Hi, I’m Sam! I have been a product manager for years and now I work as an industry mentor for the product, strategy, and operations track at Pathrise, where I help people land their dream job. Check out my review of Product Gym.
- What does Product Gym do?
- Who is Product Gym for?
- What does Product Gym cost?
- Ratings and reviews of Product Gym
- Alternatives to Product Gym
- How does Product Gym compare to Pathrise?
What does Product Gym do?
Product Gym is a product management association that helps members develop the skills to land a job as a product manager. They offer 30-45 hours of in-person instruction at their New York City campus. They also offer their curriculum remotely.
The courses offered last about 6 weeks. Classes run from 6:30pm to 8:30pm on Tuesdays and 9:30am to 3:30pm on Saturdays at the New York City campus. Product Gym enrolls students on a rolling basis, with flexible class schedules and course start dates. The curriculum includes market analysis, defining MVPs, evaluating KPIs and OKRs, prototype testing, building stakeholder consensus, and creating a project roadmap. Members have access to course materials for 12 months, allowing them to continue reviewing after their course has ended.
Product Gym also offers career assistance directly. Members receive networking opportunities, career coaching, tailored interview feedback, technical assignment assistance, and salary negotiation support. They also learn how to optimize their resume to pass through applicant tracking systems. In addition, members craft cover letters, LinkedIn profiles, and tailored backstories through the program. Applicants begin applying to product management roles 10 to 14 days after enrollment, with assistance from Product Gym.
This is not a typical bootcamp or online program. They focus on serving existing members, with a rigorous application process and membership requirements. As of August 2020, all courses are remote due to Covid-19.
Who is Product Gym for?
People with some to no experience in product management looking to land a role in the field can benefit from membership. The program is especially helpful for people who are based in New York, San Francisco, or those looking to network with other product managers.
What does Product Gym cost? How much work is involved?
Membership and access to the curriculum cost $4,500. Product Gym also offers separate, 1-on-1 career coaching service, starting at $10k for 5 sessions. In addition to their paid program, they offer free online courses on acing product management interviews and case studies.
Students can also participate in an income share agreement (ISA) at either 6.5% or 10%. They pay the program once they land a product management job with a salary of $60k or more.
Ratings and reviews
While Product Gym is fairly new and does not have too many reviews online. That being said, what has been posted is generally positive. They hold a 4.98/5 star rating on CourseReport and a 5-star rating on SwitchUp. Members praise the program for its practical curriculum and dedicated instructors. However, people note that membership can be rigorous and expensive.
One member says “practical advice provided is invaluable.” Similarly, another member reported that the program is “expensive, but I think it’s worth it if you need help with your process.” The consensus seems to be that Product Gym is a serious commitment, but rewards students with practical skills and insight into the product management niche.
Alternatives to Product Gym
If you decide not to enroll in Product Gym, there are a number of other resources and bootcamps to help you land a job in product management.
- Product School, Product Management Studio, and Product Manager HQ offer both full-time and part-time product management bootcamp courses. They provide weekly mentorship and career support to their students.
- Another option is Product Academia, which also has full-time and part-time product management bootcamps. Their focus on helping women get into the workforce by landing a job as a product manager.
- Similarly, product managers with some experience can check out the community and courses on Mind the Product, ProductHood, Product Talk Academy, and Silicon Valley Product Group.
- Likewise, aspiring product managers can also check out Product Faculty. They offer a part-time bootcamp to help people learn the skills to land a job in product management.
- Another option is 280 Group, which has onsite and online courses in product management.
- One of the most well known bootcamps is General Assembly. Students can choose full-time, part-time, and 1-day courses on a variety of topics including product management as well as software engineering, data science, UX design, digital marketing, and more. Read more about General Assembly in our review.
- Students can also check out Thinkful, One Month, and Knowledge Officer, which have courses in product management, marketing, and more.
- An online bootcamp, GrowthX Academy has courses for people who are interested in product management, UX design, growth marketing, sales, and business development. Likewise, School16 teaches marketing, sales, and product management.
- edX is one of the largest online learning platforms. They have courses from top universities like Harvard and MIT as well as big tech companies like Microsoft. Learn more about edX in our review.
More alternatives
- Similarly, OpenClassrooms offers tracks in product management, UX design, and other subjects.
- The Pragmatic Institute also has courses in product management, data science, and product marketing.
- Similarly, Blackblot and Product Innovation Educators have PM courses for beginners and more advanced folk.
- You can check out Udacity and Springboard, which are online educational platforms that students can use to brush up on the basics or advance their current tech skills. Read more about Udacity and Springboard in our reviews.
- Similarly, Coursera, and Udemy are online learning platforms that offer product management courses.
- The Tech Academy and BrainStation also have in-person and online offerings in product management, data science, and other topics.
- Women, GNC people, and trans people can look into CodeOp, which has courses in web dev, data, and product management.
- You can also check out Bubble no-code bootcamps to learn how to make products without coding. Learn more about Bubble in our review.
- Similarly, Product Hall is a product management bootcamp with live courses and 1-on-1 mentoring opportunities.
- You can also consider Linky Product, which has self-paced courses and a bootcamp. Beginners can also check out Dorm, which helps people get into startups.
- In the same vein, aspiring product managers might like One Week PM. Created by Product Manager HQ, both programs teach product management fundamentals and include networking with aspiring and current PMs.
How does Product Gym compare to Pathrise?
Product Gym is an online product management association, offering courses, career assistance, and networking opportunities. While students build product management skills and optimize their job search, 1-on-1 feedback costs extra and is not included in the standard curriculum.
Pathrise is a full service organization that helps product managers land their dream jobs. Fellows participate in workshops and 1-on-1 sessions that focus on resume and LinkedIn optimization, portfolio building, technical and behavioral interview skills, and much more.
Our program is flexible, with 1-on-1 sessions that can be scheduled as needed by fellows and only 2-4 hours of sessions per week. Live sessions are recorded, allowing fellows to review materials later. The Pathrise income share agreement (ISA) means that fellows don’t pay anything until they start working at a new job they love and we never require upfront payments.
Pathrise is a career accelerator that works with students and professionals 1-on-1 so they can land their dream job in tech. If you are interested in improving your job search by working with an experienced mentor, join a Pathrise.
Apply today.
