From Barista to Product Manager: My Unconventional Career Path
14 months ago, I was a Starbucks barista making $24k/year. I had a psychology degree, $40k in student debt, and zero idea what I wanted to do with my life. Today, I'm a Product Manager at a SaaS company, working remotely, earning $115k.
People ask me how I did it. Here's the unfiltered truth.
The Moment Everything Changed
It was 2am on a Tuesday. I couldn't sleep because I was stressed about money (again). I was scrolling Twitter and saw someone tweet: "Product Managers at my company start at $100k+ and most don't have technical degrees."
I Googled "what does a product manager do." Six hours later, I was still reading. This was it. This was the path I'd been looking for.
What Even Is Product Management?
Here's what I learned: PMs decide what to build. You work with engineers, designers, and business people to ship products that solve customer problems. You're not coding (though some technical knowledge helps). You're making decisions about WHAT to build and WHY.
The best part? You don't need a specific degree. You need skills: strategic thinking, communication, understanding users, making data-driven decisions.
I thought: "I can learn this."
Month 1-2: Learning Everything for Free
I couldn't afford a bootcamp. I had to learn for free.
Resources I used:
- Lenny's Newsletter (read every archive article)
- Product School free courses
- YouTube (Product School, PMLesson channels)
- Books from library: "Inspired" by Marty Cagan, "Cracking the PM Interview"
- Podcasts during my commute (This is Product Management, Masters of Scale)
I spent 3-4 hours every night after my shifts studying. My roommates thought I was crazy. Maybe I was.
Month 3-4: Getting Hands-On Experience (Without a Job)
Here's the problem: every PM job wanted "2-3 years of PM experience." But how do you get experience without a job?
You make your own.
Project 1: Improving Starbucks Mobile App
I used the app every day. I knew its problems. So I:
- Surveyed 50 customers about pain points
- Wrote a full product spec with mockups (used Figma, learned from YouTube)
- Prioritized features using RICE framework
- Created a fake roadmap
This became my first case study.
Project 2: Building a Product from Scratch
I came up with an idea for an app helping people find quiet coffee shops for remote work. I:
- Validated the idea (interviewed 30 remote workers)
- Created user personas
- Designed MVP features
- Built wireframes in Figma
- Wrote fake PRD (Product Requirements Document)
I never built the actual app. Didn't need to. I just needed to show I could think like a PM.
Month 5-6: Building a Portfolio and Network
I created a simple website (used Wix, nothing fancy) showcasing my two case studies. Each case study had:
- The problem I was solving
- Research I did
- How I prioritized solutions
- Mockups/designs
- Metrics I'd track
Then I got on Twitter/X. I started:
- Following PMs at companies I liked
- Commenting thoughtfully on their posts
- Sharing learnings from my projects
- Joining PM Slack/Discord communities
This was huge. I made real connections with people in the industry.
Month 7-9: The Application Nightmare
I applied to 200+ PM jobs. My stats:
- Applications sent: 247
- Rejections: 198 (most didn't even respond)
- Phone screens: 7
- Final interviews: 2
- Offers: 0
This period almost broke me. Imposter syndrome was crushing. I was still making lattes, getting rejected every day, wondering if this was all a waste.
Month 10-12: Changing My Strategy
I stopped mass-applying to job postings. New strategy:
- Target smaller companies (10-100 employees)
They needed PMs but couldn't afford to be picky about experience - Find companies through Twitter, not LinkedIn
Saw what products people were building, reached out directly - Lead with my portfolio, not my resume
"Hi [Name], I'm learning PM and created a case study analyzing [Their Product]. Here's the link. Would love your feedback." - Offered to do product teardowns for free
Analyzed products, sent unsolicited but thoughtful suggestions
This approach got me 10x more responses than LinkedIn Easy Apply.
Month 13: The Break
I found a small B2B SaaS company on Twitter. 25 employees. They'd just raised $3M. I analyzed their product, found 3 specific pain points users mentioned in reviews.
I wrote a 2-page product proposal fixing these issues. Sent it to their CEO (found email with Hunter.io). Subject line: "3 ways to improve [Product] retention"
He responded in 4 hours. We had a call the next day. I interviewed for 3 weeks (6 rounds!). They offered me $95k + equity.
I negotiated to $115k. They said yes.
Month 14: The First Month as a PM
Not gonna lie: it was terrifying. I had no idea what I was doing. But guess what? Nobody does at first.
My psychology degree actually helped—understanding user behavior is core to PM work. My barista experience helped too—I'd dealt with customer problems every day.
I learned on the job. Asked tons of questions. Worked with amazing engineers and designers who taught me. Shipped my first feature in week 3.
What Actually Worked
- Self-directed projects: Don't wait for permission. Build case studies now.
- Portfolio over resume: Show you can think, not just that you have a degree
- Networking on Twitter: Better than LinkedIn for breaking in
- Target small companies: They value skills over pedigree
- Do more than apply: Send analysis, ideas, show initiative
- Be patient: 14 months felt like forever, but it worked
One Year Later
I've now been a PM for 12 months. I got promoted to Senior Associate PM. Salary bumped to $125k. I work from my apartment. I love what I do.
I still think about making lattes sometimes—not because I miss it, but because it reminds me how far I've come.
If I can do this, you can too. You don't need a perfect background. You just need to prove you can do the work.
Start building. Today.