Hi everyone,
I’ve been lurking in this community for a long time and have learned a lot from many posts here. Thank you all for that. (English is not my first language, so apologies if my writing sounds awkward. I genuinely want to ask for advice from people with more experience.)
I graduated in 2025 and currently work at a robotics startup in China as a product assistant. The problem is that my work is extremely messy. I do project management, product research, supply chain coordination, testing site setup, and basically anything nobody else wants to do. Sometimes I feel lost because I’m busy every day, but I’m not sure whether I’m actually building strong professional skills. My manager is extremely busy, so there are almost no mentorship and feedback.
Recently, my boss mentioned moving me to a marketing role. This sounds attractive because my responsibilities would become much clearer and get out of the messy. But one senior PM friend told me I should seriously consider staying on the product path because the long-term career ceiling for PMs is higher.
The problem is that I’m non-technical (my background is Information Systems, not engineering). In robotics, I often struggle to communicate deeply with hardware/software/MD teams. I cannot independently own a technical module.
If I stay on the PM/product side:
Pros: (1) I can learn how products are built from 0 to 1; (2) I can stay close to engineering and understand robotics technology trends; (3) I’m genuinely interested in technology; (4) It may be my only path toward becoming a real PM
Cons: (1) As a non-technical junior person, I often end up doing miscellaneous support work for PMs; (2) I’m learning “around” technology, but not deeply enough to truly contribute technically; (3) I rarely see examples of non-technical hardware PMs; (4) There’s almost no mentorship, which feels hard as a newcomer
If I move to marketing:
Pros: (1) I think my natural strengths may fit better there: research, communication, understanding users, storytelling, etc. (2) The role would focus more on overseas markets, which could help me build more concrete skills and market expertise;(3) I may be able to independently own a module much faster; (4) The leader there seems more willing to mentor people
Cons: (1) Robotics feels like a heavily technology-driven industry, where marketing may have less influence; (2) Compensation and long-term upside may be lower than PM/engineering; (3) In my company, engineering has the strongest voice internally
To be honest, I’m more interested in PM work emotionally. But I also care a lot about ROI in my career. I want to build strong and transferable skills as quickly as possible.
For people working in robotics, consumer electronics, or hard-tech startups, would you stay on the PM path in my situation? Or would you move into marketing first and build stronger fundamentals there?
I’d really appreciate any honest advice. Thank you.