Archived: Estimation Questions

Estimation questions used to be a fixture of PM interviews:

• How big is the market for electric toothbrushes in the US?
• How many golf balls fit in a school bus?

In recent years, however, big tech companies have largely dropped these from their loops. Companies started questioning whether back-of-envelope estimation in a whiteboard setting actually predicted anything about on-the-job performance. Google, Meta, and others quietly phased them out in favor of questions that more closely mirror real PM work. As a result, we've removed estimation from the core curriculum.

Should you still prepare for them? No.

That said, the course is still worth a skim for one reason: back-of-envelope math comes up organically in other rounds. When you're walking through a metrics trade-off or sizing an opportunity, being able to do a quick calculation on the fly without stumbling is a small, but real signal. The estimation course gives you a clean framework for practicing that.

Check out our estimation course.

Still getting asked estimation questions in your interviews? Let us know using the feedback button. We track what's showing up in real loops, and if this question type is making a comeback somewhere, we want to know.