Steve Arntz
Product Manager
Hobsons
Milestones
My road in life has taken me all over.
Thought I would play piano in Carnegie Hall.
Started to do research in a Psychology lab.
Found out that "website builder" was the highest paying job on campus.
Built a website for my college's Law School.
Started a business building websites for other school departments.
Took a job managing development on websites for a startup.
Took a job for a large consulting company because it was safe.
Became a product manager for an educational product, and love every minute of it.
Keep following my journey
Education
High School
Career
Product Manager
I build educational technology products.
Career Roadmap
My work combines:
My work combines:
Technology
Education
Communicating / Sharing Stories
Day to Day
A typical day starts with checking in on the current software development projects to see how the team is doing on them. After that I might spend a couple of hours talking to clients about their thoughts on our products -- what works, what doesn't. Then I spend some time helping to communicate those needs to marketing, sales, and engineering teams. Another key element is working with other product managers to craft a compelling message and vision.
Advice for Getting Started
Here's the first step for high school students
Be interested in everything around you. Figure out how things work, and write down ideas about how to make them work better. There are products everywhere, and behind every product is someone who is thinking about how to sell it, build it, or market it better. Technology is so pervasive, and it's easy for anyone to get started on learning how to create. The barriers to entry are smaller than they've ever been, and they're getting smaller.
Recommended Education
My career is not related to what I studied. I'd recommend this path instead:
Hurdles
The Noise I Shed
From Society in General:
"You shouldn't go to the big city because the cost of living is too high. You should stay where the rent is cheap and not worry as much about the impact you're having. You have a good job and there's no reason to take these risks."
Challenges I Overcame
Financial
