Operations and Supply Chain Management Career Opportunities

All firms have processes, suppliers and customers, so career opportunities for operations and supply chain professionals exist in every sector of the economy. Services firms in areas such as healthcare, information technology and event and hospitality management (e.g., sports, arts, hotels and restaurants), need planning, scheduling and coordination just as much as producers of cars or home appliances. There are also opportunities with local/state/national government, nonprofit organizations, consultants and specialist firms that handle operations and supply chain work outsourced from other firms.

See, for example, APICS Careers or SCMTalent for further information about career opportunities.

What Type of Job Skills Will You Gain From an Operations and Supply Chain Management Degree?

An undergraduate operations and supply chain management degree will provide you with the skills you need to achieve your career goals in many industries. An example of the skills this degree provides includes:

• Planning and control of operations
• Sustainable supply chain management and logistics
• Managing queues for service operations
• Revenue management
• Decision making and simulation
• Six Sigma quality implementation
• Data mining for business

What Can You Do with a Degree in Operations and Supply Chain Management?

Students studying Operations and Supply Chain Management at Drexel’s LeBow College of Business have a wide range of career opportunities in diverse industries. The vast majority do not work in manufacturing. Typical positions include supply chain specialist, supply chain analyst, operations manager, procurement specialist, healthcare operations manager and more. Students landed in companies in pharmaceutical, retail, logistics, consumer goods, among many other industries.

Common Job Titles for Operations and Supply Chain Management Graduates

• Logistics Manager
• Operations Team Leader/Operations Manager/Operations Analyst
• Procurement Specialist/Buyer/Purchasing Manager
• Project Manager
• Supply Chain Specialist/Manager/Analyst

What is the Average Salary for an Operations and Supply Chain Management Major?

Drexel LeBow 2021-2022 operations and supply chain management graduates earned an average starting salary of $62,350.

Co-op Landings

• Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
• PJM

Job Landings

Graduates of the Operations and Supply Chain Management program found jobs at the following companies:

• Amazon
• Aramark
• Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia
• Comcast
• Estee Lauder
• Goldman Sachs
• Lockheed Martin
• L’Oreal
• PJM
• SAP
• SPS Technologies
• UPS

Professional Organizations

Management orientation with non-academic continuing education opportunities:

• ASCM (Association for Supply Chain Management)
• CSCMP (Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals)
• ISM (Institute for Supply Management)

Academic and industry research orientation:

• INFORMS (Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences)
• POMS (Production and Operations Management Society)

Continuing Education Opportunities

The management-oriented organizations listed above offer certifications for specialization on topics within operations and supply chain management. These certifications are well-regarded complements to an academic degree and can facilitate career advancement. Operations and supply chain management professional frequently also pursue Six Sigma training: see, for example, IASSC or ASQ.

Students who want to develop advanced skills may consider graduate studies. Doctoral studies can lead to a career working on the most challenging technical problems, such as routing UPS trucks or coordinating production levels across a global corporation.