How to get a $700K+ PM Job: the meta strategy advice you need

There's no difference between a $700K+ PM and you besides time, location, strategy, and a little luck. Here's how to become one yourself.

What’s your target compensation?

It’s a question worth understanding your answer to.

There is a specific subset of people I meet who just flat out refuse to believe or accept the compensation packages that PMs can get in top tech roles.

They accept it intellectually, in a sort-of “I suppose it happens, to someone, somewhere, but it has nothing to do with me” way.

But they fail to realize that there is actually often no difference between them and the average $700K+ PM.

In today’s piece we’re going to break down every layer of this - and exactly how to become that $700K+ PM.

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Introducing Alex

When it comes to experts on this topic, there are few more experienced than Alex Rechevskiy:

I first stumbled upon Alex years ago. As a Group Product Manager at Google, his YouTube back catalog stuck out as amongst the most senior interview advice available.

Nowadays, he’s gotten even deeper experience from coaching 80+ people at the Product Career Accelerator on the exact meta (“most effective tactics available”) to get a $700K+ PM job.

I’m excited to break down all that hard won knowledge with him in today’s piece.

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Today’s Post

Words: 6,576 | Est. Reading Time: 29 mins

1. The Distribution of Tech Compensation

2. The High-Level Meta to Break into MAANG

3. The Strategy for the main archetypes

   1 - Students

   2 - Non-Top 50 Tech PMs

   3 - Career Switchers (Non-PM Professionals)

4. The Flip-Sides: Do you need $700K?

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The Video Version of Today’s Piece

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1. The Distribution of Tech Compensation

A tale of three different market rates

If you look at the distribution of pay for any role in the tech industry, there’s a wide range between the median and 90th percentile.

And the same is true for PM. For instance, here’s what that looks like for US-based PMs with 8-12 years of experience (senior IC/ early manager):

• The median Principal/Group PM makes $312K.

• The 75th percentile makes 38% more, $430K.

• The 90th percentile makes 84% more than the median, $575K.

There is a rapid escalation in pay as you move up the percentiles. But why does the rapid escalation exist in the first place?

These companies are different

The employers at the 90th percentile are not the same as those at the median.

While the median might include financial services and healthcare companies employing PMs, the 90th percentile is top 50 tech companies like MAANG (Meta, Amazon, Apple, Netflix, Google), OpenAI, and Stripe.

These companies offer compensation packages that can seem almost unbelievable to outsiders. But there's a method to this madness. It's rooted in the economics of these tech giants.

For the most part, we're talking about companies that generate (or are expected to generate) billions in profits annually. In 2023, for instance, Apple reported a net income of $97 billion, while Google's parent company Alphabet raked in $60 billion.

These are staggering numbers, and they translate into an ability to offer compensation packages that dwarf those in many other industries.

And here's the kicker: despite these eye-watering profits, the number of employees at this company is relatively small.

For example: Apple has 10% the employees of Wal-Mart. And 50% the employees of JP Morgan. The result is that Apple’s pay for high-level tech roles - design, software, engineering, and PM dwarfs the more heavily staffed competition.

It’s not just company success that drives it though

But, of course, it’s not just company success that drives why these companies pay so much.

A few other factors stack upon success to have created the compensation environment we see today:

1. Location factors: Most of these high-paying jobs are concentrated in expensive areas like San Francisco, Seattle, and New York, where the cost of living is significantly higher

2. Stock-based compensation: By offering substantial stock grants, companies align employee interests with company performance and create "golden handcuffs" that incentivize retention

3. Competitive pressure: With multiple tech giants vying for the same talent pool, compensation becomes a key differentiator

4. Impact leverage: A great PM can influence products used by billions of people, potentially generating or saving millions (or even billions) of dollars for the company. In this context, even high salaries are a bargain

5. Talent scarcity: Top-tier product managers who can drive innovation and manage complex products are rare. Companies are willing to pay a premium to attract and retain this talent

Top of market rates by level

So what compensation are we talking about for different years of experience PMs?

Let's break it down:

• Entry-level (L3/L4): Fresh graduates or those with a few years of experience might start at $180,000 - $230,000 total compensation

• Mid-level (L5): With 3-5 years of experience, you might be looking at $240,000 - $350,000

• Senior (L6): This is where things start getting serious. Senior PMs can command $360,000 - $700,000

• Lead/M2 (L7+): Lead PMs with 6+ years of PM experience earn $700K+

• Principal/Director (L8+): At this level, $1,000,000+ is not uncommon, with some packages exceeding $2 million

Of course, these figures represent total compensation, which includes base salary, bonuses, and stock grants.

(The stock component makes up 50%+ of the package at higher levels.)

These people aren’t necessarily different

Here’s the final twist of the knife: we can confidently say that the people in these roles are no different from PMs who are paid less.

Yes, they do have better brand names and interviewing skills. But, their core person, their core intellect and drive… these things are more or less the same.

So, with the right approach, anyone can achieve this compensation. Here’s how: