Career Advice (Part 1) for Business & Supply Chain Majors 2024,$100K+/yr by age 30: simecurkovic.com

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Ready to make over $70K/yr. upon graduation & over $100K by age 30 (& change the world)? Let’s get started.
WMU Integrated Supply Management (ISM)...Nation's best undergraduate SCM program (Gartner 2014); 2nd in SCM technology (SoftwareAdvice 2015); 2nd in top global SCM talent (SCM World 2017)
Dr. Sime Curkovic, professor of supply chain management and Lee Honors College faculty fellow at Western Michigan University’s Haworth College of Business talks about the opportunities for students who major in supply chain management. This video, directed to potential business students, covers how majoring in a top program like WMU’s integrated supply management program is one of a series of good decisions that you can make in college to set yourself up for multiple job offers, a top salary, and the ability to advance rapidly. The presentation also begins to explore supply chain’s promise of producing products and services better, faster and cheaper and how that leads to better profit margins for companies.
Learn more about Western Michigan University’s top supply chain program at: www.wmich.edu/supplychain
E-Mail: [e-mail]
Supply Chain Management & Pat Daugherty and Lee Honors College Faculty Fellow
Western Michigan University, Haworth College of Business Kalamazoo, MI 49008-5429 "Better, faster, cheaper"
Program Major Credit Hours (twice most other programs):
Integrated Supply Management, Western Michigan University 43
Supply Chain Management, Arizona State University 21
Supply Chain Management, Michigan State University 18
Supply Chain Management, Penn State University 24
Supply Chain Management, University of Texas, Austin 21
The unique curriculum of the ISM program is the result of integrating supply chain, information technology, continuous improvement and engineering curriculum from five departments across two colleges.
Curriculum includes 13 supply-chain-specific courses (43 credits)-more than other well-known programs.
Required courses include one dedicated to learning ERP systems and processes by using SAP.
All students take Try-Z, an intensive, three-day capstone course in which student teams use Deming’s Plan-Do-Act management cycle.
ISM majors are required to obtain professional work experience, such as internships, prior to graduation.
Students have an opportunity to obtain a Lean Six Sigma Green Belt by completing an industry project using DMAIC.
As of 2019, close to half of ISM majors are Business Analytics Minors (e.g., big data/analytics, database management, data mining, project management, SQL, Python, PMO, Tableau, Power BI).
Supply chain management major coursework:
MGMT 2800-Intro to Supply Management
MGMT 3200-Managing ERP Systems (SAP)
MGMT 3810-Experiential Live Six-Sigma Lean Problem-Solving (DMAIC & A3)
EDMM 3280-Quality Assurance and Control
EDMM 1420-Engineering Graphics
EDMM 1500/1501-Intro to Manufacturing/Processes and Materials in Manufacturing
MKTG 3720-Sourcing and Purchasing
MKTG 4630-Supply Chain Logistics
MGMT 4640-Production Management and Control
LAW 4840-International Business Law
or LAW 4860-Marketing and Sales Law (Advanced Contract Negotiation)
GEOG 3010-Fundamentals of Geographic Info Systems
or EDMM 4870-Manufacturing Productivity Techniques
or EM 5120-Management of Service Operations
EDMM 4880 or MKTG 4880-Applied Process Reengineering (Try-Z)
Minor/Major: Business Analytics (e.g., big data/analytics, database management, data mining, project management, SQL, Python, PMO, Tableau, Power BI)
Where do students end up?
JOB TITLES
Supply Chain Specialist
Business Services or IS Consultant
Global Purchasing and Supply Chain
Buyer
Procurement Coordinator
Strategic Sourcing
Commodity Manager
Procurement Coordinator
Procurement Analyst
ORGANIZATIONS
Rolls Royce, General Dynamics, Monsanto, BorgWarner, Whirlpool, John Deere, General Motors, GE Aviation, Hormel Foods, Hydro Aluminum, American Airlines, Kellogg’s, Pepsi, Eaton, IBM, JB Hunt, MANN+HUMMEL, Apple, Gentex, Marathon Petroleum, US Army, Coca-Cola, 3M, J.B. Hunt, Parker Hannifin
As of 2019, average starting salary is around $62K. Since 2012, the auto and aerospace industries have hired very aggressively. One OEM starts students at $75K.
simecurkovic.com
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[@simecurkovic]

Advice to college grads: when you start working...Spend some serious time watching your company's product be built from beginning to end (from the time materials come in until the finished product leaves the facility). Further, study in detail how a customer order is processed (from the time the order is made until your customer has the product/service in their hands). If you put several hours into this, and perhaps even map out the details, you will become a SCM genius and help your employer do all things SCM related better, faster, and cheaper. If you do this, chances are, you will identify a lot of low hanging fruit to generate deliverables and results (for your employer and your resume).

[@ana09er]

Please keep with these SCM videos! I will be majoring soon in supply chain and I’m trying to soak up all the knowledge!!

[@simecurkovic]

I had a SCM professional ask: “I don’t even know basic python yet . I want to get to the more advance items but I am not ready yet . I’ve done research into different courses but there are so many basic courses, I’m not sure which one is actually useful for someone looking to do supply chain analysis.” Some options: You could try one of those intro python classes at coursera or udemy. Just a word of warning, the lack of interactivity and support at those MOOCs usually causes a super low retention rate (9% - 16%). The person needs quite a bit of dedication to successfully finish it. After that, look for a second course in analytics, data science or machine learning using python. This assumes that he/she is interested in using python for those. Otherwise, invest time in pre-built specialized software packages (e.g., Rapidminer, XLminer, Knime, SAS, SPSS, etc.). I kind of like these bootcamp (such as at MSU) but it seems to be an aggressive design. Each of the topics listed under their “Market-Driven Skills” is usually a semester-long course. I am not sure if they are targeting people with some experience in these areas. But, yes, it seems to be an interesting program. The same thing applies to analytics certificates offered through MOOCs, such as Coursera, EdX and others. One caveat that SCM grads should know is that many of these online programs lack the required hand-holding experience. This is why the retention rates of MOOCs are usually in single digits. We find that this hand-holding experience is essential to motivate students to complete the training. bootcamp.msu.edu/data/landing/?msg_cv_scta=4&msg_cv_stbn=1&msg_cv_fcta=1&fqvar1=3&Data&DGPAdvanceUpskiller01_DGPAudTest1_rfullg&SponsoredContent&MSU47_SCI&L2067A_SponsoredContent-Image_Data_Detroit_DGPAdvanceUpskiller01_rfullg_DGPAudTest1_BrandedModel1_CPC&li_fat_id=e627c4e1-d133-41a6-86ec-57fd4b25a952 MOOC stands for Massive Open Online Course. It is an online course that is designed to be open and accessible to a large number of participants. MOOCs offer a flexible learning environment, allowing participants to learn at their own pace and from anywhere in the world. MOOCs are typically delivered through an online platform that provides access to course materials, videos, quizzes, and discussion forums. MOOCs are usually free and open to anyone who wants to enroll. Some MOOCs may also offer a paid option to receive a verified certificate of completion or academic credit. MOOCs are offered by a variety of institutions, including universities, educational organizations, and private companies. MOOCs have gained popularity in recent years because they offer a convenient and cost-effective way to learn new skills and advance your career. They cover a wide range of topics, from computer science and engineering to business and the humanities. www.linkedin.com/posts/sime-curkovic-61617a115_will-i-have-to-learn-and-do-a-lot-of-coding-activity-7029050409201668096-Srar?

[@simecurkovic]

My students in Silicon Valley say making $200K+/yr feels like making $90K/yr in Metro Detroit. Some pay close to $6K/month for rent (so they need roommates). Owning a home will be tough. Kind of related...Ranked: Worst Companies for Employee Retention: lnkd.in/gVqJCXtV. Mapped: What You Need to Earn to Own a Home in 50 American Cities: lnkd.in/eMkG82KF. Real Estate 2024: 10 Cities Where You’ll Probably Lose a Bidding War for a Home: lnkd.in/efnYNkGM. San Jose, California Redfin competitive score (out of 100): 89 Homes sold above list price: 59% Median days on the market: 18 Median sale price: $1,280,000 The 10 fastest-growing jobs in the U.S. right now-many pay over $100,000 a year: lnkd.in/g7TNMeja. From Gartner 2022 (2 yrs ago data): Starting salaries for students in supply chain roles also increased. In terms of compensation, U.S. undergraduates finding their first jobs in supply chain roles are earning about $1,600 more per year than in 2020. While the average starting salary is $61,769, graduates from the top 10 programs can expect around $65,000. The highest salary from the ranked schools was $80,000. Well, that avg now is > $70K. Also, we just had a student get offered $87K, no job rotation (straight into a full time role as she is already loaded with work experience), $8,700 signing bonus, and immediately bonus eligible at 9%. I talked to one student in the Fall that was given a job offer in Sept. (one month to decide) & he accepted. Yes, he had a summer internship with them. He is a SCM major w/ a Data Analytics minor. $72K base, $14K in relocation, 20% of base bonus eligibility, 4 weeks paid vacation, & a 3 year job rotation (3 jobs in 3 years, and he gets to choose the locations - further, they encouraged him to pick areas outside of his major such as Finance, Engineering, etc., so that he could learn new things & become more cross-functional). Under most circumstances I would encourage my students to negotiate something, but what is there to negotiate lnkd.in/gkmB6BQa. The jobs paying six figure salaries to help lead supply chain disruptions: lnkd.in/gU9VhJEG. lnkd.in/g8n-dCz2 hashtag#supplychainmanagement hashtag#logistics hashtag#salary hashtag#careers

[@simecurkovic]

12 Tips/advice from a college professor (me): 1. Read. People that read a lot make more $ (2.3 times more?!) lnkd.in/ggBDzJrp 2. Learn the job saving technologies (i.e., data analytics). lnkd.in/eu7ANq6 3. Learn to interview well (i.e., STAR). lnkd.in/ePzz3NG and lnkd.in/eZgTxWc How to prep for virtual career fairs: lnkd.in/evKd-VzQ Being job ready… lnkd.in/ed-ZfanD 4. Learn to negotiate ($). lnkd.in/gMJYNJkh and lnkd.in/guTUcvdu 5. Learn to network & use LinkedIn. lnkd.in/gPZPQtqR lnkd.in/dAwyTUy For details on how to build your brand: lnkd.in/dSAA6wF 6. Delay graduation for experience. lnkd.in/ewKu7b_X 7. Learn to problem solve - lnkd.in/eWaJ8q2 8. Double Major? lnkd.in/gAViGTVG 9. Get a grad degree? Earn $3M more than someone w/ only a bachelor’s degree. lnkd.in/g5FY5aty 10. Job rotations? lnkd.in/ervskG5 11. 10 college majors that earn the most money: lnkd.in/gEXGmFfU 12. Free tool for calculating degree ROI: lnkd.in/gEPwNSTJ

[@simecurkovic]

Should we teach Tableau or Power BI or both? In our CIS 3640 class we focus on three major areas: (1) Advanced excel functions, Power Query, Power Pivot , & Data Models, (2) Excel Macros, & (3) Visualization. lnkd.in/eqiqSMRb & lnkd.in/gXYSQKc7. We do our best to go in-depth in all these 3 areas. Based on the feedback received from students, they are interested in learning about all 3 areas & found them helpful during their job search. However, it is not possible to talk about both Tableau & Power BI visualization because of the time limitation. Therefore, we decided to cover Power BI in 1 section & Tableau & Tableau data prep in the other section. As you know, ETL is 1 of the most important skills they need for visualization. Therefore, we always teach Power Pivot a & Query, which are foundations for Power BI in both sections. There are 8 assignments in the class. At least 2 are about Power Query & Power Pivot & 2 about Visualization in Tableau or Power BI. I personally would encourage students to have an open mind on tool usage. The whole reason of teaching both Tableau & Power BI in our curriculum is backed by industry evidence, rather than by 1 or 2 individual companies. Both visualization tools have been in the best quadrant (i.e., leaders-visionaries quadrant) of Gartner’s “magic quadrant” survey for analytics & business intelligence platforms for years. So, it is not true that Tableau is not used at many companies. Kellogg’s (a major local employer), for example, is a Tableau shop. The bottom line is that it really doesn’t matter which tool students learned (as long as there is industry evidence to support the tool selection). The two tools share similarities. Usually one should be able to transition from one tool to another w/ minimal learning. I think one way going forward is probably this: If students already know what tools they are going to be using at the internship or job, they might want to talk to us first before taking CIS 3640. This will help them pick the desired course section. Otherwise, it is hard for us to predict what analytics & visualization tools each student will be using and which company they will end up working. What if you are a student that wishes to learn both Power BI & Tableau, but your instructor only covers 1? Unfortunately covering both in 1 single class will not give either one a fair coverage. In the end, students won’t have good skills in visualization. This is the reason we offer 2 sections, one for each tool. The good news is that Power BI is a free download. Here is what I recommend students do: 1. Download Power BI 2. Go through the video tutorials of Power BI online (e.g., lnkd.in/gEYERYay) 3. Work on class assignments in both Tableau & Power BI. Many things are available in both tools. That makes it possible to replicate certain parts of class assignments in Power BI.

[@simecurkovic]

www.simecurkovic.com/posts-page/ www.simecurkovic.com/membership/ - Supply chain knowledge for everyone. Explore, learn, & connect - Do your job better, faster, & cheaper - Join my network to reach thousands of SCM students, faculty, & professionals - Hot Market: Over 25,000 SCM internships and > 250,000 full-time jobs Join to get access to endless current SCM content and job postings. Bring your SCM needs and questions, and I will provide you with timely and thorough feedback. If you join our growing community today, you will have access to Sime Curkovic’s expertise through blog posts, articles and videos. You’ll also gain access to Dr. Curkovic for one-on-one advice. Dr. Curkovic (please do not call me Dr.) has more than 30 years experience working to shape the future of SCM professionals. Check out this intro lecture (>217K views). Have access to > 50 hours of timely SCM content with > 4,400 KZbin & > 20K LinkedIn followers, & thousands of views daily.

[@simecurkovic]

Also, our new SCM major curriculum is well underway (and now ALL majors can minor in supply chain...all products and services have a supply chain). Notice, that now our students will take 2 "procurement" classes and 2 "logistics" classes. The majority of our SCM students go into "procurement", but "logistics" is the fastest growing career path in our program. For a long time, we required a single procurement class & a single logistics class. They simply were not enough as one class left little time to focus on the strategic issues. So, starting in Fall 2023, our SCM majors will be required to take 2 sourcing classes & 2 transportation classes. The BLS is projecting that logistics jobs will grow by 7%/yr through 2026. lnkd.in/gikMwzgX. Logistics $ Data: lnkd.in/gKXinFJC. Also, Logistics Careers: lnkd.in/gg9MZjcM. WMU Supply Chain Mgmt Program: MKTG 2750 Global Negotiation SCM 2200 Enterprise Resource Planning Systems SCM 2800 Introduction to Supply Chain Mgmt SCM 3000 Production Planning SCM 3030 Procurement Mgmt SCM 3050 Logistics and Transportation Mgmt SCM 3800 Continuous Improvement Theory & Practice SCM 3810 Applied Continuous Improvement Project SCM 5030 Strategic Sourcing; or LAW 4840; or LAW 4860 (3 credits required) SCM 5050 Strategic Transportation Mgmt CIS 2640 Applied Analytics Foundations Or a minor in Business Analytics lnkd.in/eprKKbF lnkd.in/gp6VX_e3 What skills come with the Business Analytics minor?... 1. Adv Excel (power query & pivot) & macros; 2. Data visualization (Tableau,Power BI & python w/ seaborn & matplotlib); 3. Data mining/RapidMiner, machine learning & data science; 4. Python & Jupyter notebook (data analytics & statistical libraries such as pandas, numpy); 5. Relational data models (Excel data model); 6. Graphic & statistical libraries (Seaborn,Matplotlib,Pandas, & Plotly). lnkd.in/gxRayD3j

[@simecurkovic]

Reminder: Yes, it is now time to start applying & interviewing for summer internships. Companies get budgets for internships approved months ahead of time & they often recruit nationally for the best talent. Some want to get this wrapped up by the end of the year, but you have to start looking now. Do not wait until Spring 2023 to find a Summer 2023 internship. Note, around ½ my students line up summer internships in the Fall & the other ½ during the Spring (so, it’s never too late). Just look at how demand > supply… There are already > 20,000 SCM 2023 internships posted: lnkd.in/gRKmr7QE & lnkd.in/gt98WuvK & > 60,000 business related internships. lnkd.in/gmMH5myb PERHAPS delay graduation for work experience & stay specialized...lnkd.in/gdr7f9wb lnkd.in/gARup7zr lnkd.in/g4-csGUy Should current students negotiate an INTERNSHIP offer (i.e., a higher salary)? Yes, since many orgs are offering students 20-30% below market value. The avg supply chain internship is $44,918/yr, or $21.6/hr. People on the lower end, bottom 10%, make $37K/yr ($17.80/hr), while the top 10% makes $54K ($25.96/hr). Over half our students are making over $20/hr. I firmly believe the program avg is around 20-22/hr. You can work in food customer service for $16/hr. Fed Ex is hiring manual part time laborers for 22.50/hr. You can collect unemployment & make around 16 per hour. Why would any company want to pay 20-30% below avg? I have soooo many students asking about STAR job interviews & online robots… lnkd.in/ePzz3NG lnkd.in/eZgTxWc STAR is a structured manner of responding to a behavioral-based interview question by discussing the situation, task, action, & result. Most companies use STAR. More help: lnkd.in/eyCv4x5 lnkd.in/eaxVjpK Help with online interviews & interviewing with robots (it is AI/machine learning technology)...lnkd.in/eKBDsMq Practice before it really matters (this is mainstream now)...lnkd.in/ekaBK5Q Exploding job offers & do you want a full time job to begin in a job rotation? lnkd.in/ervskG5 Students are getting lots of job offers... Reneging: Once you commit, quit! lnkd.in/e85beQ2 In U.S., 28% accepted a job offer & reneged! 70% of grads are willing to renege? Recent observations & career advice (videos/podcasts): lnkd.in/gJK8xBZe lnkd.in/g-CanjDx lnkd.in/gvPiGTt5 Tips/advice from this college professor (aka, educated idiot): 1. Read. People that read a lot make more $ (2.3 times more?!) lnkd.in/ggBDzJrp 2. Learn the job saving technology. lnkd.in/eu7ANq6 lnkd.in/gE3wp6JU 3. Learn to interview well. lnkd.in/ePzz3NG and lnkd.in/eZgTxWc How to prep for virtual career fairs: lnkd.in/evKd-VzQ Being job ready… lnkd.in/ed-ZfanD 4. Learn to negotiate ($). lnkd.in/gMJYNJkh and lnkd.in/guTUcvdu 5. Learn to network & use LinkedIn. lnkd.in/gPZPQtqR lnkd.in/dAwyTUy lnkd.in/gFa3iCsg 6. Delay graduation for experience. lnkd.in/ewKu7b_X 7. Learn to problem solve - lnkd.in/eWaJ8q2 lnkd.in/gSVTKmwC 8. Double Major? lnkd.in/gAViGTVG lnkd.in/gqAE9u8W 9. Get a grad degree? Earn $3M more than someone w/ only a bachelor’s degree. lnkd.in/g5FY5aty lnkd.in/gA9KH-Ff 10. Job rotations? lnkd.in/ervskG5 11. 10 college majors that earn the most money: lnkd.in/gcSqXwyJ & lnkd.in/gEXGmFfU. 12. Free tool for calculating degree ROI: lnkd.in/gEPwNSTJ lnkd.in/gsKyJ9rn 13. Get certified as a subject matter expert: lnkd.in/g3yfkvQr lnkd.in/gVbQV2q7 14. Learn to talk CFO talk: lnkd.in/gtve9xTM #internships #careeradvice #interviewing #supplychain

[@simecurkovic]

