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Product Owners


Outlook

Employment Prospects

Employers

Product owners are employed by software development companies that use Scrum and other Agile frameworks. Companies outside the tech industry—such as JP Morgan Chase Bank, Discover, Harley-Davidson Financial Services, Goldman Sachs, and United Airlines—also employ product owners. Other employers include government agencies and nonprofit organizations.

Starting Out

The position of product owner is typically not an entry-level job. You will need experience as a Scrum master or in another project management role (and have extensive experience with Scrum or other frameworks) to qualify for work as a product owner.

Many aspiring product owners learn about job openings while serving as a member of a Scrum team. An open position might be listed on an in-house job board for a few weeks before it becomes open to all applicants. Other job-search methods include attending networking events and career fairs, utilizing the resources of a recruiter, checking out job listings at LinkedIn.com and other general job-search sites; and visiting the career Web sites of companies that employ product owners.

Advancement Prospects

A skilled and experienced product owner might advance by being promoted to the position of director of product development or another executive-level position. Others start their own consulting firms or leave the field to become college professors.

Tips for Entry

Visit https://www.indeed.com/q-Product-Owner-jobs.html and https://www.linkedin.com/jobs/product-owner-jobs for job listings.

Attend Scrum conferences, career fairs, and other events to build your network and expand your skills. Many product owners cite networking as one of the best ways to land a job.

Become certified. It will give you the edge over other applicants, and those who are certified often earn higher salaries than those who are not certified.