Before my career transition into the field, I had no idea what product management was or how to become a product manager. My working experience comprised working in customer service and operations with a bachelor’s degree in English Language and Literature from the University of Lagos. Today, however, I lead product teams and optimize user experiences.

Looking back, my background in English and early roles in banking and customer support helped me develop a strong ability to untangle complexity, respond to chaos with structure, and truly understand human behaviour.

These are competitive advantages in today’s product environment. As product management increasingly values soft skills, cross-functional fluency, and empathy-driven design, my non-traditional foundation has proven to be an asset, not a limitation.

So, with no technical background and no business degree, how did I end up working as a senior product manager for one of Nigeria’s leading providers of financial services? It began when I was assigned to assist with system updates. I was not writing code or drawing system diagrams, I was documenting workflows, clarifying user needs, and defining project requirements. What seemed like “support work” at the time was actually my entry point into product thinking. Through daily exposure to user friction points and stakeholder conversations, I began to shape outcomes, not just observe them. The turning point came when I led a sprint planning session. The team needed clarity, and I provided it. I translated user pain into actionable outcomes, described what success would look like, and connected product direction to business value. That moment marked the shift from operational contributor to product leader, a shift that many product professionals, regardless of background, must eventually make.

There is a persistent belief that without technical experience, you can not make product decisions. I wrestled with that insecurity early on, especially during engineering-heavy meetings, but I have learned that effective product management is not about knowing everything, it is about asking the right questions, bringing the right people together, and anchoring every decision in user outcomes.

As Marty Cagan, author of Inspired, puts it, “The job of a product manager is to discover a product that is valuable, usable, and feasible.” You do not need to write code to do that, you just need insight, clarity, and influence. I have come to embrace my background as a differentiator, not a deficiency. Here’s why:

Four Core Strengths from a Non-Tech Background
Empathy: Empathy is one of the most powerful yet underrated assets in product management. It drives better user research, stakeholder engagement, and decision-making. As someone who began in customer service, I spent years interpreting real pain points, not just metrics. That emotional literacy now guides my approach to product design. When faced with data, I ask: How does this feel to the user? That is how we move from functional to meaningful. In fact, McKinsey’s 2024 insights affirm that companies with strong customer empathy outperform others in retention and satisfaction. The most scalable innovation often begins with the simplest human insight.

Communication: During my initial professional role, I had to simplify complex business procedures so that customers could understand them. This taught me to actively listen to others and then identify the root causes of problems to produce understandable solutions based on needs. This has developed my communication skills as a product manager, allowing me to effectively lead teams and create understandable user stories that help all involved in the process, from engineers to business leaders, understand the product vision. Since the product team often serves as a spokesperson for the company’s vision within their own departments, product leadership teams highly value product managers with polished communication skills.

Brainstorming: Creating innovative ideas is my favourite aspect of the product management position. If you are coming into product management from a non-technical background, there is a high chance that your previous work required a lot of brainstorming and idea generation. The research and brainstorming frameworks you used in past roles will still be valuable in your new role as a product manager. So you are already ahead of the game because you are already used to following your creative instincts. For instance, after transitioning from one position to another, particularly inside operations, I spent time in private sessions where we had to quickly identify solutions for customer complaints or work disruptions. My sessions taught me how to think quickly and develop intelligent questions while expanding the ideas of my colleagues. My product problem-solving approaches still incorporate the collaborative thinking habit that I learnt from this time.

Stakeholder Management: Dealing with different customer personalities was a common aspect of my job in customer service. In high-pressure circumstances, I had to keep my cool while managing difficult conversations in order to find answers that benefited all parties involved. Now, I use my experience in customer service to strike a balance between product needs and requests from users and developers, while keeping business success in mind.

Technical Skills Product Managers Need To Learn
Yes, technical literacy is important. To work effectively with engineers, I have had to learn about agile processes, user stories, APIs, and even tools like SQL and Mixpanel, but what matters most is curiosity and humility. I approach technical topics not as a barrier, but as an opportunity to ask smarter questions.

This mirrors the mindset described in a CIO article, which highlights the importance of cross-disciplinary fluency, especially in fields like fintech, where ethical, technical, and human considerations intersect daily.

Conclusively, do not let your prior work experience stop you from pursuing a career in product management if you are currently contemplating it. Successful product managers come from a wide range of backgrounds, occupations, and experiences. You are set for a long and prosperous career as long as you can use your problem-solving abilities and prior work experience to recognise and address the most important issues for clients.