We are now touching on the Logistics & Supply Chain Management distinction in my Intro to SCM class. Students are shocked by how broad SCM really is (they were concerned it was too “nichey”). Also, our new SCM major curriculum is well underway (and now ALL majors can minor in supply chain...all products and services have a supply chain). www.forbes.com/sites/katevitasek/2023/08/18/whats-the-difference-between-logistics-and-supply-chain-management-and-why-it-matters/?sh=320a0dd4d639 Notice, that now our students will take 2 "procurement" classes and 2 "logistics" classes. The majority of our SCM students go into "procurement", but "logistics" is the fastest growing career path in our program. For a long time, we required a single procurement class & a single logistics class. They simply were not enough as one class left little time to focus on the strategic issues. So, starting in Fall 2023, our SCM majors will be required to take 2 sourcing classes & 2 transportation classes. The BLS is projecting that logistics jobs will grow by 7%/yr through 2026. lnkd.in/gikMwzgX. Logistics Salary Data: lnkd.in/gKXinFJC. Also, Logistics Careers: lnkd.in/gg9MZjcM. WMU Supply Chain Management Program: lnkd.in/eprKKbF lnkd.in/gp6VX_e3 MKTG 2750 Global Negotiation SCM 2200 Enterprise Resource Planning Systems SCM 2800 Introduction to Supply Chain Management SCM 3000 Production Planning SCM 3030 Procurement Management SCM 3050 Logistics and Transportation Management SCM 3800 Continuous Improvement Theory & Practice SCM 3810 Applied Continuous Improvement Project SCM 5030 Strategic Sourcing; or LAW 4840; or LAW 4860 (3 credits required) SCM 5050 Strategic Transportation Management CIS 2640 Applied Analytics Foundations Or a minor in Business Analytics What skills come with the Business Analytics minor (imagine seeing this on a student resume)?... 1. Advanced Excel (power query & pivot) & macros; 2. Data visualization (Tableau,Power BI & python w/ seaborn & matplotlib); 3. Data mining/RapidMiner, machine learning & data science; 4. Python & Jupyter notebook (data analytics & statistical libraries such as pandas, numpy); 5. Relational data models (Excel data model); 6. Graphic & statistical libraries (Seaborn,Matplotlib,Pandas, & Plotly). lnkd.in/gxRayD3j #logistics #supplychain #procurement #purchasing

[@simecurkovic]

Newer Supply Chain Salary Data. Avg salary $144,017 (2021: $131,771): lnkd.in/gESQFNZa - 2022 salaries are up across the board. On avg, supply chain pros are making $126,215/yr, an increase from $112,779 in 2021, but on par w/ 2020’s avg of $126,475. The median salary in 2022 is now $108K. 20% earn $150K - $249,999/yr, while 16% earn $120K -$149,999. 12% earn between $90K-$99,999, & 10% earn $100K-$119,999. At the higher end of the scale, 9% earn more than $250K/yr. For details, see: lnkd.in/gbumc4Wb www.linkedin.com/posts/sime-curkovic-61617a115_demand-for-supply-chain-talent-has-never-activity-6948229678465765376-VLXb? "The demand for logistics talent has never been greater. The low unemployment rate has created a supply/demand imbalance, spurring employers to raise salaries in a bid to attract and retain top talent. Of the 454 respondents to DC Velocity’s 19th annual Salary Survey, nearly three-quarters (72%) saw a boost in their total compensation in the past year." lnkd.in/gESQFNZa & lnkd.in/gW-U-KHK & lnkd.in/gJquYyT4 SCM $ Information - 2021: lnkd.in/gpMvehY5 2021: lnkd.in/gn5jM9xt 2020: lnkd.in/gcsrX6tr 2018: lnkd.in/gTBMP5dM lnkd.in/eQvfFMc lnkd.in/g7YamZCU Placement success of ISM Program - *Median salary was $60K-65K (10% of grads hired on w/ 1 auto OEM at $78K!). lnkd.in/gV4x6GWE Should college grads negotiate a higher starting salary? lnkd.in/gMJYNJkh. "$ in SCM are going up & avg $10-20K higher than entry-level positions in other fields." lnkd.in/deYpduqZ Should current students negotiate an INTERNSHIP offer? The avg SCM internship is $44,918/yr, or $21.6/hr. People on bottom 10%, make $37K/yr ($17.80/hr), while the top 10% makes $54K ($25.96/hr). lnkd.in/gpBm_m84 JOB SECURITY? U.S. News recently predicted that SCM jobs would expand by 25% w/i 10 years & identified SCM as one of the “20 Best Business Jobs.” SCM is also included in lists that rank top career fields for women (lnkd.in/gKF3-iXu.) "...it’s clear that SCM professionals are poised to become the most powerful executives in the world..." CEOs Will Come from SCM? lnkd.in/eGb9u-3 and lnkd.in/gVC7TNCT 10 college majors that earn the most: lnkd.in/gEXGmFfU MBA graduate can expect to earn $3 million more than someone with only a bachelor’s degree. When is the right time for grad school? Avg age is 33. lnkd.in/gka9Qqmg Laundry list of $ reports: lnkd.in/d4_bYNF lnkd.in/gzM6ZtaC lnkd.in/gakfzs6r lnkd.in/gv4SmiWB lnkd.in/gFvMk35E lnkd.in/ghZpE-rR lnkd.in/gJuGinEi lnkd.in/e6K8NNhg lnkd.in/g-4qtPMz lnkd.in/gHPHHA3p lnkd.in/gd5PJD_6 lnkd.in/gYB7qt7F lnkd.in/gu_SDNEf lnkd.in/gPxfuGUZ lnkd.in/gYq5SMMc $: lnkd.in/g8sN6tqZ lnkd.in/gt_vDR9c lnkd.in/gNbVwX-s lnkd.in/g_m_6jA2 #salary #salaryguide2022 #salarynegotiation #supplychain

[@simecurkovic]

Demonstrating self awareness during an interview is huge. I actually require my students to conduct a personal SWOT and they largely struggle. Also, most students & even managers put little effort into developing & promoting their brand. How about a personal SWOT analysis? For details on how to build your brand (with a workbook): lnkd.in/dSAA6wF How Does Your Personality Type Affect Your Income: lnkd.in/g7z_ZNV3. Do you know what your brand is? Become the Nike swoosh of your life! Here is a website that is similar to MBTI and it is free: lnkd.in/ey4TEUY Also, here is another free one. So many companies do this for their employees that I think it would send the right message and protect you during a job interview if you made sure to do this at some point. lnkd.in/exNDhSv The purpose of these exercises is to be prepared for an interview where they ask questions to this affect. You are basically trying to determine what your current brand and image looks like at this point in your life. It is a self assessment of what you have to offer and what you need to work on. This video might help. I put this together for a group of college students in the Balkans. You can begin at the "4:15" mark to avoid the details about the charitable organization. lnkd.in/eMW-UgU Here's why people still take the Myers-Briggs test - even though it might not mean anything. lnkd.in/ehj3ysR Resume Keywords Ideas/Action Verbs for your resume lnkd.in/ea6gV-K I have way too many students failing their first interviews because they were not ready for STAR. Practice, practice, practice. lnkd.in/eZgTxWc; lnkd.in/ePzz3NG; lnkd.in/eZgTxWc; lnkd.in/eyCv4x5; lnkd.in/eaxVjpK How to Effectively join LinkedIn lnkd.in/gbGJcJCP Interviewing tools: lnkd.in/gipsXEsK. FYI, Harvard’s ideas for a great looking resume (20 pages): lnkd.in/g4waSeeG Protect your brand/reputation. Students are getting lots of job offers...In U.S., 28% accepted a job offer & reneged! 70% of grads are willing to renege? lnkd.in/e85beQ2 lnkd.in/gZiiskjD

[@simecurkovic]

More advice: scmtalent.com/podcast-sime-curkovic In This Episode: We speak with Sime Curkovic, a Professor of Operations and Sourcing Management at Western Michigan University. Sime talks about his start in supply chain along with how he got into becoming a supply chain instructor. He provides an in-depth dive into the hard skills and soft skills students need in order to best appeal to what employers are looking for. In particular, he shines a light the ability to use data analytics and make better and faster decisions using the cloud-based tools available today vs. trying to work with just color-coded Excel spreadsheets. He sees supply chain as a well rounded major with lots of upside. He also places high value on hands-on, experiential learning. Sime sees hybrid work as the future, but is concerned about totally remote positions that may not provide the best value out of talent. He also encourages students to look at the big picture of where work can develop you rather than simply chasing money. He places very high value on the ability to grow your networks. Sime closes by emphasizing how setting aside time for reading can greatly impact your career.

[@simecurkovic]

www.visualcapitalist.com/what-you-need-to-earn-to-own-a-home-in-50-american-cities/ My students in Silicon Valley say making $200K+/yr feels like making $90K/yr in Metro Detroit. Some pay close to $6K/month for rent (so they need roommates). Owning a home will be tough. Kind of related...Ranked: Worst Companies for Employee Retention: lnkd.in/gVqJCXtV. The 10 fastest-growing jobs in the U.S. right now-many pay over $100,000 a year: lnkd.in/g7TNMeja. From Gartner 2022 (2 yrs ago data): Starting salaries for students in supply chain roles also increased. In terms of compensation, U.S. undergraduates finding their first jobs in supply chain roles are earning about $1,600 more per year than in 2020. While the average starting salary is $61,769, graduates from the top 10 programs can expect around $65,000. The highest salary from the ranked schools was $80,000. Well, that avg now is closer to $70K. Also, we just had a student get offered $87K, no job rotation (straight into a full time role as she is already loaded with work experience), $8,700 signing bonus, and immediately bonus eligible at 9%. I talked to one student in the Fall that was given a job offer in Sept. (one month to decide) & he accepted. Yes, he had a summer internship with them. He is a SCM major w/ a Data Analytics minor. $72K base, $14K in relocation, 20% of base bonus eligibility, 4 weeks paid vacation, & a 3 year job rotation (3 jobs in 3 years, and he gets to choose the locations - further, they encouraged him to pick areas outside of his major such as Finance, Engineering, etc., so that he could learn new things & become more cross-functional). Under most circumstances I would encourage my students to negotiate something, but what is there to negotiate lnkd.in/gkmB6BQa. The jobs paying six figure salaries to help lead supply chain disruptions: lnkd.in/gU9VhJEG. lnkd.in/g8n-dCz2 hashtag#supplychainmanagement hashtag#logistics hashtag#salary hashtag#careers

[@simecurkovic]

The 8 Biggest Mistakes People Make With Their LinkedIn Profile And How To Avoid Them: lnkd.in/gxUSZtEV. Students looking for internships/jobs: I actually have employers tell me they will NOT consider a student if they do NOT have a strong professional LinkedIn presence...How to effectively join LinkedIn. lnkd.in/dAwyTUy. LinkedIn is a Top 20 global website (1.6B visits/month): lnkd.in/gFXKfXDw. LinkedIn Learning with job interview tips for Project Managers. Everything in the course is directly applicable to SCM interviews. lnkd.in/ggx6qUbE. Should you get creative with your resume? Experts decide whether you’re more likely to land your dream job: lnkd.in/gKDeb-Vv. New to the job market? These 5 ‘soft’ skills could give young workers an edge, according to LinkedIn: lnkd.in/gV6bUQ64?. A SKILLS first job market (not degree?)? Hmm. That makes the Skills section of your resume and LI profile a little more important. lnkd.in/gPtgqS8c. A nice resume guide from MIT. Pasted below are links from Yale, Harvard, & ours (WMU, 112 pages). Should college grads negotiate a job offer (i.e., a higher starting salary)? Yes, but only if you know how to negotiate. See: lnkd.in/gGnVvHnz. Demonstrating self-awareness during an interview is huge. I tell my students to always answer the “what is your weakness” question in the context of having a strategy to fix it (explain what you have done about it, actual RESULTS). For example: lnkd.in/gQnHZd9Y.

[@simecurkovic]

Students: Thousands of new internships posted, to name a few - lnkd.in/gVsHEZxz & lnkd.in/gRKmr7QE & lnkd.in/gmMH5myb. What do internships pay (never work for free)? The going rate appears to be $18-30/hr. See: lnkd.in/g6CH_pYv & lnkd.in/g4znXYHu. Being job ready in the post covid market & beyond. lnkd.in/eZGZbkP & lnkd.in/g8cAcBh3. Prepping for a job interview? Here's how to answer 'What is my biggest weakness?' Demonstrating self-awareness during an interview is huge. I tell my students to always answer the “what is your weakness” question in the context of having a strategy to fix it (explain what you have done about it, actual RESULTS). For example: lnkd.in/gMtdr92u. hashtag#college hashtag#supplychain hashtag#internships hashtag#salary

[@simecurkovic]

"The number of US job postings for supply chain managers on LinkedIn more than doubled between 2019 & 2022, according to data shared w/ the Financial Times." lnkd.in/gyWH5gxt. The U.S. supply chain accounts for 37% of all domestic jobs, according to the Harvard Business Review. lnkd.in/gbV_aMT7. Supply Chain Manager Salary: Your 2023 Guide kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y3yok5poe7mUqpY Indeed has material on supply chain careers...70 Job Titles in Supply Chain (w/ Avg Salary): lnkd.in/gUAk4SPG. 11 Benefits of SCM Careers: lnkd.in/gXG9EkEF. What Does a Supply Chain Manager Do? lnkd.in/gFxhqH2m. Nice SCM salary report summary: lnkd.in/dTneTGgw. “Supply chain professionals are making an average of nearly $30,000 more per year than the average American, and are generally happy in their careers, according to data included in a new report released this morning by the Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM). ...The report, “The Supply Chain Profession in 2023: Salaries and Careers Across the Globe,” found that the average median supply chain salary is $98,570 (including base and additional compensation), up more than 3% from the previous year’s survey. The average median pay in the U.S. in Q4 of 2022 was equivalent to $56,420 annually, according to data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics.” Also, from ASCM/APICS: lnkd.in/d7WSAWC3 “Those who invested in career certifications found themselves earning higher salaries. The report found that supply chain professionals who hold at least one credential reported a median salary that is 16% higher than those without. People with two or more certifications earn 34% more.” For tons of SCM salary data & a complete copy of the 2023 ASCM/APICS salary report, see: lnkd.in/gp6iMKT9. 2023 Logistics Salary Survey: lnkd.in/g-MCCsfa. Also, reminder: CPIM is now reconfigured under version 8.0 moving from two courses & two exams to one. See: lnkd.in/gxTdm8Mu. #supplychain #salary #career #jobs

[@simecurkovic]

A related great read…Half of College Grads Are Working Jobs That Don’t Use Their Degrees: lnkd.in/efcJQEXJ. Translation: Success = Pick the right major (i.e., demand > supply) + Get work experience (i.e., internships related to major) + Pick the right first job (i.e., they pay a premium for your major because of supply/demand conditions and you are job ready day one because you have professional work experience). Notice: “More than any other factor analyzed-including race, gender and choice of university-what a person studies determines their odds of getting on a college-level career track. Internships are also critical.” I chuckled at this one: "He also regrets taking an entry-level sales job in logistics after months of fruitless job hunting after graduation." “Bachelor’s degree holders in college-level jobs earn nearly 90% more than people with just a high-school diploma in their 20s.” “…most of the graduates who don’t find work reflecting their degrees are what they call “severely underemployed, meaning they’re in jobs that only require a high school education or less.” Picking a college major: lnkd.in/eX8XUHxj The 16 worst-paying college majors, five years after graduation: lnkd.in/eTyx7YpW. But…If You Majored in One of These 18 Subjects, You’ll Likely Have a Comfortable Retirement: lnkd.in/exHB9Duj. Our new "apprenticeship" program: We just concluded a co-op pilot program with a F500 company that was highly successful and has started its second iteration in 2024. So, what makes this Co-op program different? lnkd.in/eBTbaQui

[@simecurkovic]

The WMU Supply Chain Graduate Certificate program is now up and accepting students. Information can be found here: lnkd.in/gcu8E2UN www.forbes.com/sites/wesleywhistle/2020/08/03/the-payoff-of-certificate-programs/?sh=1ae702163fbe When viewing this link…Note, that this program has a live "Apply Now" link. The 15-credit hour Supply Chain Graduate Certificate can be earned on its own as a non-degree certificate, or in conjunction with an MBA from the Haworth College of Business, with the certificate credits counting toward an MBA degree. Is a graduate certificate in supply chain management right for me? WMU Graduate Certificate Program in Supply Chain Management, details: lnkd.in/gY_ijCMJ. Organizations are seeking solutions to global supply chain challenges and risks that require expert tools. As a professional, you can develop your supply chain and strategic decision-making acumen with a graduate certificate in supply chain management. You'll elevate your expertise in strategic sourcing, transportation management, processes, and data analytics to improve decision making. Princeton Review names WMU a ‘best business school’ for an MBA: lnkd.in/gdqkRxMb.. Industry Certifications & Associations for Various Business Majors (for exhaustive list): lnkd.in/gVbQV2q7. Top SCM certifications: lnkd.in/gA38N97C. Free: All Combined Links and Supply Chain Salary Reports lnkd.in/gtffWe55 lnkd.in/g_mR74mr lnkd.in/gq84MRMj #education #supplychain #careeradvice #certification #logistics

[@simecurkovic]

Students/Parents: Which college majors pay off? Is graduate school a golden goose or a money pit? Are Ivy League degrees usually worth it? From WSJ: lnkd.in/gsKyJ9rn. WMU supply chain grads have a median wage range of $65-$75K. lnkd.in/dkGr4_uX. WSJ: lnkd.in/gMy3nwS2. The U.S. supply chain accounts for 37% of domestic jobs: Harvard Business Review. lnkd.in/gbV_aMT7 > 5,000 open summer internships in MI, postings - lnkd.in/gVsHEZxz & > 20,000+ nationally - lnkd.in/gRKmr7QE. What are they looking for? SCM majors. Perhaps delay graduation for work experience & stay specialized...lnkd.in/gdr7f9wb Per Fortune, “Over their lifetime, an MBA graduate can expect to earn $3 million more than someone with only a bachelor’s degree, according to GMAC.” When is the right time? lnkd.in/gka9Qqmg Great read: lnkd.in/gCiYgwS2 - "Salaries in SCM are going up & avg $10K-20K higher than entry-level positions in other fields." SCM, quickest way to six figures- lnkd.in/guSURWFF. Negotiate a higher starting salary? lnkd.in/gMJYNJkh. Secretary Miguel A. Cardona called college rankings “a joke,” & took aim at selective colleges’ obsession with them... lnkd.in/gup9rrDQ "Students who are able to build strong relationships with professors are far more likely to find engaging work after graduation." lnkd.in/gSuzhcjP -those who believe a professor cared about them as a person, made them excited about learning, & encouraged them to pursue their dreams had more than double the odds of being engaged at work & experiencing a higher degree of well being overall, these studies find. lnkd.in/g-v3-iTk …only 3% of grads reported having the kind of positive experiences in school that these studies find to be valuable. At WMU, we do better than 3%. Why? My answer: faculty are obsessed with student success (that’s what you should be looking for as a student). lnkd.in/gK_PQdYh Another study: Students who choose to specialize are having better experiences than those who stay generalist. They also found that professors have the most influence on major. lnkd.in/ex89namH From me: if you are a student majoring in something, but your school is not on some list, do not worry about it! I am 99.9% certain that you are still getting a world class education that is extremely comparable to the schools on the list. In fact, in some ways, you might be getting a better education (i.e., smaller classes, closer mentors, better ROI maybe, etc.). Note also, all rankings are somewhat dubious and suspect. At the undergraduate level, pay less attention to the brand and reputation of the school, and pay attention to your major (i.e., does demand exceed supply which means you will have multiple job offers upon graduation) and make great decisions while you are in school (i.e., work experience, networking, grades, passing a drug test, build your brand, etc.). #college

[@simecurkovic]

Mid-Level Supply Chain Positions | Average Salary: $115,000 Senior-Level Supply Chain Positions | Average Salary: $260,000 Nice supply chain website. My students ask great questions when it comes to…money. Recently, someone asked if they could earn a great salary in mid-career. I asked what is mid-career & he said by age 30. I smiled, but also told him many of my students are six digits or above by that age. SCM is very opportunistic. Entry-Level Supply Chain Positions | Average Salary: $69,000 Also: Entry Level Manufacturing Jobs | Salary Range: $66,000 - $78,000 Mid-Level Manufacturing Jobs | Salary Range: $110,000 - $143,000 Senior-Level Manufacturing Jobs | Salary Range: $239,000 - $338,000 Source: lnkd.in/ga8Azij7 __ Yes, WMU supply chain grads from 2022 have a median wage range of $65-$75,000. lnkd.in/dkGr4_uX Salaries per "DC Velocity": 2021 lnkd.in/gESQFNZa vs 2020 lnkd.in/gW-U-KHK vs 2019 lnkd.in/gJquYyT4. From "ISM": 2018 $: lnkd.in/gV53aggX. 2020 $ (right before covid): lnkd.in/gz8WQEhr. 2021 $ (deep into covid): lnkd.in/g-SfG93A & lnkd.in/gn5jM9xt. Salaries per "ASCM" $: 2022 lnkd.in/gtYC5Cnw vs 2021 lnkd.in/gpMvehY5 vs 2020 lnkd.in/gcsrX6tr People want more money & rewarding work (not paperwork). lnkd.in/g7BwX84c. "The demand for logistics talent has never been greater. The low unemployment rate has created a supply/demand imbalance, spurring employers to raise salaries in a bid to attract and retain top talent. Of the 454 respondents to DC Velocity’s 19th annual Salary Survey, 72%) saw a boost in their total compensation in the past year." Should college grads negotiate a higher starting salary? lnkd.in/gMJYNJkh. Salaries in SCM are going up & already average $10K-$20K higher than entry-level positions in other fields. lnkd.in/gCiYgwS2 There isn’t enough young people working in supply chain - lnkd.in/gtUcJpX7. SCM $ Information - lnkd.in/gn5jM9xt lnkd.in/gTBMP5dM lnkd.in/eQvfFMc lnkd.in/g7YamZCU #supplychain #job #salary #manufacturing #logistics #procurement

