Jobs for the Major
How this major affects a job search
As a supply chain management major in this day and age, you're at a distinct advantage in the business world. SCM is a rapidly growing field, especially as businesses look to become more efficient in product development and marketing. The amount of job openings is much greater than the amount of qualified candidates, so you, being the intrepid, canny SCM major you are, need not worry about finding a job.
In fact, because the people needed to fill these positions are in such high demand, you'll get some serious small-scale practice in management: relegating job offers into "yes," "no," and "maybe" piles. Or you could stack them all together and make it rain on your desk. That'd be pretty satisfying.
Even if you don't decide to be a straight-up supply chain manager, with your expertise in the logistical side of business, you can easily become a business consultant and turn your office into a mini, probably less suspenseful version of Shark Tank. But you could even spring for some dramatic music and intense lighting if you really wanted to.
Common Career Fields
Buyer. Who wants to go shopping? Okay, in the interest of full disclosure, this job isn't exactly a retail therapy trip to the mall, but it could satisfy your inner mallrat. As a buyer, you'll be in charge of finding materials and products best-suited to what your company offers. You'll find the best products for the best price, which will require a lot of shopping around. And an Orange Julius.
Inventory Specialist.Take a look at your room. Is it organized? Like, really organized? To the point where you'd know if someone came in and placed a book on a different shelf? No, you're not crazy. In fact, you're highly employable and the job of inventory specialist might very well be for you. Combine your organizational skills with your deep knowledge of how the supply chain works and you, dear Shmooper, are the ideal candidate. You'll track "shrink" and "swell" (fancypants terms for how much inventory is lost or surplus), and you'll have the satisfaction of knowing exactly where everything is.
Logistician. Have you ever watched one drop of rain as it falls from the sky all the way down to the ground? Think of this position as an extension of raindrop-watching; it's like a supply chain manager but with a magnifying glass. As a logistician for a company, you're responsible for the life cycle of a single product (and all of its components). We're talking unbreakable focus.
Supply Chain Analyst. Okay, at this point, you're correct in assuming that most of these careers are variations on a theme. You're not wrong. Like a logistician or a supply chain manager, the supply chain analyst is concerned about the life cycles of products and the materials used to create them. However, as an analyst, you're more focused on the carriers and transportation services used to obtain these materials. Think of yourself as the mastermind of a diamond heist, except in this case, it's legal and 100% less life-threatening.
Supply Chain Manager. The namesake of the major. Supply chain managers oversee the procuring, transportation, and implementation of a company's products or services. Essentially when it comes to the business side of manufacturing a product or providing a service, you're the head honcho. You oversee most of the other jobs included in this list, which is why they pay you the big bucks. You're engaged from step one to step one hundred.
Transportation Manager. Jason Statham's got nothin' on you. Simply put, a transportation manager moves materials. The job may not be as exciting (or dangerous) as a high-octane action flick, but it's super important to the supply chain, as there is no chain without connection. The transportation manager provides such connection.
Warehouse Operations Manager. There's a reason they call it a chain, right? All the links come together to form one long structure. As a warehouse manager, you are one of the most indispensable links: in order to have a supply chain, one must house supplies. Warehouse managers keep track not only of the inventory in their structure, but they also ensure that their inventory specialists, transportation managers, and others along the chain are all linked together in order to keep everything efficient.
Current unemployment of the major
4.7% (operations, logistics, and e-commerce)Percentage of majors who get a higher degree after college
24%Stats obtained from this source.