“Build a better bus system.” In 30 minutes!? Public transportation is a big policy problem in the United States and…Wait, this is a product management interview, the tech industry’s equivalent of casing—trial by fire. In a brief 30-minute interview, case questions are supposed to evaluate your product design sense, your understanding of strategy, and sometimes, analytical skills. As I thought about the hours I poured into interview prep my first year, I knew as Booth Tech Group (BTG) co-chair, I wanted to create an even better Tech PM Workshop this year.

The percentage of Boothies who enter tech has nearly doubled since 2013, from 12% to 20%, and BTG has seen our numbers double, too. We’re proud to say we match Management Consulting Group in number of members. In general, we are seeing more students interested in tech. Specifically, they’re looking at product management, that popular role for new MBAs at Google, Amazon, Facebook, and others. But what is product management? And do you need a computer science degree?