[@simecurkovic]

Yes, WMU supply chain grads from 2022 have a median wage range of $65-$75,000. Watch these major stories on WMU Haworth's major students. lnkd.in/dHhA8iEX Parents: 93% WMU graduates are employed or continuing education. lnkd.in/gPxaBnys FYI, from 2021, WMU salary report by every major: lnkd.in/gUueUNe7 WMU: No. 1 in Michigan for earnings by graduates from all backgrounds, Salaries & job placement by every major: lnkd.in/g3CZBrM7 Yes, the WMU Haworth College of Business is one of the best in the world. AACSB accredited (that means top 5% globally) & most programs are nationally/globally ranked. Why? My answer: faculty are obsessed w/ student success. Examples: WMU named in Princeton Review's 2022 'best business schools' lnkd.in/gnRvmJwD Accounting *Select 1% of business schools worldwide that have additional specialized AACSB accreditation for their accountancy programs. lnkd.in/esW6ZuD lnkd.in/eN5wF6b Supply Chain Management *Nation's best undergrad SCM program (Gartner); 2nd in SCM technology (SoftwareAdvice); 2nd in top global SCM talent (SCM World): lnkd.in/eprKKbF Food & Consumer Package Goods Mktg *Has earned certification for its category management coursework from the national Category Management Association lnkd.in/eTjBRP9 Sales & Business Mktg *Nationally ranked as the best university sales program since 2007 lnkd.in/etcppYi Digital Mktg & eCommerce *One of only a handful of its kind in the nation. wmich.edu/dme Advertising & Promotion *Among only 10 percent of advertising programs housed within a university business college, offering the best mix of marketing, communication & business fundamentals. lnkd.in/ecR2pxu Entrepreneurship lnkd.in/emeTCTJ *Starting Gate is a student business accelerator program that gives students rich and valuable resources to develop their startup companies. Human Resource Mgmt *One of a few programs in the state of Michigan recognized by the Society for Human Resource Management as having a curriculum consistent with their Body of Competency and Knowledge guidelines.lnkd.in/e75KnJ6 Leadership & Business Strategy *We undertake large scale consulting projects, executive mentorship for students, designing “learning spaces of the future" & supporting students in acquiring & operating small businesses. lnkd.in/e5JUSye Military Science & Leadership *Thank you for your service to our country! wmich.edu/rotc Finance & Commercial Law *Business law, finance & personal financial planning wmich.edu/finance Business Information Systems *Business analytics, Computer information systems, Cybersecurity lnkd.in/evSdSqU GRADUATE PROGRAMS *Princeton Review: one of the best places to earn a Master of Business Administration degree. #college #career #major #business

[@simecurkovic]

Students: 3 supply chain orgs you can join (ISMworld.org-$35, CSCMP.org, $40 & ASCM.org for free!). SCM pros w/ at least 1 APICS cert have a median salary of $90K, which is 27% higher than those w/o a cert. (according to the 2021 Career Report). lnkd.in/eTfdkA94 www.linkedin.com/posts/sime-curkovic-61617a115_certified-in-logistics-transportation-activity-6995710259143073792-P7uO? I would highly encourage you to join orgs related to what you are majoring in. Send the message to employers that you plan on being an engaged member of your discipline. Also, these orgs have certs which can be used to externally validate you as a subject matter expert. Send the message to employers that you are aware of these certs & these certs are a part of your career goals. Further, all these SCM orgs have monthly local chapter meetings w/ guest speakers that you can attend as a student. It is a great way to learn & network. I have had several students attend these mtgs & managers asked for a copy of their resume because these students showed so much initiative. You will also have access to their websites which has job postings & lots of SCM research that will help with your classes. Lastly, they will mail you magazines that tell you what is happening in your field so you can stay current. My colleagues helped me put this list together for my non-supply chain majors. Industry Certifications & Associations for Various Business Majors: lnkd.in/gVbQV2q7 Here is one of the most popular orgs related to your major (especially if you go into procurement, though all 3 orgs have become very well rounded)... Institute of Supply Mgmt (used to be National Association of Purchasing Mgmt)-$35/year lnkd.in/ex3NXgdM lnkd.in/erPSEX_J Here is another degree related org that you can join ($40) to network & look for job opportunities. You will be competing against other students from other schools that have these on their resume. Council of Supply Chain Mgmt Professionals (used to be the Council of Logistics Mgmt) lnkd.in/emHHiJAY One more high profile club for SCM students & managers (free for students): The Association for Supply Chain Mgmt (used to be APICS, the Association for Operations Mgmt) www.ascm.org/ lnkd.in/eC3sfQxK lnkd.in/ef8X2xPK Certified in Logistics, Transportation & Distribution (CLTD): lnkd.in/dt3EteBd Also, resume advice... lnkd.in/eWen96qj lnkd.in/e7utipBi lnkd.in/eVEHgvk6 FYI, other SCM orgs: lnkd.in/ec4fYYSY lnkd.in/ec4fYYSY www.cips.org/usa/ werc.org/ www.lean.org/ isssp.org/ www.iwla.com/ www.rla.org/ www.nitl.org/ www.mhi.org/ lnkd.in/eFpUvsgC ibf.org/ www.nam.org/ www.ame.org/ lnkd.in/efBdJkBi www.trucking.org/ $$: lnkd.in/eBd-cRr lnkd.in/enTTEt_m If you have an interview, get ready for STAR & robots… lnkd.in/ePzz3NG Major in MKGT & SCM? lnkd.in/eRWMVP6 #supplychain #careeradvice

[@simecurkovic]

For Part 2 of this conversation, see: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iWrGqndvrsl6adk For more information: www.simecurkovic.com/2022/02/10/salaries-in-scm-are-going-up-already-average-10k-20k-higher-than-entry-level-positions-in-other-fields-quickest-way-to-six-figures-answer-scm/ www.simecurkovic.com/2022/02/10/11-trendy-things-we-are-doing-in-the-wmu-ism-supply-chain-program/ www.simecurkovic.com/2022/02/10/scm-data-scientist-171k-jobs-on-linkedin-does-your-school-teach-this-we-do/

[@simecurkovic]

It's not too late. > 7,000 open summer internships in MI, - lnkd.in/gVsHEZxz & > 20,000+ nationally - lnkd.in/gRKmr7QE. WMU supply chain grads have a median wage range of...$65-$75K. lnkd.in/dkGr4_uX. Offers are coming in…Should students negotiate an INTERNSHIP offer? The avg SCM internship is $44,918/yr, or $21.6/hr. People on the lower end, bottom 10%, make $37K/yr ($17.80/hr), while the top 10% makes $54K ($25.96/hr). lnkd.in/gpBm_m84. Should grads negotiate a job offer (i.e., a higher starting salary)? lnkd.in/gMJYNJkh. Yale advice: lnkd.in/gggJFADW lnkd.in/gxkjy3sm Harvard: lnkd.in/ghEYr3Qw lnkd.in/gc4Kd_SE MIT: lnkd.in/g3xqeDyc Personally, I prefer WMU’s Career Services manual. Also, WMU HCOB/SCM has a great ROI (just ask my students starting at 70K & making over six digits by age 30). Keep in mind that many schools such as Harvard ($54K/yr tuition), Yale ($58K/yr), & Stanford ($57K/yr) don't offer undergrad business degrees. WMU ($13K/yr) - A Top Business School (take a look at the list): lnkd.in/dn9-BCg I actually have employers tell me they will NOT consider a student if they do NOT have a strong professional LinkedIn presence. Hmm. How to effectively join LinkedIn. lnkd.in/dAwyTUy. I have former students that found new jobs & they were not even looking! Interviewing tools: lnkd.in/gipsXEsK. Also, most employers will not even look at your resume if it looks like a lazy effort. Aesthetics matter! Virtual career fairs: lnkd.in/evKd-VzQ Business externship? lnkd.in/e9aeewPa Will technology replace SCM jobs? lnkd.in/gX8vcRNa Global Negotiation: Fastest growing class. lnkd.in/guTUcvdu A Top School: lnkd.in/dVdMRXP Sample Lectures: lnkd.in/e9j33EQ Power BI or Tableau? Do not be a victim of technology. lnkd.in/eKEaPGq lnkd.in/e5zG6sZ Here is a read on how SCM 4.0 does not have to be super expensive: lnkd.in/eyebnSct How much Python do I need to know in order to excel in SCM? lnkd.in/e6Rmzpw STAR interviews & online robots… lnkd.in/ePzz3NG lnkd.in/eZgTxWc lnkd.in/eyCv4x5 lnkd.in/eaxVjpK Myers-Briggs. lnkd.in/ehj3ysR How to build your brand: lnkd.in/dSAA6wF Similar to MBTI: lnkd.in/ey4TEUY lnkd.in/exNDhSv Help w/ online interviews...lnkd.in/eKBDsMq Practice before it matters...lnkd.in/ekaBK5Q Resume advice... lnkd.in/eWen96qj lnkd.in/e7utipBi lnkd.in/eVEHgvk6 Internships, salary data, etc. lnkd.in/eNfUzksJ Delay graduation for experience? lnkd.in/ewKu7b_X Right time for grad school? lnkd.in/eTk-PXPv Predictive Data Analytics (Excel)…lnkd.in/dQABdsXc Problem solving #1 skill set! Elon's resume - lnkd.in/eWaJ8q2 #jobhunting #networking #interviewing

[@simecurkovic]

Students/Parents: Which college majors pay off? Is graduate school a golden goose or a money pit? Are Ivy League degrees usually worth it? From WSJ: lnkd.in/gsKyJ9rn. WMU supply chain grads have a median wage range of $65-$75K. lnkd.in/dkGr4_uX. The U.S. supply chain accounts for 37% of all domestic jobs, according to the Harvard Business Review. lnkd.in/gbV_aMT7 > 5,000 open summer internships in MI, postings - lnkd.in/gVsHEZxz & > 20,000+ nationally - lnkd.in/gRKmr7QE. What are they looking for? SCM majors. Perhaps delay graduation for work experience & stay specialized...lnkd.in/gdr7f9wb Per Fortune, “Over their lifetime, an MBA graduate can expect to earn $3 million more than someone with only a bachelor’s degree, according to GMAC.” When is the right time for grad school? The avg age is 33. I find the age stat to not be too meaningful. For anyone 20K jobs on LinkedIn not filled which have the words "entry-level supply chain" in the job title. "SCM"+"Data Analytics"=jobs & $$. There are > 35K jobs on LinkedIn not filled which have these words in the job title and/or job description - “supply chain” & “analyst” & “data analytics”. lnkd.in/dQABdsXc There are >11M jobs not filled, many of which are in SCM. In fact, around 1/2 these jobs are in SCM. "Only" 113K unfilled jobs in Indirect Procurement on LI, & > 4K MRO Buyer jbs not filled. lnkd.in/gFrGvpCA SCM Data Scientist (>171K jobs on LI). Our Business Data Analytics minor: lnkd.in/gf_UWz5x lnkd.in/gKV4dw2z lnkd.in/gHnUrVZz lnkd.in/g9pgFErz SCM Finance (>25K jobs on LI). lnkd.in/gE9gVG34 Salaries: lnkd.in/eQvfFMc Top School: lnkd.in/dn9-BCg Trends: lnkd.in/gDBXEi26 #supplychain #career #salary #job

[@simecurkovic]

“Over time, more companies are choosing to draw from their SCM team when they are looking to fill the CFO role. Therefore, a background in SCM is the perfect preparation for a CFO career path-& possibly even the job of CEO.” CFO to CFO: Finance and Supply Chain Management: lnkd.in/gsCibmeT I really push my supply chain students to learn CFO talk. College Accounting to me feels like Supply Chain Finance. The Accounting Minor for our SCM Majors seems like a great fit & has grown on me. Long term in your careers, understanding SCM Finance will be critical. The worlds of Finance & SCM have collided. Your opportunities are endless if you learn how to talk to the CFO…lnkd.in/eJnVHrsM My discussion on why I maybe recommend a Finance graduate degree for SCM students: lnkd.in/ewNBvPf and lnkd.in/ewA2yq7. The good news is that industry will pay more for more strategic skills (i.e., Finance)… Long term in your careers, understanding SCM Finance will be critical. At the end of the day, SCM executives are evaluated on generating shareholder value (bottom line financial kind of stuff, of which has gotten very creative and complicated). Also, more and more SCM VP’s (C-suite types) are reporting directly to the CFO of the company (because SCM is that important to the bottom line). Students often ask me, if they go on to get a graduate degree, what should they get it in. I say get a graduate degree in something you are weak in but will matter in your career (especially long term). You will hit a ceiling professionally if you do not understand SCM Finance. So, I would give that serious consideration in your graduate education. The Monthly Metric: Cash Flow From Operations A great read: lnkd.in/erfZdWk Do you know what this means? 2/10 net 30 (now employers want Supply Chain Managers to be Financiers!!??) lnkd.in/e2TztjY Here it comes: lnkd.in/eNdih2e2 Supplier financing disclosure would be required under proposed accounting rule. The trade payable arrangements, which help companies manage cash, typically aren’t publicly reported even though they pose a liquidity risk. Creative Payment Terms & Buyer-Supplier Financing Industry often sees suppliers complaining about cash-flow issues. But the supplier havoc, for the most part, does not need to happen. The solution might be as simple as robust payment terms & creative buyer-supplier financing. Large OEM buying orgs often try to negotiate not paying suppliers for as long 90-180 days after they actually receive material &/or services. As a function of being the customer & often larger, buying orgs often have this kind of leverage. Many large OEMs currently have cash on the sidelines & appear to be very liquid. Sitting on that cash for several months might not be necessary all the while suppliers in...for rest of story, see... lnkd.in/eJnVHrsM #supplychain #finance #cfo

[@simecurkovic]

Data Analytics + Finance = Strong SCM Skill Sets. talkinglogistics.com/2023/11/06/back-to-school-classes-supply-chain-leaders-should-take/ Back To School: Classes Supply Chain Leaders Should Take “Half our member respondents (50%) said they would take a “Data Analytics” class to continue their growth as supply chain leaders. Second on the list was taking a “Finance” class (33%).” lnkd.in/eEEVhWEX. “Knowledge workers were the hardest positions to fill. With the explosion of data in supply chains and the richness of that data, many companies are starting to understand the value of that information. This is causing tremendous demand for people to analyze the data, and companies aren’t able to fill those roles.” lnkd.in/eGp6xXJG. Do not be a victim of technology. You could make the case that every Business major should minor in Data Analytics. These skill sets would perhaps include: lnkd.in/dQABdsXc Employers place a premium on - 1. Advanced Excel (power query & pivot) & macros; 2. Data visualization (Tableau, Power BI & python w/ seaborn & matplotlib); 3. Data mining/RapidMiner, machine learning & data science; 4. Python & Jupyter notebook (data analytics & statistical libraries such as pandas, numpy); 5. Relational data models (Excel data model); 6. Graphic & statistical libraries (Seaborn, Matplotlib, Pandas, & Plotly). lnkd.in/dtqV-HqE. Note, (I encourage my SCM students to get an Accounting minor): College Accounting to me feels like Supply Chain Finance. The Accounting Minor for SCM Majors seems like a great fit & has grown on me. Long term in your careers, understanding SCM Finance will be critical. lnkd.in/gBPZJsVq lnkd.in/guejd-vi. Two classes in our Accounting minor, good fit for SCM types, right?: 3220: Cost & Managerial Accounting and ACTY 4220: Cost Mgmt & Analytics. FYI, we make EVERY business major take FIN 3200 - Business Finance Decisions. More: lnkd.in/gtUMdsiT.

[@simecurkovic]

Parents: are you pushing your kids to finish college ASAP? Perhaps delay graduation for work experience & stay specialized? FYI: What do SCM internships pay (& they all pay, never work for free)? The going rate is $18-27 per hour. lnkd.in/g6CH_pYv & lnkd.in/g4znXYHu. Thousands of SCM internships currently posted - lnkd.in/gVsHEZxz & lnkd.in/gRKmr7QE. > 25,000 business related internships. lnkd.in/gmMH5myb. Being job ready in the covid market & beyond. lnkd.in/eZGZbkP. Most good paying jobs are highly specialized (e.g., purchasing, operations, and logistics). SCM degrees are specialized but you also have to get good practical work experience related to what you are majoring in. Quite simply, students without work experience in their major do not get good jobs in their major. That means you have to make getting an internship one of your top priorities while in school. You have to do this even if it means delaying graduation (in my opinion). The delay will pay for itself in terms of starting salary & future advancement opportunities (because of what you learned during the internship & what you brought into your full-time job because of the internship). Pasted below is some feedback from a manager that thinks students are less inclined to delay graduation for great work experience. I think his points are somewhat exaggerated, but I just wanted to reiterate the importance of getting work experience related to what you are majoring in. Please take this in the right spirit. I just want the very very best for you. I am currently working with a handful of graduates that are unemployed. What do they have in common? Low GPAs & no work experience. Again, please know that I am not judging. __ Students (here is an email from a manager): “As a bit of feedback, we always seem to have trouble convincing students that taking a semester off school & working for a company is “okay”. They tend to want to stay in school straight through & graduate in 4 yrs. In my opinion, times have changed, & a student absolutely needs to have some co-op work experience on their resume in order to land a good job in the area of Supply Chain. A summer internship (around 3 months) is just not enough anymore.” __ Being job ready in the covid market and beyond… lnkd.in/ed-ZfanD Also, students who choose to specialize in their education (e.g., SCM) are having better experiences than those who stay generalist. FYI, research from my colleagues: lnkd.in/ex89namH. They also found that college educators have more influence on a student's choice of major than any other person--more than parents, friends, other students, high school figures, academic advisors, etc. If there's one thing my SCM career taught me, it is to not fear specialization. It is the fastest road to growth and opportunity. #college #supplychain #internships #salary

[@simecurkovic]

Most employers will not even look at your resume if it looks like a lazy effort. Aesthetics matter! Here is some resume advice from MIT (25 pages): lnkd.in/g3xqeDyc, also from WMU (112 pages): lnkd.in/gipsXEsK. Reminder: Yes, it is now time to start applying & interviewing for summer internships. Large high profile F500 types get budgets for internships approved months ahead of time & they recruit nationally for the best talent. They often want to get this wrapped up, & you have to start looking now. Do not wait until Spring 2023 to find a Summer 2023 internship. There are already > 15,000 SCM 2023 internships posted: lnkd.in/gRKmr7QE & lnkd.in/gt98WuvK & > 35,000 business related internships. lnkd.in/grDAW8iX PERHAPS delay graduation for work experience & stay specialized...lnkd.in/gdr7f9wb lnkd.in/gARup7zr lnkd.in/g4-csGUy Should current students negotiate an INTERNSHIP offer (i.e., a higher salary)? Yes, since many orgs are offering students 20-30% below market value. The avg supply chain internship is $44,918/yr, or $21.6/hr. People on the lower end, bottom 10%, make $37K/yr ($17.80/hr), while the top 10% makes $54K ($25.96/hr). Help with online interviews & interviewing with robots (it is AI/machine learning technology)...lnkd.in/eKBDsMq Practice before it really matters (this is mainstream now)...lnkd.in/ekaBK5Q Exploding job offers & do you want a full time job to begin in a job rotation? lnkd.in/ervskG5 Students are getting lots of job offers... Reneging: Once you commit, quit! lnkd.in/e85beQ2 In U.S., 28% accepted a job offer & reneged! 70% of grads are willing to renege? Recent observations & career advice (videos/podcasts): lnkd.in/gJK8xBZe lnkd.in/g-CanjDx lnkd.in/gvPiGTt5 Resume Keywords Ideas/Action Verbs for your resume lnkd.in/ea6gV-K How to Effectively join LinkedIn lnkd.in/gbGJcJCP Should grads negotiate a job offer (i.e., a higher starting salary)? lnkd.in/gMJYNJkh Virtual career fairs: lnkd.in/evKd-VzQ Business externship? lnkd.in/e9aeewPa I have way too many students failing their first interviews because they were not ready for STAR. Practice, practice, practice. lnkd.in/eZgTxWc lnkd.in/ePzz3NG lnkd.in/eZgTxWc lnkd.in/eyCv4x5 lnkd.in/eaxVjpK Thank you: Career Development Office, MIT Sloan School of Management www.linkedin.com/posts/sime-curkovic-61617a115_employers-will-not-look-at-sloppy-resumes-activity-7010958669328646144-w7ht? #internships #careeradvice #interviewing #supplychain

[@simecurkovic]

Prepping for a job interview? Here's how to answer 'What is my biggest weakness?' Demonstrating self-awareness during an interview is huge. I tell my students to always answer the “what is your weakness” question in the context of having a strategy to fix it (explain what you have done about it, actual RESULTS). For example: lnkd.in/gQnHZd9Y. Here’s what a lot of college grads don’t know about their first job offer: lnkd.in/gG2DeF2h. “Just 38% of new grads negotiate w/ their employers when they get that first job offer.” Should college grads negotiate a job offer (i.e., a higher starting salary)? Yes, but only if you know how to negotiate. My thoughts: lnkd.in/gEZF6prG. Yale advice: lnkd.in/gggJFADW & lnkd.in/gxkjy3sm. More from Harvard: lnkd.in/ghEYr3Qw & lnkd.in/gc4Kd_SE & lnkd.in/gC44Baeb MIT Resume Guide: lnkd.in/g3xqeDyc. Western Michigan University: lnkd.in/gipsXEsK. UNC Pembroke: lnkd.in/gJA3uub2. Kansas State: lnkd.in/gPNgpmKA. The Biggest Mistakes People Make With Their LinkedIn Profile And How To Avoid Them: lnkd.in/gSNctThb Thousands of SCM internships currently posted - lnkd.in/gVsHEZxz & lnkd.in/gRKmr7QE & lnkd.in/gmMH5myb. Goals of an internship (it’s not job shadowing): lnkd.in/gGRU_4Rz Being job ready in the covid market & beyond. lnkd.in/eZGZbkP.

