> I have never before heard of someone expressing a desire to hire a product manager/marketer/sales/brand strategist/designer because they're a good engineer.
Hmm, I'd heard that hiring product managers that were excellent engineers is very common in the Valley. Not as an exception, but as a "preferred" qualification.
Hopefully they have some ability to manage a product, too. :) That's a skill that engineering helps inform, but a good engineer does not imply anything like time management, market knowledge, people skills, translating between designers and engineers, etc etc.
Hmm, I'd heard that hiring product managers that were excellent engineers is very common in the Valley. Not as an exception, but as a "preferred" qualification.