Becoming a Supply Chain Manager in Nevada

If you’re good at keeping track of details and want to go into the business field, a career in supply chain management (SCM) could be right for you. A supply chain is the line of events that a product or service must go through before it can be sold or offered to customers. A product must first be planned and designed, its raw materials must be sourced, and it must be made and transported to its selling site. Finally, it’s stored and distributed to customers.

The professionals who oversee this entire process of supply chain are called logisticians or supply chain managers (SCMs). Their job is to monitor, troubleshoot and manage the supply chain, and they work in a number of industries. Logisticians ensure the quality and cost of products moving through the supply chain meet the needs of the company selling them.

Twenty-five percent of SCMs work in the manufacturing field, followed closely by the 20 percent who work for the federal government. Other high areas of employment for SCMs include professional and scientific services, management of companies, and wholesale trade.

You generally need to hold a bachelor’s degree in business, systems engineering or supply chain management to get started in this field. Your education should pay off, however, as with the rise in global business comes a rise in global logistics and supply chain management. Businesses are looking more than ever to expand their supply chain logistics, and they need specialists to manage the systems.

Basic Required Bachelor’s Degree Education

The required educational standard for most logisticians is a bachelor’s degree in SCM or a related business field. Nevada offers a few in-person bachelor’s degree programs in SCM, and there are many options for education available online. Here are a few schools where potential Nevada logisticians may wish to study:

  • Truckee Meadows Community College. This Reno school offers a new Bachelor of Science in Business Administration (BAS) Logistics Operations Management degree. This four-year degree is designed to meet the needs of the Nevada northern logistician workforce. Students can start by earning a Logistics Management Associate of Applied Science (AAS) degree or Production Systems AAS. Acceptance requirements include a GPA of at least 2.0.
  • DeVry University. On its Henderson Campus, DeVry grants a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration, Bachelor’s Degree in Management and a Bachelor’s Degree in Technical Management. The Global Supply Chain Management extension can be added onto any of these degrees. Classes can be taken completely online or in hybrid format: a combination of online and in-person courses. The cost is currently $497 to $609 per credit hour, and DeVry is accredited by the Accreditation Council for Business Schools and Programs (ACBSP).

The Next Step: a Master’s Degree in Logistics

For those who have already completed undergraduate studies in business and SCM, a master’s degree in the field can offer better-paying and more numerous logistician employment opportunities. Many of these programs will need to be taken online for Nevada residents. Here are a few opportunities available:

  • Rutgers University (Online). The Rutgers Business School offers an online Master of Science Degree. By completing 30 credit-hours or 10 courses, students can finish the program in just one year. Rutgers says this degree is “designed to deepen the knowledge” of people who already have some experience working with supply chain analysis.
  • University of Nevada, Reno. While this university does not grant a master’s degree in supply chain management or logistics, it offers several tracks for those who wish to gain a master’s degree in business administration.Those who already have a background in logistics may wish to take one of these graduate tracks to gain valuable business knowledge for their resume. Depending on your industry, you may want to emphasize renewable energy or finance courses in order to gain insight into renewable materials in your manufacturing processes or to better manage the financial side of logistics.

Shorter Educational Options for Nevada Logisticians

While a bachelor’s degree seems to be the gold standard, some entry-level supply chain management positions can be obtained with a shorter-term certificate, diploma or degree. There are many more options for shorter SCM programs in Nevada, including:

  • Truckee Meadows Community College. This school’s Associate of Applied Science in Business, Logistics Managementcan be completed 100 percent online. The AAS degree counts for the first 60 credits of a BAS degree in the same field. Typically, the AAS program takes four semesters or two years of schooling to complete.
  • Great Basin College. Earn an Associate Degree in Business Administration: accounting, entrepreneurship or general business. Students can also work toward a Certificate in Business Administration. It takes a year to complete the certificate program, which is designed to be the first part of the Associate Degree for Business Administration. The certificate credential allows graduates to begin putting their skills to work on the job right away.

How to Earn Professional Logistician Credentials

While certification is not usually required to become a logistician, earning credentials through APICS, the national service overseeing SCM, can help logisticians gain an edge on competition in the job field. There are four credentials that can be tested for and earned by applicants.

APICS is currently transitioning into the Association for Supply Chain Management (ACSM), which will eventually be in charge of the testing and national credentials for supply chain managers.

Job Outlook and Salary for Nevada Logisticians

The median income for Nevada logisticians was reported at $32.76 per hour by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) in 2017. While this income is slightly lower than the national average, Nevada logisticians shouldn’t have trouble finding jobs, with a 25 percent employment increase predicted by the year 2026. The logistician employment growth rate for Nevada is almost four times as high as the national growth rate of 7 percent.

Your Job Opportunities as a Supply Chain Manager

No matter where you work in Nevada, job opportunities for logisticians are booming. The highest number of logisticians in Nevada were found in the Las Vegas area in 2017. However, the highest paid logisticians in the state were in the Nevada nonmetropolitan area, making a median income of $35.27 per hour. Reno employs the highest number of logisticians per 1,000 jobs in the state.

With a spectacular job outlook and a high income level, the SCM field promises great opportunities to Nevadans who are thinking about entering the business field. If you’re curious about a future in this field, start looking into educational options now. Between online degrees and in-person programs, you should be able to find the right fit for your skillset.

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