Hello From Milwaukee
Hello! I am new to the SQF scene. With my background being in culinary, I have found this to be a smooth transition. My question to some fellow practitioners is, would a degree in Supply Chain and Operations Management be beneficial to further my career in SQF? I am currently enrolled full time for supply chain and also working full time as a SQF Practitioner. Any advice is more than welcome. Thanks.
Supply chain management is something where the theory will only take you so far.
I used to feed 11 finished goods plants raw meat sourced from across Canada and into the southern states and all were just in time orders. Learning how the supply chain works in real time is a process of of s**t I missed that order by an hour now it's going to be late, which means 200 people are standing around doing nothing and it's all my fault......you can only do that in the real world!!!
(yes that happened to me, but I only did it once (forgot about the time zone difference) and another load got held at the border and ended up spoiling in the truck (gross gross gross)
Operations Management Degree, maybe as a really short compressed online course, but otherwise, really isn't worth your time. You can learn much more by paying attention, asking questions and getting involved
I will add this; talk to the maintenance department----they always know way more than they let on and are usually full of good ideas regarding improvements
Supply chain management is something where the theory will only take you so far.
I used to feed 11 finished goods plants raw meat sourced from across Canada and into the southern states and all were just in time orders. Learning how the supply chain works in real time is a process of of s**t I missed that order by an hour now it's going to be late, which means 200 people are standing around doing nothing and it's all my fault......you can only do that in the real world!!!
(yes that happened to me, but I only did it once (forgot about the time zone difference) and another load got held at the border and ended up spoiling in the truck (gross gross gross)
Operations Management Degree, maybe as a really short compressed online course, but otherwise, really isn't worth your time. You can learn much more by paying attention, asking questions and getting involved
I will add this; talk to the maintenance department----they always know way more than they let on and are usually full of good ideas regarding improvements
I appreciate the feedback. The program I am in is Supply Chain and Operations Management. I figured out that you can educate yourself based on experience and be more accurate with an answer opposed to being "trained by a book". Personally, I knew once I got my associates that I was going to learn more on the job than any chef in school could teach me. The problem with this world is that you need that piece of paper if you aren't in a trade. Even then, tradesmen have to keep up with their licensing. But experience is coming less and less relevant to jobs, yet employers want someone with a degree and years of experience (expecting new graduates) to back it.
I really think it's about taking an entry level job and working your way up, every job posting is the "dream candidate"
You're on the right path, and you will learn much more at your current post than the text book can teach you
Once you've got experience under your belt, you'll find that even though companies are requesting a degree, you will become much more attractive to employers!