Hi! From the different facets of marketing listed, I’d also prefer to work in product management. We learned that in product management, managers control and work with the entire product life cycle. Therefore, employees working under this facet of marketing have access to the development of the product from the instant where the market gap is established, to when the developed product is being sold. Like you mentioned, as a project manager, I’d have more interactions with employees in almost all other departments, such as marketing, engineering, sales, etc. I think having more interactions with other departments is essential to learn new skills and grow as an employee. In addition, these interactions make the workplace more comfortable  and efficient. Becoming familiar with other departments improves relationships, which in turn leads to greater support when needed from colleagues and more work being completed. Although the role will be challenging at times, I think being part of the project for the product’s entire life cycle not only increases an employee’s knowledge on the product, but also on so many other departments and processes which ultimately results in their professional growth. I’m interested in hearing more about what others think!

I would prefer working for market research

Forany pharmaceutical company to maximize profits and keep their product stand out from others, they must spend on research and development and market research. Market research is the most exciting part, where you have to collect data on the drug from the users (physicians, hospitals, and chemists) and beneficiaries (patients) along with the competitors and requirements in the current market. This requires solid technical and analytical skills to chalk out product development plans that satisfy customer needs and remain over edge compared to competitors. Market research analysis also plays a vital role in finding global markets, studying economic and government policies, and setting up local manufacturing centers.

While Atharva's points about Market Research excite me (particularly looking into analytical data processing and interfacing with end consumers), I would probably most like to be a Product Manager like gdecarvalho and knd26. I share some of the same interests (being able to control a product lifecycle, being able to interface with multiple disciplines) as they do. Additionally, I feel like this position is most in line with my goals, which is to be able to make less expensive alternatives to breakthrough therapies in the oncology space. This is because product managers in my experience have a say in everything from manufacturing to R&D budget management.

I feel like I could be very good at Meeting Services. Dr. Simon explained how this department takes care of trade shows. I feel like at a trade show, the most important skills to have are excellent product knowledge and communication with other professionals. I find this more interesting than other aspects of marketing. I am usually pretty good at understanding a product or device and then translating that for others. I really enjoy academic conferences for the same reason and I feel the skill set overlaps. Can you understand your research or product and then an you make people excited about it, can you make people care? This may lead to new sales or new collaborations that would benefit the company or the lab.

I think that starting out, I would prefer Market Research just like Atharva. I could work in commercial insights & analytics and see what opportunities the company can take to increase their revenue. Like mentioned previously, in market research you could also see where your device falls short or exceeds the customer need and the changes that you can make to either improve your product or keep it cutting edge. Market research keeps the company on-top of their product and competition space. Through this branch, you can see the direction in which the company/product is heading towards and your analysis could potentially offer insights on the changes, if any, that are needed.

Based on my skill set and preference, I would also prefer to be part of project management. Project managers focus on managing the products from conception to obsolescence, creating and managing the business plans, product inventory, addressing customer needs and taking care of any changes made to the product. I feel as though  my skills would be useful in ensuring organization and everything is kept up to date with each part of the product life cycle as well as ensuring that the customer needs are met. There are also different subsections to product management. Regulatory that takes care of labeling and claims, Quality that are up to date on requirements and improvements, Research that looks unto the extra features that could be added and potentially how and Customer service that focuses on the clientele and their perception. All these divisions are part of product management and can allow for different opportunities in one subset. 

In my current industrial role I work very often with project management of medical devices and I think that based off the descriptions of the other roles that we learned in this week's lecture, project management would be my preference in terms of areas to work in. I enjoy learning about the product of material's life cycle and changes that have been applied to different revisions of the model. My current role is not completely within product management so I do not have experience with the entire functionality of a project manager but I feel that I would enjoy the challenges and tasks that come along with the role. I imagine the vast experience and lessons that come along with overseeing the project for a NEW device and over the years seeing the evolution of the device. This is the field that intrigues me the most within medical devices and I hope to some day transition into a project management role. 

Personally, I think I would be best equipped to either go into product management. One of the reasons why I wanted to pursue biomedical engineering is because I found the projects and research within it to be fascinating. Hence why I would find product management, which focuses on seeing a project through from the conception of the idea to actually putting the final product to market. For me and I'm sure with many others, there is a sense of fulfillment when you see a project through and get a tangible product that you know you contributed to. I also like the idea of being able to work with people of different departments and backgrounds. I like being able to gain insight from different perspectives and gain a broader view of how everything works. Of course, the job can come with it's own set of challenges, I feel like I can see myself developing my professional skills through this line of work because I am not only getting an understanding of the products of my company, but also how the whole process of product development and what each department does works. This will allow me to be able to grow in other professional avenues as well as build interpersonal connections within departments. Product management allows for continuous learning while on the job, which I think is important for any working professional who wants to grow in their career. 

Among these, I think I will also do good as a product manager. I like to communicate with people from different departments to fulfill a project. It will strengthen collaboration between internal teams. Also, the product manager works with engineers to make new designs, which will be very interesting as I am pursuing Ph.D. in biomedical engineering.

While I know this wasn't part of the subset that you mentioned, I would like to go into product development. As I understand, it is still part of the two major focuses of marketing, as shown in Slide 40 of PP Slides4b. More so than product management, I can see myself in product development, as I have prior experience doing something similar. During my capstone project I was part of the development process, and I remember that I quite enjoyed doing the research, finding the market gap and market need. I know that I especially enjoyed finding a market for a device that has not been invented, or finding a hole in device production. For me specifically, that was medical devices targeted towards women's health or feminine hygiene. I found the research process quite interesting and the design and development process even more so. I enjoyed the team setting where we would brainstorm ideas and discuss design possibilities, etc. thus why I think I am most suited for this aspect of marketing.

Based on my background as a biomedical engineer and the skills I gained in my specific track, my skillset would best fit the subset of product management. My technical expertise provides a strong foundation for understanding the intricacies of medical devices, and I enjoy working collaboratively across different teams to bring innovative solutions to life.

Product management aligns well with my interests because it requires a deep understanding of both the technical aspects of the product and the market needs. I work best in dynamic environments where I can engage with cross-functional teams, including design, engineering, marketing, and regulatory affairs. This approach is highly rewarding as I would get to work with a diverse group of people, learning from their unique perspectives while offering my insights.

Additionally, being involved in product management would allow me to see projects for start to finish, which on top of being highly fulfilling, it is also something I have some experience in from where I currently work. I also enjoy a challenge so having to continually adapt from feedback, the market, or technical advancements to be sure that the final product meets the user needs and regulatory standards will keep me highly invested in each project. As this role would not leverage my engineering skills as much, it would give me the ability to use my background to think about problems from the perspectives of the engineers who work under me.