Why has this question even arisen?

Climbing the ladder in the Product Management sphere is a task that's often complicated by people offering so many different opinions and ideas around you. Some Product Managers in the job market have heard and read that MBAs are a requirement to secure a good Product role within most companies. Some have even attended job interviews where they were told that they’d have fared better had they had an MBA, giving more credence to this allegation. While we cannot speak for the individual preferences of a company, there are general rules that apply in the Product space as a whole.

Admittedly, some companies do seek Product Managers with MBAs for a wide range of reasons. For example, one senior Product Manager says that Product Managers need an MBA to understand the business impact of product decisions. Another says that since they have to deal with financial decisions and take on a management role, he chooses those with MBAs because they have the knowledge required to deal with such.

Also related, more MBA programs are offering concentrations in Product Management so where it can be argued that a traditional MBA is not that relevant, this specialized one might have more of a case. Yet, ‘need’ is a strong word, and an MBA can hardly be considered a need for a Product Manager. An incentive, maybe, a leg-up even but a need? Not quite.

Pros of Getting an MBA if you want to become a Product Manager

In a competitive recruitment process, the recruiter will have to narrow down applicants and he will use different criteria- who has a Bachelor's degree? A degree in what? Who has relevant experience? In this sort of situation, having an MBA could be a leg up and allow the holder to climb up the corporate ladder faster than those who do not have it.

Being an academic environment, schools that offer MBA degrees often organize fairs and highlight internship opportunities for students that could easily translate into full-time jobs. This means that MBA candidates could be exposed to the job markets earlier than their counterparts, learn about opportunities available for them in the Product Management space and generally have a better feel of what’s outside before they’re officially in the job market.

The network! Having an MBA is like a club membership of sorts. It gives you access to colleagues and business leaders that you might have had to wait ages for a reply from on LinkedIn. These are connections that are instrumental in your career even after the MBA program.

Many people often acquire MBA years into their career, perhaps after they are already established and have discovered a specific need for it working in close proximity with people of different works of life, different ages and backgrounds who bring their own distinct perspectives to the team is reflective of a real work environment and could make it easier for anyone who has gone through the MBA process to work on a cross-functional team made of different types of people too.

MBA programs teach you leadership and business skills and help you create a personal brand, develop interpersonal relationships and other soft skills that come in handy in your work as a Product Manager. personal brand and business skills.

If Product Management is just a pit-stop and your long-term goal is to transition to something else such as banking or consulting, then an MBA is a great investment as an MBA is more sought out in those careers. 

Cons Of Getting an MBA if you’re looking to become a Product Manager 

MBA programs are expensive. Full stop.

The cost becomes less justifiable when you realise that the skills you take from an MBA into your role as a Product Manager can be derived from sources less expensive than MBAs plus the fact that an MBA hardly guarantees a job as a Product Manager or translates to significantly higher pay.

They’re time-consuming and if they're full-time, take you off the job market for about 2 years, a considerable amount of time in the life of any job seeker.