Video Transcript

Jacob, Host at Logistics Degree:
Question: How long would the Masters degree in supply chain. Take to get? What types of things are you studying in that world and what types of careers does having the master’s level degree open up to you?

Nathan, Logistician:
Answer: A master’s degree takes one to two years and even four years if you want to go super slow. There’s all sorts of things that a master’s degree could do for you, and it’s really about specializing into one thing that you love and one thing that you’re passionate about. There’s a lot of MBA programs. If you’re interested in going into procurement, MBA programs can give you a specialty in supply chain, so you wouldn’t be a masters in supply chain to be a masters in business, but with some supply chain focus. And those are typically good if you’re interested in a more procurement business strategic type role rather than like an operational scientific engineering type role.

Alexander, Supply Chain & Procurement:
Answer: There’s different routes you can take. I don’t think my school had specifically masters in supply chain management. It was a little bit more specific, like Masters in business analytics for supply chain management. I got my masters in business analytics because I wanted to be a little bit more experienced and knowledgeable in data analytics, but also in being able to find patterns and inefficiencies in data. We did a lot of different courses in Python and how to automate a manufacturing scheduling process and also how to analyze all of your demand data, all of your supply data and essentially forecast for the next five years what your demand would be like. So it really got us ready for being innovative in our next position in supply chain because we are the new generation. So we’re coming in supply chain with a lot of different views.

Corben, Supply Chain Management:
Answer: Couple of options there. You can either stay at your four year Bachelor school and just knock it out right away. And a lot of people like to do that and they can actually get both dead in five years. And then they graduate with an MBA and their bachelors and they just hit the workforce. Then what if you do that? You’ll probably still have to start at the bottom, but you might be able to climb faster and then you might be able to have more time when your peers who didn’t do that end up going back to school. Well, now they have a couple of kids and they’re busy and they don’t want to go back to school, whereas you’re like, no, I have to got the degree. I’m good to go. So that can be a real advantage there. So it does open doors for promotion. I will say also though, in the supply chain, there’s a big emphasis on certifications. So if you’re certified in something called Lean Six Sigma or just lean in general, that can be a huge asset and green belt is a great target to start with. Getting there is quite a bit of work and does cost some money, so at least get your wiped out to your yellow belt. But then if you can get up to the green belt then you’re really something. And if you’re willing to put in the time and the money to get a Black belt, then you’re really be noticed. I will say, though, having a Black belt with no industry experience won’t get you very far. But a couple of years into your career, if you either then obtain your Black belt or if you already have it, you can say, I’m ready for this promotion. I have my Black belt and lean Six Sigma. I have another certification from the Association for Supply Chain Management and I have my masters. Then they’re saying, wow, you’re the full package. Let’s, let’s promote you up through the ranks.

Haley, Logistics Project Manager:
Answer: When I think a master’s degree is related to supply chain and logistics. I think of two types. One is like a specific niche of supply chain. And another one that’s a bit more generic that a lot of people do is an MBA. So touching on the MBA, the Masters of business administration, that’s usually a two year program or a bit longer. If you do it integrated like you’re working part time and going to school part time. And it does take a little bit longer from the time you graduate with a bachelor’s because a lot of MBAs like to have a couple of years in between. I don’t want to go too much into that, but a lot of people do choose that path and it does help you advance and kind of get into more leadership positions. But the benefit of getting a master’s degree specific in a supply chain niche like operations or project management or kind of anything specific to some of the areas we’ve discussed is you’re not only getting high level overview of an area like you do in the bachelor’s, you’re really digging down into something and learning all the aspects of that. So time wise, it’s still going to take two years, but you’re spending those two years really learning all that you can about a specific area. And where that’s advantageous to you is you’re going to start a little bit above a junior level, of course, like we were talking about earlier. But at the same time, you’re a bigger asset because you have a wider and deeper knowledge base in a specific area, which I feel is very advantageous to a lot of companies because they want kind of the expert levels in certain areas.

William, Director of Operations:
Answer: That roughly takes about two years. And with the master’s level classes and kind of what you’re focusing on that really helps you get a leadership position where you’re starting to do more strategic stuff with your overall supply chain, logistics and that kind of stuff.