[@simecurkovic]

In talking w/ a colleague, we both agreed that many hiring managers do not have a full understanding of the AI skill sets associated w/ our graduating students. Our SCM students told us many times that their hiring managers valued only the traditional Excel capabilities (lookup functions, pivot tables, etc. - that is NOT AI), & they greatly overlooked the opportunities from other analytical solutions (skill sets that our students have). This makes it a bit difficult to sell the analytical techniques taught in classes that go BEYOND our CIS 2640 (Excel on steroids) - Applied Analytics Foundations. For example, our data mining class is essentially a machine learning class for business, which is the core of AI. The course is designed to solve the problems that Excel falls short on. Hopefully we do a better job of training our students to “sell” the AI skills & managers (SCM Leaders) become more open to embracing the benefits (which might require a culture change). Top Skills You Need To Become a Data Scientist (every job has data). lnkd.in/gk7pgtQZ. There are ONLY 500K unfilled SCM Data Science jobs on LI. Do not be a victim of technology! See salary report below. I am fascinated by the $ opportunities w/ Data Science skills. You could make the case that every Business major should minor (or double major) in Data Analytics. These skill sets would perhaps include: Employers place a premium on - 1. Advanced Excel (power query & pivot) & macros; 2. Data visualization (Tableau, Power BI & python w/ seaborn & matplotlib); 3. Data mining/RapidMiner, machine learning & data science; 4. Python & Jupyter notebook (data analytics & statistical libraries such as pandas, numpy); 5. Relational data models (Excel data model); 6. Graphic & statistical libraries (Seaborn, Matplotlib, Pandas, & Plotly). Business analytics addresses an increasing demand in orgs of all types to understand data related to their operations. Investments in information systems throughout the enterprise over the last 10-15 years are generating tremendous amounts of data, & orgs will spend at least the next 10 years developing processes that generate insight from those data. In addition to data generated internally, many orgs are exploring the effects of external data, primarily present in social media, web search, manufacturing, & the SUPPLY CHAIN. The ability to manage data to support business projects are the key to success in many disciplines. Business analytics will provide a comprehensive skill set for SCM professionals & future grads to analyze, VISUALIZE (Tableau & Power BI!), & report data. This has become a bare minimum: CIS 2640 Predictive Data Analytics (Excel on steroids): I get this kind of feedback often…lnkd.in/dQABdsXc - You will be glad to hear that (Anaconda + Jupyter Notebook + Python + visualization libraries) is what we have been teaching in CIS 2650 since the course was created. #supplychain #bigdata #dataanalytics #datavisualization

[@simecurkovic]

The U.S. supply chain accounts for 37% of all domestic jobs, according to the Harvard Business Review. From me: it is actually higher if you loosely define SCM since every product and/or service comes from & has a supply chain. Note, this is all pre-covid data (so add more to the dollar signs)…Source: lnkd.in/gPqvNwG5 Logistician, $74,750 Logistics analyst, $58,713 Supply chain planner, $64,844 Purchasing agent, $69,600 Purchasing manager, $121,110 Logistics manager, $114,670 Distribution manager, $94,775 Operations manager, $100,780 Business and supply chain competencies make up 80% of the fastest-growing skills in this industry; basic technical skills make up the remaining 20%. Top two: Microsoft Office and productivity tools Advanced Microsoft Excel Technical skills Among the top and fastest-growing technical skills are: Data science Supply chain knowledge Supply chain management Project management Many of our SCM students get a Business Analytics minor, what does that mean? See: 1. Advanced Excel (power query & pivot) & macros; 2. Data visualization (Tableau,Power BI & python w/ seaborn & matplotlib); 3. Data mining/RapidMiner, machine learning & data science; 4. Python & Jupyter notebook (data analytics & statistical libraries such as pandas, numpy); 5. Relational data models (Excel data model); 6. Graphic & statistical libraries (Seaborn,Matplotlib,Pandas, & Plotly). lnkd.in/gxRayD3j From me: AI will have a great impact on SCM. However, one thing often not mentioned is the attitude of hiring managers, as many do not have a full understanding of the AI skill sets of graduating students. Our SCM students told us many times that their hiring managers valued only the traditional Excel capabilities (lookup functions, pivot tables, etc. - that is NOT AI), & they greatly overlooked the opportunities from other analytical solutions (skill sets that our students have). This makes it a bit difficult to sell the analytical techniques taught in classes that go BEYOND our CIS 2640 (Excel on steroids) - Applied Analytics Foundations. For example, our data mining class is essentially a machine learning class for business, which is the core of AI. The course is designed to solve the problems that Excel falls short on. Hopefully we do a better job of training our students to “sell” the AI skills & managers (SCM Leaders) become more open to embracing the benefits (which might require a culture change). #supplychain #dataanalytics #datascience #python #artificialintelligence #ai

[@simecurkovic]

The video shows 7 business books recommended by Stanford professors, but these are pretty good also…Reading List: A great book read for CFO types that want to understand SCM types (or the other way around?): "Supply Chain Metrics that Matter"...The book links corporate financials to supply chain maturity, & what metrics matter most. www.linkedin.com/posts/sime-curkovic-61617a115_what-are-you-reading-this-summer-discover-activity-6983375927942533120-MfLG? Other reads that I think would be good for SCM leaders: The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan: How to Take Charge, Build or Merge Your Team, and Get Immediate Results- by George B. Bradt, Jayme A. Check, John A. Lawler 5 Levels of Leadership or 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell. Both are mandatory readings for many F500 SCM teams. Many are also proponents of the “The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter, Updated and Expanded”, by Michael D. Watkins This was required reading in Procurement at a F500 org: Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by the Heath Brothers Great feedback on these 2: Supply Chain Excellence by Peter Bolstorff and Robert Rosenbaum The Lean Extended Enterprise by Terence Burton & Steven Boeder My latest reading obsession is reading high quality blogs (not too short, not too long) on medium.com. lnkd.in/gC46_Cfp. Recommended by myself: The Goal is a management-oriented novel by Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt. Another would be Car Guys vs. Bean Counters: The Battle for the Soul of American Business by Bob Lutz. Stuff we make students read: - Designing and Managing the Supply Chain by David Simchi-Levi, Philip Kaminsky and Edith Simchi-Levi - Essentials of Supply Chain Management by Michael H. Hugos - Logistics and Supply Chain Management by Martin Christopher - Logistics Management and Strategy: Competing through the Supply Chain by Alan Harrison and Remko Van Hoek - Manufacturing Planning and Control for Supply Chain Management F. Robert Jacobs, William Berry, D. Clay Whybark and Thomas Vollmann - Purchasing and Supply Chain Management by Robert Monczka, Robert Handfield, Larry Giunipero and James Patterson - Purchasing and Supply Chain Management: Analysis, Strategy, Planning and Practice by Arjan J. Van Weele - Supply Chain Logistics Management by Donald Bowersox, David Closs and M. Bixby Cooper - Supply Chain Management: Strategy, Planning, and Operation by Sunil Chopra and Peter Meindl - The Resilient Enterprise: Overcoming Vulnerability for Competitive Advantage by Yossi Sheffi The classics… HOW TO WOW: FRANCES COLEJONES THE EXCEPTIONAL PRESENTER: TIMOTHY J KOEGEL THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE: STEPHEN COVEY GOOD TO GREAT: JIM COLLINS THE PRESENT: SPENCER JOHNSON FISH: STEPHEN LUNDIN THE SERVANT: JAMES C HUNTER People that read a lot make way more money (2.3 times more?!) lnkd.in/gBYHT93w More thoughts on SCM Finance: lnkd.in/gv7jfcRX #supplychain #readinglist

[@simecurkovic]

Should current students negotiate an INTERNSHIP offer? www.visualcapitalist.com/cp/average-internship-salary-us-state/ lnkd.in/gpBm_m84. How much does a supply chain management internship make? The average salary for a supply chain management internship in the United States is $38,089. Supply chain management internship salaries typically range between $29,000 and $49,000 a year. The average hourly rate for supply chain management interns is $18.31 per hour. Note, last year the numbers were higher: The avg SCM internship is $44,918/yr, or $21.6/hr. People on the lower end, bottom 10%, make $37K/yr ($17.80/hr), while the top 10% makes $54K ($25.96/hr). Students/Parents: Which college majors pay off? Is graduate school a golden goose or a money pit? Are Ivy League degrees usually worth it? From WSJ: lnkd.in/gsKyJ9rn & lnkd.in/gMy3nwS2. WMU supply chain grads have a median wage range of...$65-$75K. lnkd.in/dkGr4_uX. Good ROI? Thousands of SCM internships currently posted - lnkd.in/gVsHEZxz & lnkd.in/gRKmr7QE. Perhaps delay graduation for work experience & stay specialized... lnkd.in/gdr7f9wb The U.S. supply chain accounts for 37% of domestic jobs: Harvard Business Review. lnkd.in/gPqvNwG5 lnkd.in/gbV_aMT7 Per Fortune, “Over their lifetime, an MBA grad can expect to earn $3 million more than someone w/ only a bachelor’s degree, according to GMAC.” lnkd.in/gka9Qqmg lnkd.in/gEjXPQG5 lnkd.in/gKhXe8tM lnkd.in/gMd2vC2T Great read: lnkd.in/gCiYgwS2 - "Salaries in SCM are going up & avg $10K-20K higher than entry-level positions in other fields." lnkd.in/guSURWFF. Negotiate a higher starting salary? lnkd.in/gMJYNJkh. Secretary Miguel A. Cardona called college rankings “a joke,” & took aim at selective colleges’ obsession with them... lnkd.in/gup9rrDQ "Students who are able to build strong relationships with professors are far more likely to find engaging work after graduation." lnkd.in/gSuzhcjP -those who believe a professor cared about them as a person, made them excited about learning, & encouraged them to pursue their dreams had more than double the odds of being engaged at work & experiencing a higher degree of well being overall, these studies find. lnkd.in/g-v3-iTk …only 3% of grads reported having the kind of positive experiences in school that these studies find to be valuable. At WMU, we do better than 3%. Why? My answer: faculty are obsessed with student success (that’s what you should be looking for as a student). lnkd.in/gK_PQdYh Another study: Students who choose to specialize are having better experiences than those who stay generalist. They also found that professors have the most influence on major. lnkd.in/ex89namH Thank you: NeoMam Studios Featured Creator Article/Editing: · Pallavi Rao #college #supplychain #internships

[@simecurkovic]

Yes, WMU supply chain grads from 2022 have a median wage range of $65-$75K. Watch these "major" stories on WMU Haworth's students. lnkd.in/dHhA8iEX. Parents: 93% WMU graduates are employed or continuing education. lnkd.in/gPxaBnys. FYI, from 2021, WMU salary report by every major: lnkd.in/gUueUNe7. WMU: No. 1 in Michigan for earnings by graduates from all backgrounds, Salaries & job placement by every major: lnkd.in/g3CZBrM7 Yes, the WMU Haworth College of Business is one of the best in the world. AACSB accredited (that means top 5% globally) & most programs are nationally/globally ranked. Why? My answer: faculty are obsessed w/ student success. Examples: WMU named in Princeton Review's 2022 'best business schools' lnkd.in/gnRvmJwD Accounting *Select 1% of business schools worldwide that have additional specialized AACSB accreditation for their accountancy programs. lnkd.in/esW6ZuD lnkd.in/eN5wF6b Supply Chain Management *Nation's best undergrad SCM program (Gartner); 2nd in SCM technology (SoftwareAdvice); 2nd in top global SCM talent (SCM World): lnkd.in/eprKKbF Food & Consumer Package Goods Mktg *Has earned certification for its category management coursework from the national Category Management Association lnkd.in/eTjBRP9 Sales & Business Mktg *Nationally ranked as the best university sales program since 2007 lnkd.in/etcppYi Digital Mktg & eCommerce *One of only a handful of its kind in the nation. wmich.edu/dme Advertising & Promotion *Among only 10 percent of advertising programs housed within a university business college, offering the best mix of marketing, communication & business fundamentals. lnkd.in/ecR2pxu Entrepreneurship lnkd.in/emeTCTJ *Starting Gate is a student business accelerator program that gives students rich and valuable resources to develop their startup companies. Human Resource Mgmt *One of a few programs in the state of Michigan recognized by the Society for Human Resource Management as having a curriculum consistent with their Body of Competency and Knowledge guidelines.lnkd.in/e75KnJ6 Leadership & Business Strategy *We undertake large scale consulting projects, executive mentorship for students, designing “learning spaces of the future" & supporting students in acquiring & operating small businesses. lnkd.in/e5JUSye Military Science & Leadership *Thank you for your service to our country! wmich.edu/rotc Finance & Commercial Law *Business law, finance & personal financial planning wmich.edu/finance Business Information Systems *Business analytics, Computer information systems, Cybersecurity lnkd.in/evSdSqU GRADUATE PROGRAMS *Princeton Review: one of the best places to earn a Master of Business Administration degree. #college #career #major #business

[@simecurkovic]

This is a very good resume/career guide from K State & another from MIT: lnkd.in/diwa34dh. Pasted below are links from Yale, Harvard, & ours (WMU, 112 pages). Should college grads negotiate a job offer (i.e., a higher starting salary)? Yes, but only if you know how to negotiate. My thoughts: lnkd.in/gEZF6prG. Here’s what a lot of college grads don’t know about their first job offer: lnkd.in/gG2DeF2h. “Just 38% of new grads negotiate w/ their employers when they get that first job offer.” Yale advice: lnkd.in/gggJFADW & lnkd.in/gxkjy3sm. More from Harvard: lnkd.in/ghEYr3Qw & lnkd.in/gc4Kd_SE & lnkd.in/gC44Baeb MIT Resume Guide: lnkd.in/g3xqeDyc. Western Michigan University: lnkd.in/gipsXEsK. This is a very good one from UNC Pembroke: lnkd.in/gJA3uub2 Students looking for internships/jobs: I actually have employers tell me they will NOT consider a student if they do NOT have a strong professional LinkedIn presence...How to effectively join LinkedIn: lnkd.in/gXYFDjXY. Demonstrating self-awareness during an interview is huge. I tell my students to always answer the “what is your weakness” question in the context of having a strategy to fix it (explain what you have done about it, actual RESULTS). For example: lnkd.in/gQnHZd9Y. Do not be a victim of technology. You could make the case that every Business major should minor in Data Analytics. These skill sets would perhaps include: lnkd.in/dtqV-HqE.

[@simecurkovic]

A solid, albeit somewhat generic/broad, overview for those looking to get acquainted with the supply chain field…Common Careers in Supply Chain Management: www.forbes.com/advisor/education/supply-chain-management-jobs/ We sourced the below salary data from the Association for Supply Chain Management (ASCM). Buyer/Planner Median Annual Salary: $72,800 Required Education: Bachelor’s degree Job Description: Buyers and planners work on the front lines of organizations’ supply chains. They create forecasts for demand, obtain and distribute products and maintain data to determine products’ performance. They may also contribute to sales and customer service while identifying and managing risk. Logistics Manager Median Annual Salary: $100,000 Required Education: Bachelor’s degree Job Description: Logistics managers oversee products and services as they enter and exit organizations. They also manage distribution, shipping, transportation and raw materials. They plan routes, organize fleets and create and adhere to budgets. These professionals often supervise warehouse staff in several locations as well. Materials Manager Median Annual Salary: $110,340 Required Education: Bachelor’s degree Job Description: Materials managers ensure an organization’s available products, services and goods meet customer demand. They take stock of all materials, minimize waste and manage inventory and output. Supply Chain Manager Median Annual Salary: $114,750 Required Education: Master’s or bachelor’s degree Job Description: Supply chain managers are top executives for their organizations’ supply chain processes. At a high level, they oversee all related functions, work with multiple departments to create valuable products and match organizational supply with customer demand. What are the highest-paying supply chain jobs? According to ASCM, the highest-paid supply chain professionals are supply chain directors, who earn a median annual salary of $145,000. Supply chain managers and materials managers also earn salaries exceeding $110,000. ___ Also: “In ISM’s 2023 Salary Survey, the reported overall average salary remained steady, dipping imperceptibly to $123,523, while the median salary rose 5.8 percent year over year, to $105,795. Except for 2021, average salary has mostly increased over the past five years for both women and men, though the pay gap between men and women persists, now at 25 percent.” lnkd.in/giznybvJ #salary #salaryguide #salarynegotiation #supplychain

[@simecurkovic]

If you look at this 2020-2030 job growth chart closely, all things supply chain related scored VERY well (i.e., operations & logistics): lnkd.in/g_G-xwFv. Basically, we are going to see 20-30% growth in SCM jobs over the next decade. Also, the jobs in SCM pay VERY well. Lastly, the data science jobs scored off the charts in growth & pay. So, SCM + data science = jobs & $. Finally, automation is killing all things manual (negative job growth). Note, there are not enough young people working in supply chain - lnkd.in/gtUcJpX7. Fastest growing occupations (see Data Scientist at #3): 20 occupations with the highest projected percent change of employment between 2022-32. lnkd.in/gBdJpVMS. For students going into SCM, the prospects are great, but do not be a victim of technology! Top 12 Skills You Need To Become a Data Scientist (many business grads should have these skills). lnkd.in/gwrjksAa. Employers place a premium on - 1. Advanced Excel (power query & pivot) & macros; 2. Data visualization (Tableau, Power BI & python w/ seaborn & matplotlib); 3. Data mining/RapidMiner, machine learning & data science; 4. Python & Jupyter notebook (data analytics & statistical libraries such as pandas, numpy); 5. Relational data models (Excel data model); 6. Graphic & statistical libraries (Seaborn, Matplotlib, Pandas, & Plotly). Business analytics addresses an increasing demand in orgs of all types to understand data related to their operations. Investments in information systems throughout the enterprise over the last 10-15 years are generating tremendous amounts of data, & companies will spend at least the next 10 years developing processes that generate insight from those data (visualization is huge, think Tableau and Power BI). In addition to data generated internally, many companies are exploring the effects of external data, primarily present in social media, web search, manufacturing, & the SUPPLY CHAIN. The ability to manage data to support business projects are the key to success in many disciplines. Business analytics will provide a comprehensive skill set for SCM professionals & future SCM graduates to analyze, VISUALIZE (Tableau & Power BI!), & report data. This has become a bare minimum: CIS 2640 (Our Predictive Data Analytics class, Excel on steroids): I get this kind of feedback all the time…lnkd.in/dQABdsXc - You will be glad to hear that (Anaconda + Jupyter Notebook + Python + visualization libraries) is what we have been teaching in CIS 2650 since the course was created. lnkd.in/er3xiWj & lnkd.in/dcEJuZJX.

