired is to have certificates in the core skillets of product management. 

How to Get Certified in Product Management

There is no specific path to becoming certified in product management as there are currently no industry-standard certifications. Many tech schools and universities offer certificates in product management which you can earn by taking courses. You’ll want to ensure that the school you receive your product management certificate from is highly-rated, such as Noble Desktop or the University of Texas at Austin. 

Learn Product Management with Hands-on Training at Noble Desktop

Since product management is a relatively new career, there is no single path to becoming a Product Manager. To become a Product Manager, you do not typically need a bachelor’s degree. You will need a mix of the three product management core skill sets: coding, user-driven design, and project management. Bootcamps in coding, UX design, and project management are a great way to acquire the knowledge you need to become a Product Manager. 

Noble Desktop offers bootcamps in coding, design, and business live online and at its state-of-the-art campus in Midtown Manhattan. Since Noble Desktop offers bootcamps in all three core product management skills, it is an excellent choice for aspiring Product Managers. All of their courses have guaranteed small class sizes. Noble Desktop’s expert instructors teach a “micro-lecture” introducing a topic and then guide students through applying what they learned through hands-on, real-world projects. There is a “free retake” option on their courses, allowing students to retake the course free to refresh their knowledge or continue developing their skills. 

Noble Desktop’s Software Engineering Certificate is a great option for aspiring Product Managers who will need to understand how applications are made. This bootcamp immerses students in coding and building applications using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, React, Python, Django, and Node.js. Expert instructors will guide students through hands-on projects to develop skills in coding the front and back ends of websites and applications. Students receive over 500 hours of live, hands-on instruction and twelve 1-on-1 mentoring sessions. Graduates earn a New York State Licensed Certificate in Software Engineering. 

Product Managers are required to put users first. Understanding user-driven design is critical for a Product Manager. Noble Desktop offers a UX & UI Design Certificate that provides comprehensive training in user experience (UX) and user interface (UI) design. Students in this project-based bootcamp master user-centered design essentials, conduct research and product testing, and digital product design. Students become experienced users of Figma, Sketch, and Adobe XD. Students develop a professional portfolio and receive 1-on-1 job mentoring. Graduates earn a verifiable digital certificate which is shareable on Linkedin. 

The successful development and launch of a product is a project. Product Managers are required to have highly-developed project management skills. Noble Desktop’s Project Management Bootcamp provides comprehensive training in project management principles, practices, and methodologies. Topics covered include the “Project LifeCycle,” risk management, resource management, budgeting, and project management terminology. This boot camp includes training in project management methodologies Waterfall, Critical Path, and Agile, including Scrum, Kasan, and Extreme Programming (XP). Graduates earn a Certificate in Project Management which is shareable on Linkedin. 

Key Insights

• There are currently no industry standard certifications in product management.
• The best way to demonstrate your product management skills to potential employers is by earning certificates through bootcamps and certificate programs. 
• You can receive comprehensive product management training in-person or live online with Noble Desktop.