I see Product Marketing Manager roles with similar job descriptions and responsibilities and some say 'entry level' and others 'mid-senior level'. It confuses me to see an entry-level PMM in general. When looking to grow as a product marketer what are the levels of responsibilities that take you to the next level and the salary ranges associated. Also, what are the pros and cons of being an individual contributor vs managing a team. Im currently the only PMM in the company and there is a lot of work to do. Would love your insight & perspective.

I’ve been the only PMM several times and think it only works if you LOVE being a PMM.

Some people call PMM the “quarterback” who is charting the marketing strategy. Others refer to the PMM as the hub in a marketing hub and spoke model. I’ve also heard it described as being the CMO for your product. All of these analogies resonate strongly with me.

When I was the only PMM, I had to prioritize ruthlessly and do it all. What made it more challenging was that I gravitated towards incubation products that had not been around for more than a year, so everything was built as v1. Being the first/only PMM is HARD. I’m proud of you for taking on that challenge. However, what is the company’s perspective on growing the PMM team and if there’s additional headcount, would you be the leader or would they hire someone to manage you? Do you enjoy managing?

I knew early on in my career that I would enjoy being a people manager and told my managers as soon as I had proven myself. I also informally oversaw junior colleagues’ work and was fortunate to have great mentors to help me become a better coach. Imagine my surprise to learn that not everyone wanted to be a manager (my previous company was very Type A and most people asked to be a manager), as some folks have cited that the vast amount of overhead/additional work does not make up for the slight bump in pay. When I thought more about this, I realized that some companies have a certain level where the two tracks (IC vs manager) diverge, so you are getting paid at the same level but doing more HR/people-related overhead and have to manage up.

I’ve met superstar individual contributors who were not happy in a managerial role but “that’s what the next step was”. I’ve also seen stellar ICs become even better managers because they were able to delegate and scale their impact.

How would you describe your preferences between being an IC vs a team lead?

I learned very different skills as an IC vs as a leader. As an IC, you can take on different roles to learn different ways to be a great PMM, whether it is exposure to a different industry, ICP, ecosystem or geography. As a leader, you learn how to manage stakeholders and empower your direct reports. You also spend a lot of time negotiating with your peers and cross-functional departments.

Regarding job descriptions, my recruiters usually screen by the number of years of experience in a PMM role and the total number of years of work experience to determine “entry-level” or not.