[@simecurkovic]

“Companies have been shifting from a “traditional experience-based” hiring approach to a skills-first one…” Keep that in mind w/ your resume & LI profile. I actually have employers tell me they will NOT consider a student if they do NOT have a strong professional LinkedIn presence. Hmm. How to effectively join LinkedIn. lnkd.in/dAwyTUy. I have former students that found new jobs & they were not even looking! Interviewing tools: lnkd.in/gipsXEsK. www.cnbc.com/2023/01/04/linkedins-top-5-soft-skills-you-should-start-building-on-right-now.html Also, most employers will not even look at your resume if it looks like a lazy effort. Aesthetics matter! Yale advice: lnkd.in/gggJFADW lnkd.in/gxkjy3sm Harvard: lnkd.in/ghEYr3Qw lnkd.in/gc4Kd_SE MIT: lnkd.in/g3xqeDyc Personally, I prefer WMU’s Career Services manual. Also, WMU HCOB/SCM has a great ROI (just ask my students starting at 70K & making over six digits by age 30). lnkd.in/gipsXEsK lnkd.in/dn9-BCg Should current students negotiate an INTERNSHIP offer? The avg SCM internship is $44,918/yr, or $21.6/hr. People on the lower end, bottom 10%, make $37K/yr ($17.80/hr), while the top 10% makes $54K ($25.96/hr). lnkd.in/gpBm_m84 Should grads negotiate a job offer (i.e., a higher starting salary)? lnkd.in/gMJYNJkh Virtual career fairs: lnkd.in/evKd-VzQ Business externship? lnkd.in/e9aeewPa Placement success of SCM Program - *Median salary was $60K - $65K (around 10% of grads hired on w/ 1 auto OEM at $78K!). "Supply Chain"+"Degree"=jobs & $$. lnkd.in/gV4x6GWE Will technology replace SCM jobs? lnkd.in/gX8vcRNa Global Negotiation: Fastest growing class. lnkd.in/guTUcvdu A Top School: lnkd.in/dVdMRXP Sample Lectures: lnkd.in/e9j33EQ Power BI or Tableau? Do not be a victim of technology. lnkd.in/eKEaPGq lnkd.in/e5zG6sZ Here is a read on how SCM 4.0 does not have to be super expensive: lnkd.in/eyebnSct How much Python do I need to know in order to excel in SCM? lnkd.in/e6Rmzpw STAR job interviews & online robots… lnkd.in/ePzz3NG lnkd.in/eZgTxWc lnkd.in/eyCv4x5 lnkd.in/eaxVjpK Myers-Briggs. lnkd.in/ehj3ysR For details on how to build your brand: lnkd.in/dSAA6wF Similar to MBTI: lnkd.in/ey4TEUY lnkd.in/exNDhSv Help with online interviews...lnkd.in/eKBDsMq Practice before it really matters...lnkd.in/ekaBK5Q Resume advice... lnkd.in/eWen96qj lnkd.in/e7utipBi lnkd.in/eVEHgvk6 Internships, salary data, etc. lnkd.in/eNfUzksJ Covid job market… lnkd.in/ed-ZfanD Delay graduation for experience? lnkd.in/ewKu7b_X Right time for grad school? lnkd.in/eTk-PXPv Predictive Data Analytics (Excel)…lnkd.in/dQABdsXc Problem solving #1 skill set! Elon's resume - lnkd.in/eWaJ8q2 #jobhunting #networking #interviewing

[@simecurkovic]

“The demand for sales jobs multiplied this year as customer-facing businesses slowly returned to their pre-pandemic levels…At the top of this list is the job for an Outside Sales Representative. Paying upwards of $60,000, postings for this job have grown by over 250% in a year, making it the most sought-after position for applicants with a degree.” www.visualcapitalist.com/sought-after-entry-level-jobs-of-2023/ FYI: WMU named a top sales program for 16th consecutive year: lnkd.in/ggvDyH8k Also, notice how a lot of these jobs are in the supply chain. "Most Sought-After Entry-Level Jobs Without a Degree: #1 Inventory Manager. The demand for skilled inventory managers in warehouses and companies post-pandemic has doubled the position’s job share in a year. Note, nearly 65% of the U.S. working population does not have a four-year degree." The U.S. supply chain contains 37% of all jobs, employing 44 million people. See: The Harvard Business Review (Delgado & Mills) called this right 5 years ago in 2018 (pre covid), well done. Why are supply chain industries the source of so many high-paying jobs and so much innovation? lnkd.in/grs9FUsw. Degree program fuels supply chain and logistics industry’s workforce of the future: lnkd.in/g65xNd9M. “Its bachelor’s degree gives students the chance to boost their average annual pay in the field to $87,280, compared with $49,689 for a high school graduate.” A Look at the U.S. Supply Chain Economy: lnkd.in/gWuBsbyw. “It’s worth noting that supply chain traded services have the highest wages in the supply chain economy, averaging at $80,800 annually - 3 times higher than traditional “service” jobs.” The supply chain economy: A new industry categorization for understanding innovation in services (Delgado & Mills): lnkd.in/g3XCQvVQ. In 2020-2021, SCM was the 89th most popular major nationwide with 10,986 degrees awarded. lnkd.in/gBA7id7M. Top Degrees in demand, current data (2023) from NACE: lnkd.in/g3kM_sZ6. #supplychain #jobs #economy

[@simecurkovic]

My students ask great questions when it comes to…money. Recently, someone asked if they could earn a great salary in mid-career. I asked what is mid-career & he said by age 30. I smiled, but also told him many of my students are six digits or above by that age. SCM is very opportunistic. Mid-Level Supply Chain Positions | Average Salary: $115,000 Senior-Level Supply Chain Positions | Average Salary: $260,000 Entry-Level Supply Chain Positions | Average Salary: $69,000 Also: Entry Level Manufacturing Jobs | Salary Range: $66,000 - $78,000 Mid-Level Manufacturing Jobs | Salary Range: $110,000 - $143,000 Senior-Level Manufacturing Jobs | Salary Range: $239,000 - $338,000 Source: lnkd.in/ga8Azij7 __ Yes, WMU supply chain grads from 2022 have a median wage range of $65-$75,000. lnkd.in/dkGr4_uX Students/Parents: Which college majors pay off? Is graduate school a golden goose or a money pit? Are Ivy League degrees usually worth it? From WSJ: lnkd.in/gsKyJ9rn > 5,000 open summer internships in MI, postings - lnkd.in/gVsHEZxz & > 20,000+ nationally - lnkd.in/gRKmr7QE. What are they looking for? SCM majors. Perhaps delay graduation for work experience & stay specialized...lnkd.in/gdr7f9wb The U.S. supply chain accounts for 37% of all domestic jobs, according to the Harvard Business Review. lnkd.in/gbV_aMT7 Salaries per "DC Velocity": 2021 lnkd.in/gESQFNZa vs 2020 lnkd.in/gW-U-KHK vs 2019 lnkd.in/gJquYyT4. From "ISM": 2018 $: lnkd.in/gV53aggX. 2020 $ (right before covid): lnkd.in/gz8WQEhr. 2021 $ (deep into covid): lnkd.in/g-SfG93A & lnkd.in/gn5jM9xt. Salaries per "ASCM" $: 2022 lnkd.in/gtYC5Cnw vs 2021 lnkd.in/gpMvehY5 vs 2020 lnkd.in/gcsrX6tr People want more money & rewarding work (not paperwork). lnkd.in/g7BwX84c. "The demand for logistics talent has never been greater. The low unemployment rate has created a supply/demand imbalance, spurring employers to raise salaries in a bid to attract and retain top talent. Of the 454 respondents to DC Velocity’s 19th annual Salary Survey, 72%) saw a boost in their total compensation in the past year." Should college grads negotiate a higher starting salary? lnkd.in/gMJYNJkh. Salaries in SCM are going up & already average $10K-$20K higher than entry-level positions in other fields. lnkd.in/gCiYgwS2 There isn’t enough young people working in supply chain - lnkd.in/gtUcJpX7. SCM $ Information - lnkd.in/gn5jM9xt lnkd.in/gTBMP5dM lnkd.in/eQvfFMc lnkd.in/g7YamZCU #supplychain #job #salary #manufacturing #logistics #procurement

[@simecurkovic]

Take this one with a grain of salt, notice #6: Supply Chain Manager… www.studyinternational.com/news/highest-paying-jobs-without-degree/ · Average earning potential: US$108,141 per year “Supply chain or logistics managers have never been in greater demand than after the COVID-19 pandemic…As the supply chain industry expands, it offers you great potential to progress in your career…While studying for a degree in supply chain management can help you learn more about the industry, you can start working at an entry-level as a supply chain administrator…As you work your way up management, consider completing professional development courses from the global leader in supply chain management, the Association for Supply Chain Management.” Also from Indeed…Best Entry Level Jobs With and Without Degree Requirements: lnkd.in/gX8p-fKP. lnkd.in/gjhtECnF "Most Sought-After Entry-Level Jobs Without a Degree: #1 Inventory Manager. The demand for skilled inventory managers in warehouses and companies post-pandemic has doubled the position’s job share in a year. Note, nearly 65% of the U.S. working population does not have a four-year degree." Ranked: Median Student Debt for a U.S. College Degree: lnkd.in/g_Eaq7zu Ranked: Most Popular U.S. Undergraduate Degrees (2011-2021): lnkd.in/gWTxiFch The top 10 most-regretted college majors - and the degrees graduates wish they had pursued instead: lnkd.in/gtapAxUJ. Students/Parents: Which college majors pay off? From WSJ: lnkd.in/gMy3nwS2. lnkd.in/gH3jSWKt 90% of 2023 graduates think college is really worth it. Here’s why they’re right-and politicians and pundits are wrong: lnkd.in/g_Vipjd5. College majors have a big impact on income. Here are the highest- and lowest-earning fields: lnkd.in/gt8BHiFM. Here’s where the jobs are - in one chart: lnkd.in/gN-dSc6E. The 10 highest-paying college majors, five years after graduation: lnkd.in/gTFb6_vw. In 2020-2021, SCM was the 89th most popular major nationwide with 10,986 degrees awarded. lnkd.in/gBA7id7M. Top Degrees in demand, current data (2023) from NACE: lnkd.in/g3kM_sZ6. #supplychain #careeradvice #salary

[@simecurkovic]

Should current students negotiate an INTERNSHIP offer (i.e., a higher salary)? Yes, if a company does not know your market value. There are already>10,000 SCM 2023 internships posted: lnkd.in/gRKmr7QE. lnkd.in/gt98WuvK & > 16,000 business related internships. Perhaps delay graduation for work experience & stay specialized...lnkd.in/gdr7f9wb lnkd.in/gARup7zr lnkd.in/g4-csGUy www.linkedin.com/posts/sime-curkovic-61617a115_goals-of-a-supply-chain-internship-or-co-op-activity-6994340284243345408-XO44? Top 100 Internships lnkd.in/g8N_p43w Should current students negotiate an INTERNSHIP offer (i.e., a higher salary)? Yes, since many orgs are offering students 20-30% below market value. The avg supply chain internship is $44,918/yr, or $21.6/hr. People on the lower end, bottom 10%, make $37K/yr ($17.80/hr), while the top 10% makes $54K ($25.96/hr). lnkd.in/gpBm_m84 > 1/2 our students are making over $20/hr. The program avg is around 20-22/hr. You can work in food customer service for $16/hr. Fed Ex is hiring manual part time laborers for 22.50/hr. You can collect unemployment & make around 16/hr. Why would any org want to pay 20-30% below avg? Should grads negotiate a job offer (i.e., a higher starting salary)? Yes, but only if you know how to negotiate. I do have students that get offers in the $50K-$60K range & many successfully negotiate up to > $60-70K. That is a 10-30% bump before you even start! Many people have to work a few years to get that bump. lnkd.in/gB9bTdgJ lnkd.in/gW5uwkkE Our avg is $65K. You need to position yourself w/i that context. Are you above avg? Why? And, does this org want someone that is above avg? Probably. If someone asked me what the avg WMU SCM student looked like, I might say: they have around a 3.3-3.4 GPA, 2-3 internships, a very relevant minor like Business Analytics, etc. So what if you have a 3.1 GPA & only one internship? It's OK! You can still get the best jobs out there! Maybe you interview great, maybe you really connect w/ the corporate culture, maybe you have stronger soft skills, etc. What if you have a 2.7 GPA & have to take a job w/ a mom & pop 3PL for $48,600? What's wrong w/ that?! Yes, there might be consequences for not getting more experience, for not having a higher GPA, for not having a BA minor, etc., but, it is America. You get 2nd+ chances. Also, the top 20% in our program are getting offers 64K-78K from the F500 types. Not all orgs can compete against these offers & try not to focus too much on $. The $ will come no matter what if you have a challenging job. Try to make an assessment based on things beyond $. I know it is hard to do but you have to think long-term, & long-term the $ will come. The most important part of your long term earning potential is not your starting salary, but what your resume will look like 3-5 years from now. In other words, what will you accomplish & what will you be doing in your first job during the first 3-5 years of your career? #joboffer #negotiation

[@simecurkovic]

Did you know that 80% of the global goods trade is transported over sea? FYI: COSCO Shipping (#4 on list) is China’s state-owned shipping company. For context, Chinese state-owned enterprises have ownership stakes in terminals at five U.S. ports. See: lnkd.in/g3AfzPAj? I had a student ask me why don’t all those shipping containers have smart technology attached to them? I said I am very certain some do. He asked what %? I was like a deer in headlights, no idea. I guessed & said < 1%. Per this article, I guessed well: lnkd.in/gC8MrgAC … around 3.6% of the global container equipment fleet was fitted with smart technology devices, representing 30% growth from the year prior. BUT… looking at dry containers, only 0.3% of the global fleet is currently considered “smart”. Educated idiots (professors like me) are great guessers. Here is some good news: …the technology so far has been mainly reserved for reefer & intermodal containers, where smart containers represent approximately a third and 40% of the respective global fleets. … Drewry forecasts the number of smart containers in the global fleet to accelerate rapidly and reach over 8.7 million units in 2026, representing as much as 25% of worldwide box inventories. I am still shocked by the lack of technology used to manage the supply chain. The two most used technologies: email & excel (huge color coded spreadsheets)...and back and forth emails about spreadsheets. People want more $ & rewarding work (not paperwork, use technology!) - lnkd.in/g7BwX84c lnkd.in/gzpRX6Dd “…most companies’ planning processes are functional, slow and labour-intensive, and that Excel is still the most widely used planning tool.” That is VERY consistent w/ the feedback I get from former students. Predictive Data Analytics (Excel on steroids): I get this kind of feedback all the time…lnkd.in/dQABdsXc Do you know how to use Power BI or Tableau? Which does your company use? Is it mainstream? Visualization is huge. lnkd.in/gceUgQw3 #1 DISRUPTOR is a SCM technology company (Flexport)! 10 of this year’s Disruptors are from the “logistics” sector! Get ready for the convergence of Logistics + Industry 4.0 + Data Analytics. lnkd.in/gV6hM-2E Do not be a victim of technology. lnkd.in/eKEaPGq and lnkd.in/efCCBQ5s I have repeatedly said a huge part of Industry 4.0 will be taking all the “manual” processes that exist & “automating” them using “technology” so that they get done better, faster, & cheaper. #bigdata #dataanalytics #supplychainmanagement

[@simecurkovic]

Here is a way to be very proactive and even stay one step ahead of your suppliers (and customers). lnkd.in/gMuhMNf6 and lnkd.in/gQZ7HfWb Surprised by raw material price increases? At the WMU ISM supply chain management program we teach our students to track commodity forward price curves. Here's a quick video of Net Alpha's cloud based materialx Decision Support service that is being made available to our students in class as they prepare to become future SCM managers. Some of our alumni have experienced this new service and love it. It looks at raw material market data from multiple sources, visualizes & analyzes historical pricing scenarios, & simulates planned purchases & what-if scenarios against forward price curves. Our grads will be ready.

[@simecurkovic]

What if you are a student that wishes to learn both Power BI and Tableau, but your instructor only covers one? Unfortunately covering both in 1 single class will not give either one a fair coverage. In the end, students won’t have good skills in visualization. This is the reason we offer 2 sections, one for each tool. The good news is that Power BI is a free download. Here is what I recommend students do: lnkd.in/ghs2jf_r? www.linkedin.com/posts/sime-curkovic-61617a115_which-of-these-two-should-i-learn-power-activity-6993543672600416256-Lt6X? 1. Download Power BI 2. Go through the video tutorials of Power BI online (lnkd.in/gEYERYay) 3. Work on class exercises & assignments in both Tableau & Power BI. Many things are available in both tools. That makes it possible to replicate certain parts of class assignments in Power BI. Should we teach Tableau or Power BI or both? There are ONLY 500K unfilled SCM Data Science jobs on LI. In our CIS 3640 class we focus on three major areas: (1) Advanced excel functions, Power Query, Power Pivot , & Data Models, (2) Excel Macros, & (3) Visualization. lnkd.in/gXYSQKc7 We do our best to go in-depth in all these three areas. Based on the feedback we received from students, they are interested in learning about all three areas & found them helpful during their job search. However, it is not possible to talk about both Tableau & Power BI visualization because of the time limitation. Therefore, we decided to cover Power BI in one section & Tableau & Tableau data prep in the other section. As you know, ETL is one of the most important skills they need for visualization. Therefore, we always teach Power Pivot a & Query, which are foundations for Power BI in both sections. There are 8 assignments in the class. At least 2 are about Power Query & Power Pivot & two about Visualization in Tableau or Power BI. I encourage students to have an open mind on tool usage. The whole reason of teaching both Tableau & Power BI in our curriculum is backed by industry evidence, rather than by one or two individual companies. Both visualization tools have been in the best quadrant (i.e., leaders-visionaries quadrant) of Gartner’s “magic quadrant” survey for analytics & business intelligence platforms for years. So, it is not true that Tableau is not used at many companies. Kellogg’s, for example, is basically a Tableau shop. The bottom line is that it really doesn’t matter which tool students learned (as long as there is industry evidence to support the tool selection). The two tools share so many similarities. Usually 1 should be able to transition from one tool to another with minimal learning. I think one way going forward is probably this: If students already know what tools they are going to be using at the internship or job, they might want to talk to us first before taking CIS 3640. This will help them pick the desired course section. Otherwise, it is hard for us to predict what analytics & visualization tools each student will be using & which org they will end up working. #powerbi #tableau #python

[@simecurkovic]

2.5 years old, but still likely accurate…Predictive Data Analytics ranked #2! lnkd.in/gthyAWf3. Every WMU SCM major now has to take this class (Excel on steroids). Our Business Analytics minor teaches Big Data w/ skill sets such as: 1. Advanced Excel (power query & pivot) & macros; 2. Data visualization (Tableau, Power BI & python w/ seaborn & matplotlib); 3. Data mining/RapidMiner, machine learning & data science; 4. Python & Jupyter notebook (data analytics & statistical libraries such as pandas, numpy); 5. Relational data models (Excel data model); 6. Graphic & statistical libraries (Seaborn, Matplotlib, Pandas, & Plotly). I saw this post the other day and thought it was so simple that it was brilliant: lnkd.in/giAwgM45 Data Analytics is not Excel Data Analytics is not SQL Data Analytics is not Tableau Data Analytics is not Alteryx Data Analytics is not Python or R Data analytics is not about the tools, rather, it is about your ability to spot patterns in data and transform raw data into actionable insights. The tools are vehicles, they aren't destinations! __ Predictive Data Analytics (Excel on steroids): I get this kind of feedback all the time, see: lnkd.in/dQABdsXc - You will be glad to hear that (Anaconda + Jupyter Notebook + Python + visualization libraries) is what we have been teaching in CIS 2650 since the course was created. We have no plan to change it unless industry tells us otherwise. Agreed? BA Minor At WMU, students develop the capacity to manage data & conduct business projects through our business analytics minor, finding success in many disciplines. Courses cover: Business intelligence Databases Data mining Predictive analytics Project management Spreadsheets Students analyze, visualize & report data, as well as explore processes to manage business projects. The minor can benefit all departments. Competencies in the knowledge domains of business analytics open the doors of opportunity. lnkd.in/eqiqSMRb CIS courses in our BA minor:: CIS 1020 (Business Computing), CIS 2640 (Business Analysis & Reporting), CIS 2650 (Programming for Data Analytics), CIS 3640 (Business Analytics), & CIS 4640 (Business Data Mining). CIS 2650 is not just a “Python” class, but instead a Python class for analytics (big difference). In a traditional Python class, people teach Python straight for the whole semester with tons of syntax, data structure, software development, etc. That type of class is mostly designed for CIS majors. What we do is different. It is Python in a popular analytics platform (more technically speaking, it is Python in Jupyter. www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7012047877640245248? #jobalert #dataanalytics #supplychain #careeradvice

