First Year Perspectives: The Product Manager Pivot at UCLA Anderson
About Isaac: From the Paris of the Plain, Kansas City, MO, Isaac is an avid KC Chiefs and local sports fan. He graduated from Indiana University with a bachelor’s degree in finance. Upon graduation, he moved to Austin, TX and started his career in database technology sales at Oracle. He later moved to Chicago to pursue real estate development at Brookfield Properties, developing retail properties throughout the east coast. His passion for both technology and building led him to pursue an MBA at UCLA Anderson. He intends to use his diverse professional background and UCLA MBA to transition into technology product management.
I’m a career switcher, with a background in technology sales, financial analysis, and real estate development. Although I previously worked in technology, I found great difficulty transitioning into product management and gaining the credibility needed to obtain product management experience. Career switching is a difficult journey, so I knew it was paramount to evaluate my options to reach my desired outcomes. An MBA is a tremendous opportunity to grow your skills, build a network, and realize your goals. When analyzing business school options, having a strong product management curriculum, student body, and community was very important to me.
UCLA has a robust curriculum of product management focused electives. Classes such as Product Discovery and Product Management Delivery give students the tools to be successful in a product management role. These classes are taught by top industry professionals and have guest speakers that provide additional real-world examples and expertise. When career switching, it is important to be able to take electives that upskill and prepare you for your new intended career.
As an aspiring product manager, it’s important to be surrounded by peers with similar goals. UCLA’s student body is diverse with roughly 87% identifying as career switchers, 25% interested in technology, and 13% pursuing product management. Technology is the second highest interest of UCLA MBA students, which fosters an incredible support system and infrastructure for students interested in the field. This also signals to employers that UCLA is a place to recruit top tech talent and invest time and money on on-campus visits. Because of the strong technology focus, it fosters one of the best tech alumni networks. Alumni from all over the world feel connected to the school and provide valuable help and mentorship to Anderson students. This network is compounded by the largest professional group on campus, AnderTech, which provides guidance, education, job opportunities and much more to its members.
Lastly, UCLA Anderson’s Los Angeles location plays a valuable role in product management recruitment and connection to the technology industry. With top employers in LA, SF, and Seattle, UCLA Anderson is positioned well to facilitate on-campus recruitment, days-on-job, and industry events. Being able to drive or hop on a quick flight to network at a top company’s office is extremely valuable. UCLA’s location enables its students to be immersed in the tech community and take advantage of the vast amount of opportunities available. While many of the top companies are headquartered in close-by tech hubs, students also can recruit outside of CA and WA. A close friend of mine just accepted her product management offer in New York, proving that UCLA’s reach is strong throughout the US and abroad.
UCLA Anderson is a great place to land for an aspiring Product Manager. The school provides a strong product management curriculum, a diverse student body, and a tech hub-centric location. I would not have been able to successfully transition into product management without the support of the school, my classmates, faculty, and alumni. I wish you well in your journey. Go Bruins!
- Student Blogger: Isaac Wurth ’26
- Undergrad: Indiana University ’16
- Pre-MBA: Development Associate at Storybuilt
- Leadership@Anderson: Consortium Fellow, VP of Prospective Student Affairs – Admissions Ambassador Corps (AAC), Riordan Scholars Mentor
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