"Do I need to be technical to be a PM?"
I've heard this question hundreds of times. And the honest answer is: it depends. But not in the way most people think.
Let me clear up the confusion around technical PMs, when coding skills actually matter, and how to figure out which path fits you.
First, Let's Define Our Terms
The industry uses "technical PM" loosely, and it creates confusion. Here's what different companies actually mean:
Technical Product Manager (TPM): A PM who works on technical products—APIs, developer tools, infrastructure, platforms. Your users are often engineers. You need to speak their language.
Product Manager with Technical Background: A regular PM who happens to have an engineering degree or coding experience. Works on any type of product.
Technical Program Manager: A completely different role focused on coordination and execution of complex technical projects. Not what we're discussing here.
When companies post a "Technical PM" role, they usually mean the first one. But sometimes they just want someone who won't be intimidated by engineers.
When Technical Skills Actually Matter
Let's be specific about where deep technical knowledge is genuinely required:
API and Platform Products If you're building products that engineers consume—APIs, SDKs, developer platforms—you need to understand how developers work. You should be able to read documentation, understand REST vs GraphQL tradeoffs, and know what makes a good developer experience.
Infrastructure Products Database products, cloud services, DevOps tools. You're making decisions about performance, scalability, and reliability. If you don't understand the technical concepts, you can't make informed tradeoffs.
Machine Learning Products Not all ML products require a technical PM (plenty of ML features are user-facing and need strong consumer PMs), but ML infrastructure and tooling definitely does.
Security Products Understanding threat models, authentication protocols, and security architecture is essential. You can't just trust your engineers to explain everything.
When Technical Skills Are Overrated
Here's what might surprise you: for most PM roles, deep technical skills are nice-to-have, not need-to-have.
Consumer Products Instagram doesn't need PMs who can write code. They need PMs who understand human behavior, social dynamics, and visual design. The best consumer PMs I know came from marketing, design, and journalism backgrounds.
E-commerce and Marketplace Products Understanding customer behavior, conversion optimization, and marketplace dynamics matters more than technical depth. Business and economics backgrounds do well here.
B2B SaaS (Non-Technical Users) If you're building software for sales teams, HR departments, or finance teams, you need to understand those users—not the underlying technology.
Growth and Monetization These roles are about experimentation, analytics, and psychology. SQL skills help, but you don't need to understand distributed systems.
The Skills That Actually Transfer
Instead of asking "should I learn to code?", ask "what technical literacy do I need for my target roles?"
For most PM roles, you need:
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SQL: Query databases, pull your own data, validate what your analysts tell you. This is probably the highest-ROI technical skill for non-technical PMs.
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Basic statistics: Understand A/B tests, statistical significance, confidence intervals. You don't need a stats degree, but you need to not be dangerous.
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System design intuition: Understand how web apps work at a high level. Know what a database, API, frontend, and backend are. Understand why some features are harder to build than others.
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Reading code (not writing it): Being able to look at a pull request and roughly understand what changed is valuable. You don't need to be a code reviewer.
The "Do I Need to Learn to Code?" Framework
Here's a decision framework:
Learn to code if:
- •You want to work on developer tools, APIs, or infrastructure
- •You're targeting companies that explicitly require it
- •You genuinely enjoy it and want to build side projects
- •You want to be able to prototype ideas yourself
Don't bother if:
- •You're targeting consumer PM roles
- •You'd be learning just to check a box
- •You have limited time and could spend it on higher-ROI skills
- •You already have domain expertise in your target industry
The Career Path Implications
Technical PMs and "traditional" PMs often end up in different career trajectories:
Technical PM Path:
- •Often leads to platform and infrastructure leadership roles
- •Can pivot into engineering management
- •Tends to command slightly higher salaries at senior levels
- •More common at infrastructure companies (AWS, Stripe, Snowflake)
Traditional PM Path:
- •Often leads to consumer product leadership
- •Can pivot into general management, marketing, or ops
- •More flexibility across industries
- •More common at consumer companies and B2B with non-technical users
Neither path is better. They're different.
How to Position Yourself
If you have a technical background but want to be a "traditional" PM:
- •Don't lead with your technical skills in interviews
- •Emphasize customer empathy, business acumen, and strategic thinking
- •Show that you can communicate with non-technical stakeholders
- •Be careful not to over-engineer solutions
If you're non-technical but targeting technical PM roles:
- •Start with SQL and basic system design
- •Consider a bootcamp or online courses to build foundational knowledge
- •Look for roles where you can pair with strong engineers who can mentor you
- •Build something small yourself to prove you can think technically
If you're unsure:
- •Try both types of products and see what energizes you
- •Talk to PMs in both types of roles about their day-to-day
- •Consider what problems interest you most—technical problems or human problems
The Real Secret
Here's what nobody tells you: the best PMs—technical or not—are good at the same fundamental things:
- •Understanding what customers need (even when they can't articulate it)
- •Making hard tradeoffs with incomplete information
- •Getting teams aligned and moving in the same direction
- •Communicating clearly to different audiences
- •Staying curious and learning constantly
Technical skills can be learned. These fundamentals are harder to teach.
Don't stress too much about whether you're "technical enough." Stress about whether you're becoming a better PM. The skills you need will become obvious once you're doing the work.
Exploring technical PM paths? Read about Platform PM or AI Product Management. Ready to find roles? Browse PM jobs.