[@simecurkovic]

Still feels like a seller’s market for my students. The 10 fastest-growing jobs in the U.S. right now-many pay over $100,000 a year: lnkd.in/g7TNMeja. From Gartner 2022 (2 yrs ago data): Starting salaries for students in supply chain roles also increased. In terms of compensation, U.S. SCM undergraduates finding their first jobs in supply chain roles are earning about $1,600 more per year than in 2020. While the average starting salary is $61,769, graduates from the top 10 programs can expect around $65,000. The highest salary from the ranked schools was $80,000. Well, that avg now is closer to $70K. Also, we just had a student get offered $87K, no job rotation (straight into a full time role as she is already loaded with work experience), $8,700 signing bonus, and immediately bonus eligible at 9%. I talked to one student in the Fall that was given a job offer in Sept. (one month to decide) & he accepted. Yes, he had a summer internship with them. He is a SCM major w/ a Data Analytics minor. $72K base, $14K in relocation, 20% of base bonus eligibility, 4 weeks paid vacation, & a 3 year job rotation (3 jobs in 3 years, and he gets to choose the locations - further, they encouraged him to pick areas outside of his major such as Finance, Engineering, etc., so that he could learn new things & become more cross-functional). Under most circumstances I would encourage my students to negotiate something, but what is there to negotiate lnkd.in/gkmB6BQa. Exploding job offers and job rotations: lnkd.in/gSYZ_PBD lnkd.in/gZQRfZmr lnkd.in/ervskG5 What do internships pay (never work for free)? The going rate appears to be $18-30/hr. See: lnkd.in/g8cAcBh3. The jobs paying six figure salaries to help lead supply chain disruptions: lnkd.in/gU9VhJEG. lnkd.in/g8n-dCz2

[@simecurkovic]

My students are asking for a summer reading list (I just wish they would also read the syllabus…because my reading list is in there!). Reading List: A great book read for CFO types that want to understand SCM types (or the other way around?): "Supply Chain Metrics that Matter"...The book links corporate financials to supply chain maturity, & what metrics matter most. Previous video shows 7 business books recommended by Stanford professors: lnkd.in/g5EGVe_X. Other reads that I think would be good for SCM leaders: The New Leader's 100-Day Action Plan: How to Take Charge, Build or Merge Your Team, and Get Immediate Results- by George B. Bradt, Jayme A. Check, John A. Lawler 5 Levels of Leadership or 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by John Maxwell. Both are mandatory readings for many F500 SCM teams. Many are also proponents of the “The First 90 Days: Proven Strategies for Getting Up to Speed Faster and Smarter, Updated and Expanded”, by Michael D. Watkins This was required reading in Procurement at a F500 org: Switch: How to Change Things When Change Is Hard by the Heath Brothers Great feedback on these 2: Supply Chain Excellence by Peter Bolstorff and Robert Rosenbaum The Lean Extended Enterprise by Terence Burton & Steven Boeder Recommended by myself: The Goal is a management-oriented novel by Dr. Eliyahu M. Goldratt. Another would be Car Guys vs. Bean Counters: The Battle for the Soul of American Business by Bob Lutz. Stuff we suggest students read: - Designing and Managing the Supply Chain by David Simchi-Levi, Philip Kaminsky and Edith Simchi-Levi - Essentials of Supply Chain Management by Michael H. Hugos - Logistics and Supply Chain Management by Martin Christopher - Logistics Management and Strategy: Competing through the Supply Chain by Alan Harrison and Remko Van Hoek - Manufacturing Planning and Control for Supply Chain Management F. Robert Jacobs, William Berry, D. Clay Whybark and Thomas Vollmann - Purchasing and Supply Chain Management by Robert Monczka, Robert Handfield, Larry Giunipero and James Patterson - Purchasing and Supply Chain Management: Analysis, Strategy, Planning and Practice by Arjan J. Van Weele - Supply Chain Logistics Management by Donald Bowersox, David Closs and M. Bixby Cooper - Supply Chain Management: Strategy, Planning, and Operation by Sunil Chopra and Peter Meindl - The Resilient Enterprise: Overcoming Vulnerability for Competitive Advantage by Yossi Sheffi Also: lnkd.in/gb9nDnju lnkd.in/gjBhpb9M lnkd.in/guxyh9Ny The classics… HOW TO WOW: FRANCES COLEJONES THE EXCEPTIONAL PRESENTER: TIMOTHY J KOEGEL THE SEVEN HABITS OF HIGHLY EFFECTIVE PEOPLE: STEPHEN COVEY GOOD TO GREAT: JIM COLLINS THE PRESENT: SPENCER JOHNSON FISH: STEPHEN LUNDIN THE SERVANT: JAMES C HUNTER More thoughts on SCM Finance: lnkd.in/gv7jfcRX #supplychain #readinglist

[@simecurkovic]

Follow my blogs at: medium.com/@sime.curkovic

[@simecurkovic]

I actually have employers tell me they will NOT consider a student if they do NOT have a strong professional LinkedIn presence. Hmm. How to effectively join LinkedIn. lnkd.in/dAwyTUy I have former students that found new jobs & they were not even looking! Yes, aggressive orgs found them via LI. Some firms w/ a market cap of > $1T do this often. Interviewing tools: lnkd.in/gipsXEsK. Thank you WMU for 112 pages of ideas. www.linkedin.com/posts/sime-curkovic-61617a115_employers-expect-a-strong-li-profile-activity-6997976884756041728-xqiA? Yale advice: lnkd.in/gggJFADW lnkd.in/gxkjy3sm Harvard: lnkd.in/ghEYr3Qw lnkd.in/gc4Kd_SE MIT: lnkd.in/g3xqeDyc Personally, I prefer WMU’s Career Services manual. Also, WMU HCOB/ISM has a great ROI (just ask my students starting at 70K & making over six digits by age 30). Keep in mind that many schools such as Harvard ($54K/yr tuition), Yale ($58K/yr), & Stanford ($57K/yr) don't offer undergrad business degrees. WMU ($13K/yr) - A Top Business School (take a look at the list): lnkd.in/dn9-BCg Should current students negotiate an INTERNSHIP offer? The avg SCM internship is $44,918/yr, or $21.6/hr. People on the lower end, bottom 10%, make $37K/yr ($17.80/hr), while the top 10% makes $54K ($25.96/hr). lnkd.in/gpBm_m84 Should grads negotiate a job offer (i.e., a higher starting salary)? lnkd.in/gMJYNJkh Virtual career fairs: lnkd.in/evKd-VzQ Business externship? lnkd.in/e9aeewPa Placement success of ISM Program - *Median salary was $60K - $65K (around 10% of grads hired on w/ 1 auto OEM at $78K!). "Supply Chain"+"Degree"=jobs & $$. lnkd.in/gV4x6GWE Will technology replace SCM jobs? lnkd.in/gX8vcRNa Global Negotiation: Fastest growing class. lnkd.in/guTUcvdu A Top School: lnkd.in/dVdMRXP Sample Lectures: lnkd.in/e9j33EQ Power BI or Tableau? Do not be a victim of technology. lnkd.in/eKEaPGq lnkd.in/e5zG6sZ Here is a good read on how SCM 4.0 does not have to be super expensive: lnkd.in/eyebnSct How much Python do I need to know in order to excel in SCM? lnkd.in/e6Rmzpw STAR job interviews & online robots… lnkd.in/ePzz3NG lnkd.in/eZgTxWc lnkd.in/eyCv4x5 lnkd.in/eaxVjpK Myers-Briggs. lnkd.in/ehj3ysR For details on how to build your brand: lnkd.in/dSAA6wF Similar to MBTI: lnkd.in/ey4TEUY lnkd.in/exNDhSv Help with online interviews...lnkd.in/eKBDsMq Practice before it really matters...lnkd.in/ekaBK5Q Resume advice... lnkd.in/eWen96qj lnkd.in/e7utipBi lnkd.in/eVEHgvk6 Internships, salary data, etc. lnkd.in/eNfUzksJ Covid job market… lnkd.in/ed-ZfanD Delay graduation for experience? lnkd.in/ewKu7b_X Right time for grad school? lnkd.in/eTk-PXPv Predictive Data Analytics (Excel)…lnkd.in/dQABdsXc Problem solving #1 skill set! Elon's resume - lnkd.in/eWaJ8q2 #jobhunting #networking #interviewing

[@simecurkovic]

Has Price Analysis become a lost art? Aside from the precious metals, every other commodity managed double-digit increases. U.S. suppliers’ price increases picked up (11.3%!) in June & remained near historic highs. Producer-level inflation showed an 11.3% annual rate, 7th straight month of double-digit gains. lnkd.in/g_pFJ_QH www.visualcapitalist.com/the-periodic-table-of-commodity-returns-2012-2021/ What happened to Strategic Cost Management? (I need to teach this better). Time to stay on top of this stuff (both on the way up & down). Supply chains top CFO business risk concerns: "#1 - raw material costs" lnkd.in/gK2nRVUs. Pre-covid: According to a Deloitte 2019 Global Survey of over 1,200 execs directly involved in cost mgmt, cost reduction remained an essential business practice all around the world, with the vast majority of surveyed companies (71%) planning to cut costs over the next 24 months (2020-22). Hmmm, how did that go? lnkd.in/guZexE_s I have asked a lot of SCM managers how they “prepare” to negotiate price increase requests from their suppliers. In particular, I was curious about how and where they get their data from (i.e., CME, COMEX, etc.). Many said their suppliers provide that information. I am not convinced that using data from your suppliers is a form of “Preparation” for the negotiation process. What are buyers to do? Procurement organizations need processes and “tools” to mitigate and negotiate on these requests in a strategic, data-driven manner (and we/I need to do a better job of teaching it). In the Fall, we will also be looking at raw material market data from multiple sources, we will visualize & analyze historical pricing scenarios, & do some simulating on planned purchases & what-if scenarios against forward price curves. I have been collaborating with Net Alpha and they have a cloud platform called materialx that I am bringing into the classroom. It beats updating color coded excel spreadsheets. lnkd.in/ghjfe3gh lnkd.in/gMuhMNf6 lnkd.in/gQZ7HfWb Great read & spot on - Rising Interest Rates: Maybe It’s Time to Bring Back the Forgotten Art of Price Analysis, May 4, 2022 | Robert Handfield Ph.D. lnkd.in/gTjJfyaQ Given the Fed's announcements of increasing rates, maybe it's time that firms started to re-institute a Price Analysis team to keep track of markets and what is happening. Our student team research study also finds it's high time to bring Price Analysis back into the toolbox for procurement. Price analysis is a subject that is often overlooked in supply chain education, (although it is certainly a big part of our chapter on Strategic Cost Mgmt in Purchasing and Supply Chain Management). The issue is particularly important, given the massive inflation rates we have seen,...lnkd.in/gTjJfyaQ A great read on the "exciting" world of competitive bidding & RFQs. Malpractice? lnkd.in/g8xsaKTa #rawmaterials #priceanalysis #supplychain

[@simecurkovic]

Another awesome post Ms. Labes, thank you. Just curious as to where people think the supply chain function should sit within this chart, especially in regards to the CFO. Assume mfg orgs where direct material purchases (from their supply chain) are 50-80% of each dollar in sales revenue. www.linkedin.com/posts/sime-curkovic-61617a115_entrepreneur-finance-business-activity-7038161272391036928-VZap? FYI, per chatGPT: On avg, what % of each mfg sales dollar is in direct material costs? The % of each mfg sales dollar that is in direct material costs varies depending on the industry & the product being manufactured. However, a commonly used benchmark is the Cost of Goods Sold (COGS) metric, which includes direct material costs, direct labor costs, & overhead expenses associated w/ production. According to the National Association of Manufacturers, the avg COGS as a % of sales for U.S. manufacturers was 64.7% in 2020. However, this % can vary sig depending on the industry, w/ some industries such as food/bev having a higher % of direct material costs, while others such as software/technology having a lower %. In summary, while it is difficult to determine an exact % for direct material costs as it varies across industries & products, a common benchmark is the COGS metric, which is typically around 65% of sales for U.S. manufacturers. __ Remember, ROI = profit margin * asset turnover rate (ATR). ATR = sales/total assets total assets = current assets + fixed assets current assets = inventory + accounts receivable + cash. I keep telling my students if they can widen margins (i.e., reduce direct material costs since that is where most of your costs come from) and/or increase ATR, then ROI will go up. So, if you can reduce your total assets without changing sales and/or increasing sales, then ATR goes up. For example, reduce your inventory and your ATR will go up and ROI will go up. If you can do more with less, then your ATR will go up. Arguably (in mfg orgs), no other major/function (SCM) has a greater impact on what goes into the ROI calculation. That is why SCM graduates will likely be immediately bonus eligible and their highest ranking functional area (SCM) leader will have a VP in front of their name. WHAT IS THE FORMULA FOR ROI? Return on Investment equals Profit margin * asset turnover rate. WHAT IS THE FORMULA FOR PROFIT MARGIN? (Sales - cost of sales)/Sales or Net Income/Sales Keep this simple, take your company’s total annual sales revenue and subtract your costs (DM, DL, & OH). Take that number and divide it by your total annual sales revenue. So, how do you widen margins? Cut costs. Where do most of your costs come from? Direct material purchases. This is what they are majoring in. Why do you want to widen margins? To increase ROI (Return on Investment). ROI is PM multiplied by Asset Turnover Rate (ATR). What is ATR? Doing more with less (i.e., reducing inventory, getting customers to pay sooner, buying less expensive stuff…OUTSOURCING?). Details: lnkd.in/e9j33EQ #outsourcing #supplychain #cfo

[@simecurkovic]

Some employers are giving students a few days to make decisions on full time job offers several months before graduation. One student asked if that was ethical or even legal. Exploding job offers & do you want a full time job to begin in a job rotation? lnkd.in/ervskG5. My students came back to school from their summer internships and many of them received full time offers from their internship & many will accept (5-10 months ahead of graduation!). www.linkedin.com/posts/sime-curkovic-61617a115_should-college-grads-negotiate-a-job-offer-activity-6990285259237965824-O2FI? Note, most companies will only give them 1-2 weeks (or even only a few days!) to decide (way before the career fairs start, hmmm). I think we call that an "exploding" job offer. In other words, either accept now or take your chances with the job market. I am not a huge fan of these offers, but they are perfectly legal and employers seem to think it works to their advantage (they get the talent they want). lnkd.in/gmFMJfbC Should college grads negotiate a job offer (i.e., a higher starting salary)? Yes, but only if you know how to negotiate. I do have students that get offers in the $50K-$60K range & many successfully negotiate up to > $60K-$70K. That is a 10-30% bump before you even start! Many people have to work a few years to get that bump. lnkd.in/gMJYNJkh Many of our grads begin their career in a “Job Rotation”. I used to not be a fan of these job rotations (especially for students with tons of experience), but they have grown on me. See for more details: lnkd.in/ervskG5 In general, firms with a rotational program have nearly a 20% higher first-year retention rate than those without a rotational program. I think that is a good number. After five years, firms with a rotational program saw a 10% higher retention rate than those w/o a rotational program. I am not sure if that is a good number. Advantages of starting career in job rotation for students: · Rapidly learn about your industry of interest · Work on a diverse set of projects · Find a mentor & learn about your potential career trajectory · See what makes the company great Also, students are getting lots of job offers when they play the job market...In U.S., 28% accepted a job offer & reneged! 70% of grads are willing to renege? Reneging: Once you commit, quit! lnkd.in/e85beQ2 Amongst those grads that have reneged on a job offer, 64% claimed that they did this because they didn’t know how to decline. 22% said they did this because they received a better offer elsewhere, while just 9% changed their mind (Milkround). lnkd.in/gZiiskjD The Harvard advice: lnkd.in/ghEYr3Qw lnkd.in/gc4Kd_SE Ideas from Yale: lnkd.in/gggJFADW lnkd.in/gxkjy3sm #careeradvice #salarynegotiation #joboffer #supplychain #salaryguide2022

[@simecurkovic]

So, this article from Forbes is recommending that my students become a jack of all trades, but a master of none? Can you do that & still reap the benefits of being specialized, while also having a variety of career options (w/ advancement opportunities)? Supply Chain Management? www.linkedin.com/posts/sime-curkovic-61617a115_why-non-linear-career-paths-are-the-future-activity-7036462992430936064-pRMS? WMU Research: Students who choose to specialize are having better experiences than those who stay generalist (FYI: They also found that professors have the most influence on major). See: lnkd.in/ex89namH This might also be important before they begin their 60 year career… "Students who are able to build strong relationships with professors are far more likely to find engaging work after graduation." lnkd.in/gSuzhcjP -those who believe a professor cared about them as a person, made them excited about learning, & encouraged them to pursue their dreams had more than double the odds of being engaged at work & experiencing a higher degree of well being overall, these studies find. lnkd.in/g-v3-iTk Will future business professionals need to learn to become consultants to their own org? We try to develop strategic skill sets (rather than tactical) combined w/ softer skills (i.e., problem solving, leadership, negotiation, project mgmt, etc.). Skills would include: 1) Gather & organize information about the problem to be solved or the procedure to be improved. 2) Interview personnel & conduct onsite observations to determine the methods, equipment, & personnel that will be needed. 3) Analyze financial & other data, including revenue, expenditure, & employment reports. 4) Develop solutions or alternative practices. 5) Recommend new systems, procedures, or organizational changes 6) Make recommendations to mgmt through presentations or written reports. 7) Confer with managers to ensure changes are working. Also, other skill sets required of pros (especially in SCM): Project mgmt, Technical understanding, Cost accounting skills, Ability to understand financial statements, Understanding of e-procurement systems, Troubleshooting, problem solving, Understanding of cross-cultural / global issues, Business ethics, Understanding of the legal issues involved in managing contracts, etc. Jack of all trades, but a master of none? Here is a list of specialized degrees that also gives you a well rounded business acumen: lnkd.in/dkGr4_uX Do not let technology be a threat (use it to your advantage)... Job saving technology: lnkd.in/g9Crpn9T lnkd.in/e6Rmzpw lnkd.in/eK7yQiRD lnkd.in/epHAQNDF lnkd.in/gX8vcRNa lnkd.in/gv2KD3uV #supplychain #career

[@simecurkovic]

14%?!...“Only 14% of procurement leaders express confidence in their talent’s ability to meet the future needs of the function, according to a survey by Gartner, Inc. The finding comes as business acumen and technology/data competencies have rapidly grown in importance over more traditional procurement skills.” www.linkedin.com/posts/sime-curkovic-61617a115_gartner-says-only-14-of-procurement-leaders-activity-7135983119236567041-aI_U? This is one reason that we created our new AI course - to create AI awareness and skills, and it is designed for non-technical majors. We will be offering that course again in spring 2024 semester. Per conversations with our CIS faculty…lnkd.in/gJ-YjJKD. Do not be a victim of technology! You could make the case that every Business major should minor (or double major) in Data Analytics. These skill sets would perhaps include: Employers place a premium on - 1. Advanced Excel (power query & pivot) & macros; 2. Data visualization (Tableau, Power BI & python w/ seaborn & matplotlib); 3. Data mining/RapidMiner, machine learning & data science; 4. Python & Jupyter notebook (data analytics & statistical libraries such as pandas, numpy); 5. Relational data models (Excel data model); 6. Graphic & statistical libraries (Seaborn, Matplotlib, Pandas, & Plotly). lnkd.in/guvjPb_V Common theme: BIG DATA is not going away: lnkd.in/g5UizdeN. In our CIS 3640 class we focus on three major areas: (1) Advanced excel functions, Power Query, Power Pivot , & Data Models, (2) Excel Macros, & (3) Visualization. lnkd.in/gxHRzjkE lnkd.in/eqiqSMRb & lnkd.in/gXYSQKc7. CIS 4640 - Business Data Mining This course focuses on the theoretical understanding & practical applications of data mining as a decision support tool. lnkd.in/geBPVWAD.

