Product opportunity at a 'non-tech' employer

Question

Hi All:I have 7 YOE as PM ( 6- YOE at Microsoft - Sr PM' ; 1-YOE at a startup - Principal PM). Overall I have 15 YOE. Qualification - Mech Engg+ MBA.I got laid off at the startup and eventually found an opportunity at a financial institution (mortgage servicer) in Dallas. They want me to relocate from Seattle to Dallas. Comp is almost the same i.e. TC=240k/YrThe main concern is that I would be the first PM in the org and would be responsible for building PM discipline. Its a 500 ppl company, Eng team is mostly outsourced. They want to use products to optimize internal operations and eventually offer some SaaS for mortgage servicing sector. Q- I am not sure how good or bad would it be to work in a non-tech company, vs a tech company (FAANG, Microsoft etc.)?Cons- I wont have more experienced PMs or exceptional Enggs to learn from. Domain expertise in mortgage servicing may not be useful as it is a very niche industry.

meliodus · Accepted Answer

A lot depends on what your career goals are. What made consider the offer to change your work domain?
If you want to continue in financial industry it seems like a good switch that you can continue to build on by moving to different companies in that domain.
As per the con you mentioned it's also a good opportunity for you to lead the entire team in establishing best practices.

aPMguy · Answer

It seems like a solid challenge, if you’re prepped for it. Probably a shift from IC towards leadership if you do the job successfully, but it seems like leadership has higher comp upside. If you’re grounded in your knowledge, confidence, and charisma, I don’t see the con honestly

FairyJobMother · Answer

Hey there! From a recruiter’s perspective it wouldn’t affect you negatively to work in a technical PM capacity in a financial industry. I would vet out the stability of the role directly before making a move as both finance and tech are unstable right now, but being in an industry that isn’t purely tech isn’t a detriment (in fact this would be a great growth opportunity for establishing both practice and people management it sounds like)

Zeus007 · Answer

I have worked in Similar financial services lendingtech to be exact in India. Series B funded. But it was a disaster because there are no structures at all in the company. Very less tech competencies overall of the team.They ended up finding my pay expensive and laid off me.  I also hated to see that I was responsible for developing each and every product. They wanted to chew more than they could digest. I am really hoping my next job will be in an established company like FAANG.

Product opportunity at a 'non-tech' employer

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