Supply Chain/Logistics

College Majors Engineering Majors
1

<p>I want to work in Supply Chain Management/Logistics when I graduate, but none of the schools in my area have this major. No Industrial Engineering or Operations Management, either. What should I major in?</p>

2

<p>What about System’s Engineering? Transportation Engineering would be a wild card, you don’t see a ton doing supply chain/management, but it does involve that stuff.</p>

3

<p>I currently work in Supply Chain/Logistics (first in operations and now as an in-house attorney). While a degree in the field would absolutely make you attractive, there actually are relatively few people that have that credential. Most of us learned on the job and added credentials through grad school or certificate programs. Personally I couldn’t image spending 4 years studying this stuff. My recommendation would be to get a well rounded education first. You’ll be better served in the long run. Look for a summer job/internship to gain insight into the field.</p>

4

<p>Bennnie, I’m graduating in May with a B.S. Math. I’m still trying figure out what field I want to work in, but Supply Chain/Logistics is something I’m considering. I have no experience in it, but what would my chances be if I apply for a Supply Chain/Logistics position somewhere?</p>

5

<p>I’m in a similar position. I’m majoring in mechanical engineering but am curious about a logistics career. Would it be possible to get a logistics internship while pursuing an ME degree?</p>

6

<p>My company hires engineers. I believe they are industrial engineers or maybe systems engineers but not always. They work on the processes used by operations. I know of at least one mechanical engineer who somehow ended up in ops (not using his degree) and then moved over to engineering. Definitely try for an internship if you have an interest.</p>

7

<p>check the careers pages as ups.com or fedex.com - you’ll see various engineering jobs at both</p>

8

<p>I guess Bennnnnnnnie missed my direct address/post.</p>

9

<p>Shackleford - I’m not sure what you mean.</p>

10

<p><a href=“http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/13625957-post4.html[/url]”>http://talk.collegeconfidential.com/13625957-post4.html&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

11

<p>Shackleford - my suggeston to look at UPS and FedEx career pages was a response to your post. Both have internships as well as lots of full time positions posted. </p>

<p>Having a math degree is great and I would think that you would be very appealing to large logistics companies like FedEx and UPS. </p>

<p>For example - there is a current position open that has the following qualification requirements </p>

<p>Quality Statistical Analysis Advisor </p>

<p>Qualifications: </p>

<p>Bachelor’s Degree/Equivalent in Business, Economics, or related Quantitative discipline. Master’s Degree in Quantitative discipline preferred. Six (6) years experience in analysis using statistical modeling and application of statistical approaches, e.g. statistical process control. Experience using computer languagues for data acquisition, e.g. SAS or SQL. Exceptional proven verbal and written communication skills. Excellent interpersonal and teamwork skills essential for effective interactions and coordination with internal clients. Strong project management and change management skills. </p>

<p>Granted, they want a masters degree but I am using it jsut as an example of the wide variety of majors that would fit into large logistics companies.</p>

12

<p>Working in a non-logistics role in a company known for logistics does not mean you work in “logistics”. It’s like claiming that you work in medicine because you’re a bookkeeper for a doctor’s office. </p>

<p>There are many people hired into the base logistics positions (drivers, dispatchers, forecasters, etc) without a degree in industrial engineering or supply chain management (the most common degree I’ve seen for forecasting is a B.A. in Art History). But, by far, these are the low paying operations positions with a low ceiling.</p>

<p>If you want to get into the strategic supply chain work, you need a degree in the field.</p>

13

<p>Suppose I were to create my own ISyE program by studying Statistics/Mathematics and taking electives like Operations Research? And/or adding a Computer Science Minor</p>

14

<p>You’re in Florida. UF, Miami, FSU/FAMU, and UCF have industrial engineering. USF and UNF have Operations Management (and that’s all of the schools I looked at).</p>

<p>Where exactly do you live in Florida that you don’t have access to IE, SCM, or OM programs?</p>

15

<p>I live in South Florida. The University of Miami is a private school and costs more than 40,000 per year in tuition/fees.</p>

16

<p>Apply to Miami. It won’t cost $40,000 per year, they’ll discount it substantially and it may even be less than a public school (and if not, it doesn’t hurt).</p>

<p>Other than Miami, FIU’s Decision Sciences program in the business school is an Operations Management program. In fact, the executive director of the Production and Operations Management Society is there: [Faculty</a> Experts Guide](<a href=“FIU Business Home 404 page. | FIU Business”>FIU Business Home 404 page. | FIU Business)</p>

<p>That said, you should really, really consider moving. Is it worth saving a few thousand dollars now (that can be financed at an incredibly low interest rate via student loans) to take a $30,000 per year or more cut by going to a lower tier school.</p>

17

<p>If I do move, it would be to go to the University of Florida. But I will keep that in mind and apply to all of the other programs upon completing my AA. Do you really think that going to FIU would limit my starting salary by that much? If I am applying for the same job as a UF/UCF graduate?</p>

18

<p>You won’t apply for the same job. How do most people find a job after graduation? If you go to a low-ranked school, you’ll search Monster.com and company websites for a position, then you’ll apply along with 10,000 other recent graduates from similar ranked schools. If you go to a higher ranked school, the employers come to your school, interview the students from certain majors, then hire directly (these are called “target schools”).</p>

<p>The positions that companies hire through target schools are the $60,000+ starting salary positions with good advancement opportunities. The positions that companies hire through internet postings are low-level positions with much lower salary and often much less opportunity for advancement. So there’s a major difference between graduating from a target schools vs. a non-target. UF is a target for a good number of companies. FIU is not. </p>

<p>A UF IE degree will lead to a substantially different first job than an FIU degree. And a first position has a lasting impression on your career. If you make $35,000 per year as a dispatchers, you’re not going to jump to a six figure salary as a procurement manager overnight (it’ll probably take you at least 10 years to get there). On the other hand, if you’re a $60,000 per year supply chain analyst, that jump isn’t so extreme after a few years. Also, if you’re able to land a first position well respected Fortune 500 company after graduation (something that could happen from UF but not necessarily FIU), you’ll have more opportunities for the second position than if you worked at a small local company. </p>

<p>Further, a UF degree is more mobile than an FIU degree outside of Florida, and is viewed more favorably by grad schools.</p>

19

<p>Banjo,</p>

<p>What about taking the courses that would satisfy a logistics/supply chain minor? Since I’m graduating in May, it’s not possible for me to get another minor, but I could still take the five or so classes. Do you think that would help?</p>

<p>Here are the courses.</p>

<p><a href=“http://www.uh.edu/academics/catalog/colleges/tec/minors/m-supply-chain-log-tech/index.php[/url]”>http://www.uh.edu/academics/catalog/colleges/tec/minors/m-supply-chain-log-tech/index.php&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;

20

<p>Or, apparently, I could take up to four graduate courses as a “Pre-Grad.” </p>

<p>[Pre-Graduate</a> Information](<a href=“http://tech.uh.edu/information/pre-graduate/]Pre-Graduate”>http://tech.uh.edu/information/pre-graduate/)</p>

<p>Should I even consider taking the graduate courses with the undergrad courses? Or, would it not really be an issue?</p>

<p><a href=“http://tech.uh.edu/downloads/degree_plans/master-science-supply-chain-fall-2010.pdf[/url]”>http://tech.uh.edu/downloads/degree_plans/master-science-supply-chain-fall-2010.pdf&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;