[@simecurkovic]

Ready for a HW assignment that will sharpen your SCM Finance skills?... Students: See the one-page financial statement on ROI at: wmich.edu/sites/default/files/attachments/u56/2023/LectureROIHandoutPDF.pdf Let’s say you just started working for this company and you are a problem-solver that is obsessed with finding ways to do every part of your job better, faster, and cheaper. Over a six-month period, you work very aggressively to reduce your organization’s direct material purchases/costs by 5%. For example, you figured out a way to consolidate your purchases by reducing the number of suppliers you use. So, you are giving a fewer number of suppliers larger amounts of business and volumes. By the way, that is called supply base deproliferation and it usually results in lower prices from economies of scale for suppliers. Suppliers are very OK with lowering their prices if you give them higher volumes of business (suppliers reduce their costs that way and share the cost savings with you by charging you less per part). Question #1 (fill in the blanks): Here is the question: what impact does reducing your employer’s direct material (DM) costs by 5% have on its ROI (use the numbers on the attachment)? Note, if you reduce your DM costs by 5%, it also reduces your inventory value by 5% (in other words, it will also increase your asset turnover rate - so you have to recalculate profit margin and asset turnover rate). Such a cost reduction (5%) would increase profit margins from __% to __% and ROI from 10% to __%? This equals a __ percentage point increase improvement in return on investment for each 1 percentage reduction in material costs…Hint, (new ROI - old ROI)/5. My thoughts…The 5% reduction used in this example is certainly a realistic expectation if the firm hires a high performer and if the SCM operation in this firm is not particularly progressive/strategic or well run. In a well-managed supply chain organization, a more realistic target might be a 2-3% cost reduction. However, this new post covid inflationary environment has made trying to cut costs VERY difficult. Remember, I said earlier that a dollar saved in SCM is the same as a dollar of new profit. However, an additional dollar of income from sales is NOT a new dollar of profit. Applicable expenses (your costs) must be deducted from the sales dollar to determine the remaining profit. Question #2 (fill in the blanks): Back to the financial statement…A 5% reduction in direct material costs produces a profit increase of $____? If the same profit increase had to be increased by sales, what sales increase would you need? At the existing 8% profit margin, the following calculation provides the answer: Profit increase (plug in the number from the blank above in Question #2) = New sales x .08 New sales = $______ This represents a sales increase of: ($_____/$5,000,000) x 100 = ____% So, for comparative purposes, in this case study, the same absolute profit improvement can be achieved by reducing material costs by 5% or by increasing sales ___%, approximately a ratio of ___ to 1. My thoughts: If the profit margin were greater than 8%, the ratio would be somewhat less; if material costs, as a percentage of sales, were higher, the ratio would be somewhat greater. Look, most progressive/strategic (long term thinking) managers strive to improve the firm’s profit position by both increasing sales revenue (if possible in global saturated hyper competitive markets) and by reducing the various elements of operating costs (which is always a viable option since most costs come from the supply chain!). Sales and Marketing majors: Yes, selling more stuff to make more money is great, especially stuff with wide margins, but cutting costs can be a way more viable and effective option. In practice, the cost of materials can easily vary as much as 10%, depending on the skill sets of your supply chain management organization. This is why typically there are more opportunities available for reducing purchasing costs 5% per se than there are for increasing sales volume by 20-30%. Also, additional profit from purchasing savings can normally be made without increases in expense. If an increase is required, it is usually for hiring more Broncos which pays for itself because they are trained to be problem solvers that do things better, faster, and cheaper. On the other hand, additional profit from increased sales volume normally entails increases in both expenses and increases in risk of capital. Additional expenses are incurred for such things as expanded sales and/or workforce, expanded advertising budget, additional plant capacity, overtime production pay, or some combination of these factors. Additional profit from sales, therefore, entails increased capital risk and increased managerial effort. Additional profit from purchasing/supply chain management normally only entails increased managerial effort, plus an occasional modest increase in management expense (hiring Broncos). What’s wrong with hiring a high performer for $70K/year ($100K/year with benefits and bonuses) if they save you hundreds of thousands of dollars annually (maybe millions in savings). Question #3 (start over with the case study): Go back to the original financial statement on ROI. Let’s say you start working for this company and you tell the owner of the company that you need around six months to reduce direct material costs by 5%. You tell the owner that it will make the ROI go up by X% (your answer to question #1 above). The owner says that is great but he/she does not have that much time and wants instant cost savings results. This company is privately owned and family run. That means they are not publicly traded (you cannot buy stock in the company). The hourly workforce in the factory is also not represented by a union. So, the owner said he/she is going to cut direct labor costs by 5%. How much will doing so improve the owner’s ROI? How effective do you think that is and what might be the consequences? What would you have done if this was your company and you were dealing with low, thin, and tight margins? My notes (I keep giving you my notes): How can Supply Chain Management (SCM) increase company profit? For the typical firm, SCM is responsible for spending well over half of every dollar the firm receives as income from sales. More dollars are spent for purchases of materials and services than all other expenses combined, including wages, taxes, dividends, and depreciation. The fact that SCM is responsible for spending well over half of most companies’ total dollars highlights the profit-making possibilities of SCM. Every dollar saved by SCM is equivalent to a new dollar of profit. Note, almost all of my students that go into SCM, are immediately bonus eligible. That is management’s way of saying Broncos will get extra money added to their salary if they help the company save money (saving money is the same as making money). Top management’s performance is frequently evaluated on the basis of the rate of return management is able to earn on the total capital invested in the business. A firm’s profit margin reflects management’s ability to control costs relative to revenue. The asset turnover rate reflects management’s ability to effectively utilize the firm’s productive assets. Hence, a firm’s management (SCM) can improve ROI (and managerial performance) in three ways: 1) by reducing costs relative to sales; 2) by getting more sales from available assets (or increasing sales proportionately faster than investment); or 3) by some combination of the two. As seen from the handout, SCM can contribute to ROI by both increasing the profit margins and/or increasing the asset turnover rate. That’s it! Email me if you want the answer key. Thank you. Sime

[@simecurkovic]

College Students: Do NOT round up your GPAs, use a post script on your phones for email replies, take your email signatures VERY seriously, & use keywords on your resume. Resume advice, Do NOT round up your GPAs www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:7011667767238041600? Students should not change their official GPA for their resume. Instead, I recommend they calculate their major GPA using the courses required for their major & also list their overall GPA (especially if your major GPA is much higher than your overall & your overall is under a 3.0). Also, a 2.96 GPA is not a 3.00 GPA. If an employer requests an official transcript be sent upon graduation (which they will), this could be labeled as "falsification of employment record" & as a result, an offer of employment can be revoked (if you round up your GPA). ___ I am noticing that several of my students are responding to my emails via smart phones. That is fine. It is 2022 & your future employer will expect you to do the same. However, it can be cumbersome to write emails on your phone that are clean & easy to read. & sometimes, you try to write one word but another word appears that was not intended. So, please take the time to make sure your reply message looks professional & reflects positively on you. Impressions will be made based on your written communication & you will be judged. I would also recommend programming your phone so that the post script tells the recipient of your message that it was sent from your smart phone. That way people will be less judgmental if a mistake was made. You can add the message in your iPhone settings so that it will appear on all emails sent by phone but not on your email signatures sent by computer. An appropriate post script message from your phone would be: “Note: this email was sent by iPhone, please forgive grammatical errors. “ ___ Resume Keywords Ideas/Action Verbs for your resume. Does your resume use these words? lnkd.in/ea6gV-K Here are my thoughts on resumes: lnkd.in/gxEy9VkH lnkd.in/gCgi72kX lnkd.in/gKV5JYhR ____ Do not underestimate the power of a professional email signature (most do not even have one, or they have very boring ones). It might be the first impression you create! lnkd.in/ge9nGrjx lnkd.in/evaNVnbv I just saw this one from a current student and really liked it... xxxx xxxx Integrated Supply Management (Purchasing, Operations, Logistics) - 2023 Western Michigan University - Haworth College of Business, Lee Honors College xxxxball Student Athlete E-mail: [e-mail]; Tel: (269) xxx-xxxx; LinkedIn: lnkd.in/gqbYfa9U #careeradvice #resumeadvice

[@simecurkovic]

I actually have employers tell me they will NOT consider a student if they do NOT have a strong professional LinkedIn presence. Hmm. How to effectively join LinkedIn. lnkd.in/dAwyTUy. I have former students that found new jobs & they were not even looking! Interviewing tools: lnkd.in/gipsXEsK. www.linkedin.com/posts/sime-curkovic-61617a115_does-your-resume-look-like-a-lazy-effort-activity-7010575035400687616-y6lS? Also, most employers will not even look at your resume if it looks like a lazy effort. Aesthetics matter! Yale advice: lnkd.in/gggJFADW lnkd.in/gxkjy3sm Harvard: lnkd.in/ghEYr3Qw lnkd.in/gc4Kd_SE MIT: lnkd.in/g3xqeDyc Personally, I prefer WMU’s Career Services manual. Also, WMU HCOB/ISM has a great ROI (just ask my students starting at 70K & making over six digits by age 30). Keep in mind that many schools such as Harvard ($54K/yr tuition), Yale ($58K/yr), & Stanford ($57K/yr) don't offer undergrad business degrees. WMU ($13K/yr) - A Top Business School (take a look at the list): lnkd.in/dn9-BCg Should current students negotiate an INTERNSHIP offer? The avg SCM internship is $44,918/yr, or $21.6/hr. People on the lower end, bottom 10%, make $37K/yr ($17.80/hr), while the top 10% makes $54K ($25.96/hr). lnkd.in/gpBm_m84 Should grads negotiate a job offer (i.e., a higher starting salary)? lnkd.in/gMJYNJkh Virtual career fairs: lnkd.in/evKd-VzQ Business externship? lnkd.in/e9aeewPa Placement success of ISM Program - *Median salary was $60K - $65K (around 10% of grads hired on w/ 1 auto OEM at $78K!). "Supply Chain"+"Degree"=jobs & $$. lnkd.in/gV4x6GWE Will technology replace SCM jobs? lnkd.in/gX8vcRNa Global Negotiation: Fastest growing class. lnkd.in/guTUcvdu A Top School: lnkd.in/dVdMRXP Sample Lectures: lnkd.in/e9j33EQ Power BI or Tableau? Do not be a victim of technology. lnkd.in/eKEaPGq lnkd.in/e5zG6sZ Here is a read on how SCM 4.0 does not have to be super expensive: lnkd.in/eyebnSct How much Python do I need to know in order to excel in SCM? lnkd.in/e6Rmzpw STAR job interviews & online robots… lnkd.in/ePzz3NG lnkd.in/eZgTxWc lnkd.in/eyCv4x5 lnkd.in/eaxVjpK Myers-Briggs. lnkd.in/ehj3ysR For details on how to build your brand: lnkd.in/dSAA6wF Similar to MBTI: lnkd.in/ey4TEUY lnkd.in/exNDhSv Help with online interviews...lnkd.in/eKBDsMq Practice before it really matters...lnkd.in/ekaBK5Q Resume advice... lnkd.in/eWen96qj lnkd.in/e7utipBi lnkd.in/eVEHgvk6 Internships, salary data, etc. lnkd.in/eNfUzksJ Covid job market… lnkd.in/ed-ZfanD Delay graduation for experience? lnkd.in/ewKu7b_X Right time for grad school? lnkd.in/eTk-PXPv Predictive Data Analytics (Excel)…lnkd.in/dQABdsXc Problem solving #1 skill set! Elon's resume - lnkd.in/eWaJ8q2 #jobhunting #networking #interviewing

[@simecurkovic]

There are the six rules of 'insane productivity' that Elon Musk lives by www.indy100.com/science-tech/elon-musk-six-points-productivity-2658796372 I just advised my students that #4 was very dangerous territory because it could really backfire (make sure you understand the culture for doing so): #4 Don't use "chain of command" to communicate. Musk emailed staff at Tesla, and Twitter, giving suggestions to improve productivity. ___ 1. Reduce the frequency of meetings According to Musk, "excessive meetings are the blight of big companies and almost always get worse over time." To make meetings more effective Musk suggests fewer of them unless there's an urgent matter to address. 2. Leave meetings that aren't valuable Similar to rule one, if an employee finds they cannot contribute successfully to a meeting then they should be allowed to leave with no repercussions. "It is not rude to leave, it is rude to make someone stay and waste their time," Musk says. 3. Don't use acronyms or nonsense words The best way to communicate effectively is to be direct about what you're saying, this means "don't use acronyms or nonsense words for objects, software, or processes." 4. Don't use "chain of command" to communicate "Communication should travel via the shortest path necessary to get the job done," Musk told employees. Musk finds it unnecessary for lower-level employees to communicate issues through the chain of command, rather than approaching a person directly. "Any manager who attempts to enforce chain of command communication will soon find themselves working elsewhere," he added. 5. Use common sense While it may seem obvious, some people need a reminder to use common sense in most situations. Musk used the example of following a "company rule" that would be "obviously ridiculous in a particular situation." 6. Avoid big meetings “Excessive meetings are the blight of big companies and almost always get worse over time. Please get [out] of all large meetings, unless you’re certain they are providing value to the whole audience, in which case keep them very short.”

[@simecurkovic]

The U.S. supply chain accounts for 37% of all domestic jobs. “The last time the U.S. labor market was this strong was in 1969…Although mfg hasn’t seen the highest gains, the sector has one of the lowest unemployment rates across job sectors, at 2.4%. Yet the industry faces an acute labor shortage-if every skilled unemployed worker were to fill open job vacancies, a third of jobs in durable mfg would remain open.” www.linkedin.com/posts/sime-curkovic-61617a115_visualized-the-state-of-the-us-labor-market-activity-7042865244666286080-zkZf? _ WMU supply chain grads from 2022 have a median wage range of $65-$75K. lnkd.in/dkGr4_uX. Good ROI, right? Recently, a student asked if they could earn a great salary in mid-career. I asked what is mid-career & he said by age 30. I smiled, but also told him many of my students are six digits or above by that age. SCM is very opportunistic. lnkd.in/gwfAHdkW lnkd.in/gyRiv9_x Entry-Level Supply Chain Positions | Avg Salary: $69,000 Mid-Level Supply Chain Positions | Avg: $115,000 Senior-Level Supply Chain Positions | Avg: $260,000 Also: Entry Level Mfg Jobs | Salary Range: $66,000 - $78,000 Mid-Level Mfg Jobs | Range: $110,000 - $143,000 Senior-Level Mfg Jobs | Range: $239,000 - $338,000 Source: lnkd.in/ga8Azij7. Students/Parents: Which college majors pay off? Is graduate school a golden goose or a money pit? Are Ivy League degrees usually worth it? From WSJ: lnkd.in/gMy3nwS2. lnkd.in/gH3jSWKt Again, the U.S. supply chain accounts for 37% of all domestic jobs, according to the Harvard Business Review. From me: it is actually higher if you loosely define SCM since every product and/or service comes from & has a supply chain. Note, this is all pre-covid data (so add more to the dollar signs)…Source: lnkd.in/gPqvNwG5 Logistician, $74,750 Logistics analyst, $58,713 Supply chain planner, $64,844 Purchasing agent, $69,600 Purchasing manager, $121,110 Logistics manager, $114,670 Distribution manager, $94,775 Operations manager, $100,780 Business & SCM competencies make up 80% of the fastest-growing skills in this industry; basic technical skills make up the remaining 20%. Top two: Microsoft Office/productivity tools Advanced Microsoft Excel Technical skills Among the top & fastest-growing technical skills: Data science SCM knowledge SCM Project Mgmt Our SCM students get an Analytics minor: lnkd.in/gxRayD3j Salaries per "ASCM/APICS" $: 2022 lnkd.in/gtYC5Cnw vs 2021 lnkd.in/gpMvehY5 vs 2020 lnkd.in/gcsrX6tr. Salaries per "DC Velocity": 2021 lnkd.in/gESQFNZa vs 2020 lnkd.in/gW-U-KHK vs 2019 lnkd.in/gJquYyT4. From "ISM": 2018 $: lnkd.in/gV53aggX. 2020 $ (right before covid): lnkd.in/gz8WQEhr. 2021 $ (deep into covid): lnkd.in/g-SfG93A & lnkd.in/gn5jM9xt. More $: lnkd.in/gSYKjixY. CIPS reveals a 7.4% avg increase & the avg for all SCM pros in N.A. was $111,278. Global: lnkd.in/gxbTMSyx. #supplychain #datascience #dataanalytics #college #bigdata #careeradvice

[@simecurkovic]

Looking into getting into the SCM field but do have a strong SCM background? These SCM graduate certificates could help get your foot in the door. For example: MIT MicroMasters program in SCM courses are delivered at a fraction of the cost of traditional training. Single subject courses are US$199-US$299 per person. The full MITx MicroMasters program credential is US$1524.60. Sime: You need to be very disciplined to follow through in these online environments though. micromasters.mit.edu/scm/mitx-micromasters-scm-business/#:~:text=Affordable%3A%20MicroMasters%20program%20in%20SCM,program%20credential%20is%20US%241524.60. Sime: and I think this gets you half way to a full blown graduate degree at a fraction of the cost. Brilliant if you can flourish during an online experience. I think SCM education is fairly conducive to online learning because it does not require tons of hand holding (versus data science which I think does require some hand holding as I would need to learn that face to face). Also, I think you can apply to ASU’s graduate online program and apply these 6 classes from the MIT MicroMasters SCM. Good luck to other schools trying to compete in this space with ASU and MIT collaborating in very creative ways.

[@simecurkovic]

New trend/question when managers ask me about students: How professional is their email communication & attention to detail? Hmm. Hey College Students: Do not begin an email message with “Hey” & always finish it with “Thank you.” Most college students do the bulk of their electronic communication via text messaging. Standards for emailing are different, especially in academic settings. Students' emails WILL 100% influence the way their professors view them. On avg, professionals spend 28% of their workday just reading & writing emails, which amounts to an unbelievable 2.6 hours & 120 messages received every day (in SCM it’s probably way more). Will Email Stand The Test Of Time? lnkd.in/gz9NTye2 Do not underestimate the power of a professional email signature (most do not even have one, or they have very boring ones). It might be the first impression you create! lnkd.in/ge9nGrjx lnkd.in/evaNVnbv I just saw this one from a current student & liked it... lnkd.in/gqMRPeTC Do NOT round up your GPAs, use a post script on your phones for email replies, take your email signatures VERY seriously, & use keywords on your resume. Students should not change their official GPA for their resume. Instead, I recommend they calculate their major GPA using the courses required for their major & also list their overall GPA (especially if your major GPA is much higher than your overall & your overall is under a 3.0). Also, a 2.96 GPA is not a 3.00 GPA. If an employer requests an official transcript be sent upon graduation (which they will), this could be labeled as "falsification of employment record" & as a result, an offer of employment can be revoked (if you round up your GPA). I am noticing that several of my students are responding to my emails via smart phones. That is fine. It is 2022 & your future employer will expect you to do the same. However, it can be cumbersome to write emails on your phone that are clean & easy to read. & sometimes, you try to write one word but another word appears that was not intended. So, please take the time to make sure your reply message looks professional & reflects positively on you. Impressions will be made based on your written communication & you will be judged. I would also recommend programming your phone so that the post script tells the recipient of your message that it was sent from your smart phone. That way people will be less judgmental if a mistake was made. You can add the message in your iPhone settings so that it will appear on all emails sent by phone but not on your email signatures sent by computer. An appropriate post script message from your phone would be: “Note: this email was sent by iPhone, please forgive grammatical errors. “ Resume Keywords Ideas/Action Verbs. Does your resume use these? lnkd.in/ea6gV-K Here are my thoughts on resumes: lnkd.in/gxEy9VkH lnkd.in/gCgi72kX lnkd.in/gKV5JYhR #careeradvice

[@simecurkovic]

“Nearly 20% of employers said they've even had a recent college grad bring a parent to an interview...Half the respondents blamed parenting, 48% said the COVID pandemic is the culprit, & 46% said EDUCATORS are the root of the problem." Ouch! Many college grads struggle to land jobs due to a lack of preparedness, study finds www.foxbusiness.com/lifestyle/college-grads-struggling-land-jobs-lack-preparedness-study-finds “One in five employers reported that recent college grads are generally unprepared when it comes to interviewing for a job. More than half of employers surveyed said Gen Z candidates struggle the most with eye contact during interviews. Candidates in this age group also ask for unreasonable salaries and have dressed inappropriately for in-person interviews. Even virtual interviews have posed issues, with 21% of employers reporting that some candidates refuse to turn on their cameras for the interview.” Should college grads negotiate a job offer (i.e., a higher starting salary)? Yes, but only if you know how to negotiate. My thoughts: lnkd.in/gEZF6prG. Here’s what a lot of college grads don’t know about their first job offer: lnkd.in/gG2DeF2h. “Just 38% of new grads negotiate w/ their employers when they get that first job offer.” Are students satisfied with their college experience?...Students have overwhelmingly positive reactions to their college experience: lnkd.in/gdvDK7TQ Demonstrating self-awareness during an interview is huge. I tell my students to always answer the “what is your weakness” question in the context of having a strategy to fix it (explain what you have done about it, actual RESULTS). For example: lnkd.in/gQnHZd9Y. Yale advice: lnkd.in/gggJFADW & lnkd.in/gxkjy3sm. More from Harvard: lnkd.in/ghEYr3Qw & lnkd.in/gc4Kd_SE & lnkd.in/gC44Baeb. MIT: lnkd.in/g3xqeDyc. Kansas State: lnkd.in/gPNgpmKA. Western Michigan University: lnkd.in/gipsXEsK. This is a very good one from UNC Pembroke: lnkd.in/gJA3uub2. Students looking for internships/jobs: I actually have employers tell me they will NOT consider a student if they do NOT have a strong professional LinkedIn presence...How to effectively join LinkedIn: lnkd.in/gXYFDjXY. hashtag#networking hashtag#interviewing hashtag#careers hashtag#interviewpreparation

