Does Product Management seem like the right career path based on my experience?

Hello everyone,

I have around 2.8 years of experience working at an online crowdfunding platform in India. This is my first job, and most of what I know has come from learning through practical work.

I started by handling user queries, identifying recurring issues and understanding user pain points. Over time, my work expanded into explaining problems and requirements to engineering, coordinating with engineering and QA, doing UAT and release validation, improving existing features, and contributing to new features related to payments, growth, operational efficiency and user trust.

Because my experience is spread across different areas, I’m not sure where I fit best. Some parts of my work feel like Product Management, while others seem closer to Product Operations or Product Owner responsibilities. I also don’t feel that I have one clear specialisation yet.

I’m taking a planned career break until September and expect to start working again in October. I want to use this time properly to understand my direction and strengthen the right skills instead of randomly doing courses.

I would appreciate some honest advice:

1. Which career path does my current experience align with most: Product Management, Product Operations or Product Owner?
2. What strengths from my experience should I build on?
3. What important gaps should I work on before applying for PM roles?
4. How can I practically test whether I genuinely enjoy and suit Product Management work?
5. Would hands-on projects and mentorship be more useful than taking a formal PM course?

I’m open to reconsidering my direction if another path suits my experience better. Thanks for reading and for any guidance.