Help Wanted: Supply Chain Professionals

"We are seeing the highest demand for college graduates for entry-level logistics and supply chain positions in over ten years. But there are more job openings currently available than qualified candidates to fill them." This statement was recently issued by the the president of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals (CSCMP). I know I've covered this topic in the past in my blog, but this statistic is quite a wake up call. When I graduated in 1996, I heard the same thing about job opportunities in web site design and in Java programming, so I made sure I took these classes and landed a job right out of college. But the demand was well known. My question is, do students actually know about opportunities in the supply chain profession? Probably not, since only a handful of universities, such as Michigan State, Penn State, MIT and Arizona State offer classes and degrees, including online college courses. But the hype just isn't out there.

According to a webpage for the WP Carey School of Business at Arizona State, students graduating with a Bachelors degree in supply chain management can expect a starting salary between $35,000 - $55,000. Not bad, when you compare that to a survey by APICS, a manufacturing-oriented association, that surveyed 3,485 supply-chain members at U.S. companies who said on average they are getting $101,500 in salaries and bonuses. Not a bad living.

Want more proof? I just did a search on the job site Monster.com and more than 1000 postings came up, including these:

- Vice President, Supply Chain - San Francisco - $175,000 - $250,000
- Director, Supply Chain Operations - San Antonio - $80,000 - $90,000
- Director, Supply Chain, - New York City - $120,000 - $130,000
- Supply Chain Coordinator - Blue Bell, PA - $40,000 - $50,000

As an industry we need to get the word out that this is a career path that can be very lucrative.