[@simecurkovic]

Five reasons why CEOs need to drive supply chain excellence from the top: “Some of the world’s leading CEOs today emerged from supply chain roles. Many have carried over their relentless focus on supply chain excellence into their leadership approach, proving to be invaluable in recent times….A deep understanding of supply chain issues is now a critical skill set for any C-suite leader.” lnkd.in/gVXyzaEn. I had a student ask: Shouldn’t I major in Finance or Accounting if I want to become a CEO? I said: Well, being able to talk CFO talk is critical to long term success, but you might want to give this supply chain thing some thought… "...it’s clear that supply chain pros are poised to become the most powerful executives in the world..." lnkd.in/g2rhdEAH. Why supply chain pros make great CEOs (2015!). lnkd.in/g6HJgvX3. Supply Chain Leaders Making The Move To CEO: Why the change? lnkd.in/gXqaMWU4. How a Background in SCM Can Set You on the Path to CEO: lnkd.in/gp42y_Q9 & lnkd.in/gxeu2a5B. Supply Chain Leader Traits That Make for a Great CEO. lnkd.in/gyYCRe9s. The Next-Gen CEOs Will Be ex-Supply Chain Leaders. lnkd.in/guyQRJ-D. Moving supply chain leaders to the C-suite: lnkd.in/gU366dTD. Top 10 CEOs Who Have Had Roles in Supply Chain: lnkd.in/gkzVaZKc. CFO to CFO: Finance and SCM...lnkd.in/gFv3gqgn. Note, (I encourage my SCM students to get an Accounting minor): College Accounting to me feels like Supply Chain Finance. The Accounting Minor for SCM Majors seems like a great fit & has grown on me. Long term in your careers, understanding SCM Finance will be critical…lnkd.in/gBPZJsVq. lnkd.in/guejd-vi. Two classes in our Accounting minor, good fit for SCM types, right?: 3220: Cost & Managerial Accounting and ACTY 4220: Cost Mgmt & Analytics. FYI, we make EVERY business major take FIN 3200 - Business Finance Decisions. More: lnkd.in/gtUMdsiT. #supplychain #ceo #csuite #cfo

[@simecurkovic]

What does a "material" reduction mean? Data?...“Companies such as IBM, Accenture and Google have all worked to reduce the number of jobs that require degrees-and many more are taking steps to do the same. According to a 2022 report by Burning Glass Institute, a labor market research nonprofit, some 46% of middle-skill occupations and 31% of high-skill occupations saw a “material” reduction in degree requirements between 2017 and 2019.” No degree? No problem: 10 highest-paying jobs without degree requirements: Take this one with a grain of salt, notice #6: Supply Chain Manager: lnkd.in/g_k6q9gv · Average earning potential: US$108,141 per year “Supply chain or logistics managers have never been in greater demand than after the COVID-19 pandemic…As the supply chain industry expands, it offers you great potential to progress in your career…While studying for a degree in supply chain management can help you learn more about the industry, you can start working at an entry-level as a supply chain administrator…As you work your way up management, consider completing professional development courses from the global leader in supply chain management, the Association for Supply Chain Management.” Also from Indeed…Best Entry Level Jobs With and Without Degree Requirements: lnkd.in/gX8p-fKP. lnkd.in/gjhtECnF "Most Sought-After Entry-Level Jobs Without a Degree: #1 Inventory Manager. The demand for skilled inventory managers in warehouses and companies post-pandemic has doubled the position’s job share in a year. Note, nearly 65% of the U.S. working population does not have a four-year degree." Ranked: Median Student Debt for a U.S. College Degree: lnkd.in/g_Eaq7zu Ranked: Most Popular U.S. Undergraduate Degrees (2011-2021): lnkd.in/gWTxiFch The top 10 most-regretted college majors - and the degrees graduates wish they had pursued instead: lnkd.in/gtapAxUJ. Students/Parents: Which college majors pay off? From WSJ: lnkd.in/gMy3nwS2. lnkd.in/gH3jSWKt 90% of 2023 graduates think college is really worth it. Here’s why they’re right-and politicians and pundits are wrong: lnkd.in/g_Vipjd5. College majors have a big impact on income. Here are the highest- and lowest-earning fields: lnkd.in/gt8BHiFM. Here’s where the jobs are - in one chart: lnkd.in/gN-dSc6E. The 10 highest-paying college majors, five years after graduation: lnkd.in/gTFb6_vw. In 2020-2021, SCM was the 89th most popular major nationwide with 10,986 degrees awarded. lnkd.in/gBA7id7M. Top Degrees in demand, current data (2023) from NACE: lnkd.in/g3kM_sZ6. #supplychain #careeradvice #salary

[@simecurkovic]

Notice how a lot of these jobs are in the supply chain. "Most Sought-After Entry-Level Jobs Without a Degree: #1 Inventory Manager. The demand for skilled inventory managers in warehouses and companies post-pandemic has doubled the position’s job share in a year. Note, nearly 65% of the U.S. working population does not have a four-year degree." www.visualcapitalist.com/sought-after-entry-level-jobs-of-2023/ The U.S. supply chain contains 37% of all jobs, employing 44 million people. See: The Harvard Business Review (Delgado & Mills) called this right 5 years ago in 2018 (pre covid), well done. Why are supply chain industries the source of so many high-paying jobs and so much innovation? lnkd.in/grs9FUsw. Degree program fuels supply chain and logistics industry’s workforce of the future: lnkd.in/g65xNd9M. “Its bachelor’s degree gives students the chance to boost their average annual pay in the field to $87,280, compared with $49,689 for a high school graduate.” A Look at the U.S. Supply Chain Economy: lnkd.in/gWuBsbyw. “It’s worth noting that supply chain traded services have the highest wages in the supply chain economy, averaging at $80,800 annually - 3 times higher than traditional “service” jobs.” The supply chain economy: A new industry categorization for understanding innovation in services (Delgado & Mills): lnkd.in/g3XCQvVQ. In 2020-2021, SCM was the 89th most popular major nationwide with 10,986 degrees awarded. lnkd.in/gBA7id7M. Top Degrees in demand, current data (2023) from NACE: lnkd.in/g3kM_sZ6. Great time to be a supply chain student. Deloitte expects U.S. manufacturers to have 2.1M unfilled jobs by 2030, & the BLS is projecting that logistics employment will grow by 7% annually through 2026. lnkd.in/gQ4cTdiy "The number of US job postings for supply chain managers on LinkedIn more than doubled between 2019 & 2022, according to data shared w/ the Financial Times." lnkd.in/gyWH5gxt. Nice SCM salary report summary: lnkd.in/dTneTGgw. #supplychain #jobs #economy

[@simecurkovic]

Wow, the Harvard Business Review (Delgado & Mills) called this right 5 years ago in 2018 (pre covid), well done. Why are supply chain industries the source of so many high-paying jobs and so much innovation? lnkd.in/grs9FUsw. Degree program fuels supply chain and logistics industry’s workforce of the future: lnkd.in/g65xNd9M. “Its bachelor’s degree gives students the chance to boost their average annual pay in the field to $87,280, compared with $49,689 for a high school graduate.” A Look at the U.S. Supply Chain Economy: lnkd.in/gWuBsbyw. “It’s worth noting that supply chain traded services have the highest wages in the supply chain economy, averaging at $80,800 annually - 3 times higher than traditional “service” jobs.” The supply chain economy: A new industry categorization for understanding innovation in services (Delgado & Mills): lnkd.in/g3XCQvVQ. In 2020-2021, SCM was the 89th most popular major nationwide with 10,986 degrees awarded. lnkd.in/gBA7id7M. Top Degrees in demand, current data (2023) from NACE: lnkd.in/g3kM_sZ6. Great time to be a supply chain student. Deloitte expects U.S. manufacturers to have 2.1M unfilled jobs by 2030, & the BLS is projecting that logistics employment will grow by 7% annually through 2026. lnkd.in/gQ4cTdiy "The number of US job postings for supply chain managers on LinkedIn more than doubled between 2019 & 2022, according to data shared w/ the Financial Times." lnkd.in/gyWH5gxt. The U.S. supply chain accounts for 37% of all domestic jobs, according to the Harvard Business Review. lnkd.in/gbV_aMT7. Nice SCM salary report summary: lnkd.in/dTneTGgw. #supplychain #jobs #economy

[@simecurkovic]

Python is coming to Excel?!…Wow, as a supply chain professor that pushes data analytics on our students, I am trying to make sense of this. I suspect this is going to be a VERY big deal for our CIS faculty and students as they have been waiting for this kind of support for…2 decades? While Excel is powerful, it hasn’t provided “native” tools for adv analytics like ML. By integrating Python - a language known for its rich libraries in data science - Excel could be considerably enhanced. If they bring in scikit-learn, statsmodels, etc., this will become a reality, as they both are popular Python libraries used extensively in the fields of data analysis, statistics, and machine learning. Announcing Python in Excel: Combining the power of Python and the flexibility of Excel: techcommunity.microsoft.com/t5/excel-blog/announcing-python-in-excel-combining-the-power-of-python-and-the/ba-p/3893439 I do wonder, if the Python code is going to be run in the Microsoft cloud, what will the pricing structure look like? By integrating cloud-run features, MSFT could introduce new pricing structures, potentially influencing the adoption rate of these new features. The way MSFT structures its pricing for cloud-run Python code will be a significant factor in the adoption rate. Orgs might be cautious if the costs are perceived to be high. The next milestone we should be watching for is whether the Python code can be run on-premise or a local machine. The ability to run Python code locally vs. on the cloud would influence the adoption and usage of these features. Running code on-premises can often be essential for businesses w/ data security concerns. Technically, it is possible since the partnership is with Anaconda. Anaconda is a popular Python distribution platform that provides tools for data science and machine learning. The mention of a partnership with Anaconda suggests that the integration will not just be basic Python scripting but may offer more advanced features. It is just whether Microsoft is willing to do that at the expense of sabotaging their existing market of their decades old VBScripting language. There is a potential conflict of interest for Microsoft. VBScript (and more broadly, VBA) has been the primary scripting language in Excel for decades. By integrating Python, Microsoft may be shifting away from its longstanding support for VBA, which might not sit well with longtime users. However, it’s also possible that Microsoft might maintain dual support for both languages for a while to ease the transition. More thoughts at: www.simecurkovic.com/2023/08/23/python-is-coming-to-excel/

[@simecurkovic]

After a few thousand students, I would say this is the #1 reason my students change jobs (it's their boss). Money becomes a factor when they can make > 20% elsewhere (#2 on list below). FYI: WMU students can major in Leadership (however, they have to have another major also, make sense?). 10 Most Important Leadership Skills For The 21st Century Workplace (& How To Develop Them): lnkd.in/gmJ_GG6H www.linkedin.com/posts/sime-curkovic-61617a115_why-are-americans-quitting-their-jobs-5-activity-6997166854179876864-xHc-? "Quiet quitters" make up at least 50% of the U.S. workforce -- probably more, Gallup finds. U.S. employee engagement took another step backward during the 2nd quarter 2022, w/ the proportion of engaged workers remaining at 32% but the proportion of actively disengaged increasing to 18%. The ratio of engaged to actively disengaged employees is now 1.8 to 1. lnkd.in/gb4WBKvf U.S. productivity posts biggest EVER drop in 2nd quarter 2022. This is a very complicated calculation, but it is very concerning. Has how we managed the last 2+ years caught up to us? This not only will make inflation harder to beat, it contributes to inflation. Note, in the quarter after Sept. 11th, & during the Great Recession of 2007-09 & early in the pandemic, American productivity SOARED. Why? Because it’s what we do. Something is amiss in 2022. I think Leadership got us into this, & Leadership can get us out. For example, here are Four Ways to Energize a Post-Pandemic Workforce (which have largely been downplayed in my opinion): 1. Physical Safety Remains #1 2. Mental Health on the Mind 3. Time Matters Most-Even Above Pay 4. See Me, Hear Me Working Together To Get Back to Normal: lnkd.in/gRRntrQ6 Why are people quitting their jobs? Is there a LEADERSHIP void? I would say this is the #1 reason my students change jobs (it's their boss). Money becomes a factor when they can make > 20% elsewhere. From Gartner: If you want to develop and retain strong employees without compromising their health and well-being, Connector managers are your secret weapon. gtnr.it/3A1mDvc FYI: Our students can major in Leadership (lnkd.in/e5JUSye). It can actually be taught, practiced, & learned (you can get better at it). However, another major is also req’d in our program (you cannot just major in Leadership), make sense? Great posts & reads: Flowchart: Are You Working for a Toxic Boss? lnkd.in/ggp_NaTx Why are Americans quitting their jobs? lnkd.in/gRN_tFm3 The five best lessons I’ve learned on leadership and career development lnkd.in/g2PaXqF9 The Great Resignation turns to the Great Regret as worker needs are not being met, expert says. lnkd.in/ggNH5YMY "Promotions are, in part, a function of who has the best relationship with the decider - if you're young, get to the office @smerconish @CNN": lnkd.in/diBcDBM4 Malcolm Gladwell says people must return to the office to regain sense of belonging’. lnkd.in/gaCbAzSj #leadership #careeradvice

[@simecurkovic]

College Students: Do NOT round up your GPAs, use a post script on your phones for email replies, take your email signatures VERY seriously, & use keywords on your resume. www.linkedin.com/posts/sime-curkovic-61617a115_careeradvice-resumeadvice-activity-6998245283591598080-XkAP? Resume advice, Do NOT round up your GPAs Students should not change their official GPA for their resume. Instead, I recommend they calculate their major GPA using the courses required for their major & also list their overall GPA (especially if your major GPA is much higher than your overall & your overall is under a 3.0). Also, a 2.96 GPA is not a 3.00 GPA. If an employer requests an official transcript be sent upon graduation (which they will), this could be labeled as "falsification of employment record" & as a result, an offer of employment can be revoked (if you round up your GPA). ___ I am noticing that several of my students are responding to my emails via smart phones. That is fine. It is 2022 & your future employer will expect you to do the same. However, it can be cumbersome to write emails on your phone that are clean & easy to read. & sometimes, you try to write one word but another word appears that was not intended. So, please take the time to make sure your reply message looks professional & reflects positively on you. Impressions will be made based on your written communication & you will be judged. I would also recommend programming your phone so that the post script tells the recipient of your message that it was sent from your smart phone. That way people will be less judgmental if a mistake was made. You can add the message in your iPhone settings so that it will appear on all emails sent by phone but not on your email signatures sent by computer. An appropriate post script message from your phone would be: “Note: this email was sent by iPhone, please forgive grammatical errors. “ ___ Resume Keywords Ideas/Action Verbs for your resume. Does your resume use these words? lnkd.in/ea6gV-K Here are my thoughts on resumes: lnkd.in/gxEy9VkH lnkd.in/gCgi72kX lnkd.in/gKV5JYhR ____ Do not underestimate the power of a professional email signature (most do not even have one, or they have very boring ones). It might be the first impression you create! lnkd.in/ge9nGrjx lnkd.in/evaNVnbv I just saw this one from a current student and really liked it... xxxx xxxx Integrated Supply Management (Purchasing, Operations, Logistics) - 2023 Western Michigan University - Haworth College of Business, Lee Honors College xxxxball Student Athlete E-mail: [e-mail]; Tel: (269) xxx-xxxx; LinkedIn: lnkd.in/gqbYfa9U #careeradvice #resumeadvice

[@simecurkovic]

I kid you not (for Michigan): “a 29.7% increase in demand for logisticians” & “The most in-demand, high-wage jobs will be operations managers, w/ an annual need of more than 6,500 & a wage of $29-72/hr”. HOWEVER, the greatest demand in the number of available jobs through 2030 is in LOW-wage jobs. That is going to be a problem: young people are leaving & people are having way fewer kids. www.linkedin.com/posts/sime-curkovic-61617a115_check-out-the-scm-data-science-jobs-activity-6999343528254328832-4aEV? Michigan's young population (0-25) has shrunk the MOST (-14%!). Birth rates have plunged in states where the 0-25 population is shrinking. Also,…There simply are not enough young people going into & working in the supply chain...lnkd.in/gMqxdxfr Note, there are not enough young people in general. Last year, deaths exceeded births in fully half of the US states. lnkd.in/geyWT2iH. lnkd.in/gPx65g2i Notice that all things SCM related such as "Logisticians" (4th highest) are off the charts in growth %. lnkd.in/gzqRPEPr & lnkd.in/g9T2fU_d. If you look at this 2020-2030 job growth chart below, again, all things SCM related scored VERY well (i.e., operations & logistics). lnkd.in/g_G-xwFv Basically, we are going to see 20-30% growth in SCM jobs over the next decade. Also, the jobs in SCM pay VERY well. Lastly, the data science jobs scored off the charts in growth & pay. So, SCM + data science = jobs & $. Finally, automation is killing all things manual (negative job growth). Note, there are not enough young people working in supply chain - lnkd.in/gtUcJpX7. Recessions tend to be very bad for college grads. However... this is NOT a labor recession. There are only (sarcasm) around 11M unfilled jobs. College grads, worry not (for now, not even close). Record low unemployment. For students going into SCM, the prospects are great, but do not be a victim of technology! Top 12 Skills You Need To Become a Data Scientist. lnkd.in/gwrjksAa. There are ONLY 500,000 unfilled SCM Data Science jobs on LI. Employers place a premium on - 1. Advanced Excel (power query & pivot) & macros; 2. Data visualization (Tableau, Power BI & python w/ seaborn & matplotlib); 3. Data mining/RapidMiner, machine learning & data science; 4. Python & Jupyter notebook (data analytics & statistical libraries such as pandas, numpy); 5. Relational data models (Excel data model); 6. Graphic & statistical libraries (Seaborn, Matplotlib, Pandas, & Plotly). Business analytics addresses an increasing demand in orgs of all types to understand data related to their operations. Investments in information systems throughout the enterprise over the last 10-15 years are generating tremendous amounts of data, & companies will spend at least the next 10 years developing processes that generate insight from those data (visualization is huge, think Tableau and Power BI). #supplychain #bigdata #dataanalytics #datavisualization #python

[@simecurkovic]

Students: Thousands of new internships posted, to name a few - lnkd.in/gVsHEZxz & lnkd.in/gRKmr7QE & lnkd.in/gmMH5myb. What do internships pay (never work for free)? The going rate appears to be $18-30/hr. See: lnkd.in/g6CH_pYv & lnkd.in/g4znXYHu. Being job ready in the post covid market & beyond. lnkd.in/eZGZbkP & lnkd.in/g8cAcBh3. Prepping for a job interview? Here's how to answer 'What is my biggest weakness?' Demonstrating self-awareness during an interview is huge. I tell my students to always answer the “what is your weakness” question in the context of having a strategy to fix it (explain what you have done about it, actual RESULTS). For example: lnkd.in/gMtdr92u.

[@simecurkovic]

More advice: scmtalent.com/podcast-sime-curkovic In This Episode: We speak with Sime Curkovic, a Professor of Operations and Sourcing Management at Western Michigan University. Sime talks about his start in supply chain along with how he got into becoming a supply chain instructor. He provides an in-depth dive into the hard skills and soft skills students need in order to best appeal to what employers are looking for. In particular, he shines a light the ability to use data analytics and make better and faster decisions using the cloud-based tools available today vs. trying to work with just color-coded Excel spreadsheets. He sees supply chain as a well rounded major with lots of upside. He also places high value on hands-on, experiential learning. Sime sees hybrid work as the future, but is concerned about totally remote positions that may not provide the best value out of talent. He also encourages students to look at the big picture of where work can develop you rather than simply chasing money. He places very high value on the ability to grow your networks. Sime closes by emphasizing how setting aside time for reading can greatly impact your career.