Quote:
Originally Posted by jobhunter888
Hi All,
First of all, i'm new here. So pardon me for this long and possibly whiny post. But I need some career advice from you experienced professionals.
Just a bit of background about myself. I am 26, with a Dip in Accountancy from a local poly. Had a placing in NTU Accountancy but I rejected it because I had an opportunity to work in accounting while waiting for studies and found that I didnt enjoy the industry and nature of work.
Have had tough times ever since. Unemployed for a total of 1 year during the 2009 economic crisis but was lucky to get a job in a market research firm, handling operations. Been here for more than 2 years now. Pay wise, its good for my level of experience, as I'm earning close to 33k p.a, but job is demanding; i sometimes clock close to 15 hours of work in a day. Nevertheless, I'm thankful I have a supporting boss who provided me with a platform to excel in my position.
Now comes the part where I'll need sound advice from Supply Chain Management professionals in this thread. I'm intending to make a switch to the SCM industry and am currently taking Unisim's logistics & scm degree. So how should I plan my next step? Do I go for an entry level job or am I able to leverage on my transferrable skills for an exec position? I deal with operations & project planning, management & execution in my current job. SCM professionals here, can you advise if those are the skillsets required for the industry? Also, i come from a business background so I have fairly good writing and presentation skills. I don't believe that my lack of technical knowledge will be a hindrance because I'm a fairly quick learner and have no issues understanding, learning and dealing with technicalities. In terms of salary expectations, would 2.5k be appropriate to ask for, given that I do not have any prior experience?
I would appreciate any advice given here, as I do not wish to take a misstep that would compromise my own future again. It's been hard enough coping with the period of unemployment and I honestly feel that even though I graduated in the top 5% of my cohort, I have a useless diploma that cannot get me anywhere at all. It is so very true that a certificate is only a stepping stone and that career success depends a lot on factors outside of educational achievements.
I humbly ask for advice from the experienced professionals here in this thread.
Thank you all! |
Hey,
I am also in Supply chain,
Me
Dip in Engg
Deg in business
8 yrs in procurement
I don't think you need to be very technical to be in supply chain, in my jobs as procurement and planning, I need to be number sensitive, it helps, always to be good in presentation, you will stand out as most peers tend to be in engg, and not too good in this area.
I hav only worked in MNCs only, and target my jobs around them, just different industries along the way.
Not true to find many FT in this industry. In my years and exp with various MNCs, I have been in at least 5, all top MNC in their industry. the ratio of FT in mid to high mgmt supply chain post, is like.
1: 20
For every 20 singaporeans, I see just 1 or 2 FT, typically malaysians, a few indians / china. But again, very very few.
I like to also add, you should move to strategic roles as these are knowlege based and close to the $$, meaning to say, you decide strategy that makes $$ (cost savings) (like opp to sales)
As singapore moves away from manufacturing, more companies base strategic, IPO (int; purchasing office) in singapore, tax reasons, and good location.
I dont think you need a deg in logistics/supply, it helps, but ultimately your resume and portfolio counts, also performance in the interview.