Track Journey: Associate Product Manager / Product Analyst
What this track is about
The Product Management track is for students who want to shape what products are built and why. This pathway focuses on understanding customer problems, translating them into clear requirements, and working across teams to deliver products that meet user needs and business goals.
Students in this track learn how to balance customer insights, technical feasibility, and strategic priorities to guide products from idea through launch and iteration.
The role this track prepares you for
This track is commonly aligned with roles such as Associate Product Manager, Product Analyst, Product Operations Analyst, or Product Development Engineer, depending on prior experience.
In these roles, professionals act as the bridge between customers, engineering teams, designers, and business stakeholders.
What this role looks like in real life
Someone working in a product management role typically spends their time doing the following:
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Gathering customer feedback and identifying user needs
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Defining product problems and success metrics
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Writing product requirements and prioritizing features
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Working closely with engineering and design teams during development
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Coordinating with stakeholders across business, marketing, and operations
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Tracking product performance after launch and iterating based on results
This role requires strong communication, structured thinking, and comfort making tradeoffs.
Skills you use every day in this role
Professionals in product management roles rely on a core set of skills:
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Problem definition and prioritization to decide what to build next
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Customer discovery to understand user needs and pain points
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Cross-functional communication to align teams and stakeholders
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Metrics and experimentation to evaluate product impact
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Strategic thinking to connect product decisions to business goals
How this track builds those skills
The courses in this track are designed to reflect real product management workflows.
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Product management courses focus on discovery, roadmapping, and execution in technology-driven organizations.
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Design thinking and customer experience courses strengthen user-centered problem solving.
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Competitive strategy courses help students understand market positioning and differentiation.
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The consulting or industrial practicum provides hands-on experience working on real product challenges with external partners.
Together, these experiences mirror how product teams operate in industry.
Course offerings in this track
Students following this pathway often take a combination of the following courses:
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EGRMGMT 512: Product Management in High-Tech Companies
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EGRMGMT 576: Design Thinking and Innovation
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EGRMGMT 578: Designing Customer Experiences in Technology
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EGRMGMT 542: Competitive Strategy in Technology-Based Industries
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EGRMGMT 556: Consulting or Industrial Practicum
Course selection may vary based on individual goals and prior experience.
Where graduates go after MEM
Graduates from this track work across industries that rely on strong product leadership, including:
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Technology and software
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Consumer products
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Consulting
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Healthcare and health tech
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Startups and growth-stage companies
While job titles may differ, the core product skills are widely applicable.
