How do you become a product manager or product marketer? In many cases, it’s via several years of on-the-job learning to master the skills you need for this key position.

However, some business and education leaders in the community are considering creating a product management certificate or degree program to fast track this process, and possibly fill a local talent gap as well. The group includes Cari Baldwin and Bruce Cleveland, the duo behind BendPoly; Yong Bakos, the new OSU-Cascades CS professor; Matt Abrams, with Seven Peaks; and Libby Unger, founder and CEO of Lumineau, a management consulting firm.

This process is just getting started. First, the group wants to know whether Central Oregon employers are in need of product managers. They’re asking companies to take this 10 question survey regarding the demand for the position, interest in product interns and their willingness to support a certificate or a degree program. Filling out the survey will just take five minutes.

Then depending on the ultimate need, there’s a possibility that a product management program could be housed at OSU-Cascades Innovation Center for Entrepreneurship. So please take the time to complete the survey, and who knows — you could be helping Central Oregon take the first steps toward becoming a future hub of product management training and talent.

TAKE THE SURVEY.

Kelly Kearsley

Kelly Kearsley

Kelly Kearsley, the co-founder of StartupBend.com, is passionate about startups, entrepreneurship and Bend. In addition to writing this blog, she creates content and manages content projects for global financial companies, tech firms and startups. She began her career as a newspaper journalist and later worked as a freelance writer. Her work has appeared in WSJ.com, Money Magazine, CNNMoney, MSNBC and Runner's World. See her work at kellykearsley.contently.com or kellykearsley.com.

You can reach Kelly by email at [email protected].
Kelly Kearsley

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