Product Managers don't need to code
Do you need to learn code to survive as a PM? In an age where AI tools are collapsing the gap between idea and execution, your leverage isn't syntax, it's strategy.
I keep having the same conversation with PMs lately. It usually happens late at night, often after a long sprint, framed as a quiet anxiety:
"Should I learn to code to stay relevant?"
The best product managers I’ve worked with didn’t write a single line of code. Instead, they did something far more valuable. They understood user pain at a depth most people never reach, not just surface level complaints, but the real friction hiding underneath behavior. They prioritized ruthlessly, communicated with absolute clarity across departments, and drove teams toward measurable outcomes rather than vanity features.
That is the job. It isn't writing Python scripts, and it isn't building side projects just to prove you are "technical enough."
I understand where the instinct comes from. AI is rewriting the rules. Tools like Lovable are collapsing the gap between idea and execution, allowing us to spin up functional apps with natural language.
It feels logical to think: if the tools are this good, I should be building, too.
And you should, but not by learning syntax. The rise of AI tools actually proves my point: the barrier to building is dropping to zero. But the barrier to building the right thing is as high as ever.
You do not win by becoming a mediocre developer.
You win by getting sharper at the things only a great PM can do well: defining the problem better than anyone else in the room, knowing what not to build even when AI makes it easy, and creating focus where there is chaos.
Literacy vs. Fluency
Understanding technology is critical, but writing code is optional. These two are not the same.
You can deeply understand system constraints, tradeoffs, scalability, and technical risk without ever shipping a commit. The best PMs I know can reason about architecture and feasibility, but they do not pretend to be engineers. They earn respect by making engineers more effective.
- They remove ambiguity instead of adding opinions.
- They clarify outcomes instead of debating implementations.
- They protect focus instead of expanding scope.
The same applies to design. While learning to prototype is useful, your leverage comes from taste, judgment, and empathy; not your speed with Figma shortcuts.
Be Excellent at Your Craft
Your job is not to do everyone else’s work; it is to facilitate the best work from everyone else.
Being technical helps. But being strategic helps more.
If you want to stay relevant, do not spend every weekend learning how to code. Spend it learning how to think better. Write clearer. Prioritize faster. Obsess over user impact and get brutally honest about tradeoffs.
That is the PM everyone wants to work with.