Ray Martinelli ⋅ Flanders , NJ U.S. Marine Corps, Sergeant ⋅ 8 years served

Hello Nicole,

Tom Cal sent me your question and asked if I had some suggestions. I am learning how to navigate through this so forgive this Marine for not picking it up directly.

I have a background as a Battalion Logistics Chief and can tell you that the Logistics & Supply Chain field is ripe with opportunities and options.The key is to determine a product industry or manufacturing type and focus there. It is a bit more difficult than it seems as probably all of your experience and knowledge directly translate to about every industry I know of.

My first suggestion is please don't use any of these pay sites or processes; no matter what you can get assistance that won't cost you a dime if you’re willing to work at it. As an Army vet of 12 years I am confident you have a similar mindset that nobody ever drowned in sweat.

As Tom mentioned there are a lot of programs that will assist you in securing either a PMP, MBA, or other credentials. My humble suggestion is to find out what industry really excites you and then decide which of those credentials are best for you in that career path.

As an example if you were to choose the healthcare & medical device industry for supply chain these are significantly different than the electronics industry so on credential may be more significant than another. Either way, & whatever you do, go earn those credentials!

Make sure you review the VA Vocational Rehabilitation and Education (VR&E) program. They may decide that more than one is what you will need to enter the civilian community with a successful career. Also they have a lot of resources to help map out a path with you.

The CSCMP is a good resource, but you have to pay to be a member. They do have a "professional in transition" discounted charge though. I would not recommend that for road mapping; it is more networking.

A great & free networking is LinkedIn. I strongly suggest you get on that for networking. If you are send me an invite. There are always local traffic clubs to network with too.

You would probably want to network at a specific industry gathering in whatever you decide to focus on. Just being there as a "babe in the woods" to their industry but a professional in your own will probably work very well for you if you are an outgoing person. Get in front of people & show them that you want to be in their industry to help them.

Understand that almost nobody outside the logistics and supply chain professionals really see that as an industry in and of itself.

I hope this helps in some small way and if there is anything I can do/answer/help with please let me know.

Best Regards,

Ray Martinelli

Loretta Carter ⋅ Sugar Land , TX HCA ⋅ 9 years experience

Hi Nicole,

It is great that you have so many options to choose from and I am sure that there are many questions you may have with weighing the pros and cons. If you would like to talk, please reach out and we can do some analysis of what you are looking for and where you would like to be in 5 years. An amazing leader told me that if you don't have a five year plan for where you would like to be, you will never move forward. It is like going to the airport and not knowing what your destination is. You will never find the right plane to get on if you don't know where you want to go. Feel free to reach out and we can set up a time to talk. loretta.carter@parallon.com. Thanks, Loretta

Nicole Baldwin ⋅ Katy , TX U.S. Army Reserve, Sergeant ⋅ 12 years served

Tom Cal – Thank you so much for the information. I have registered for Syracuse University program and am awaiting a response. This could be very helpful for my PMP Practice before my exam. I am going to look into joining some of the organizations as mentioned as well as check to see if any of them may offer a military discount. I currently hold a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration that was funded partially through Post 9-11. I have 22 months left to pursue an MBA, in which I will be doing next year. I am kind of in the middle of going through the Texas A&M MBA program or University of Houston’s MBA/ JD program. Thank you so much again for all of your help. I will continue to research and keep you updated on this thread.

Ray- Thank you for the information. Funny you mentioned industries. I currently work in an Engineering industry, but am a bit clueless as to whether I should cross over to the Oil and Gas industry or the Healthcare industry. I guess getting a feel and also determining the best job outlook between the two is something that I would have to research further. Coming from an organization based on projects, can become very worrisome due to job security if the project comes or goes. I have always been an analytical thinker and try to develop strategies for handling many of the logistical challenges at my current organization. Right now, I am searching for an opportunity and willing to take a pay cut in exchange for knowledge and training. Thank you so much again and I will keep you updated on this thread.

Francis – Thank you for the information. Wow! I have actually been looking at the University of Houston’s MBA/JD program…which I hear is great! The only problem is, I would have to go to school full-time at least the first year of the program. I am currently working in Import Compliance with my current organization and learning so much about the relationship between compliance and logistics. It took me a very long way to find my passion and a career I could truly fall in love with. I will keep you updated as well on this thread!

FRANCIS TEPEDINO, ESQ. ⋅ San Diego , CA THE CONDOR GROUP ⋅ 30 years experience

Hello Nicole. I've spent 20+ years in corporate Supply Management/Contracts management, went to Law School, and then founded my own Consulting company. If you do not have a degree get one. Engineering is best. Business is OK. Join the Supply Management Association. If you really are serious about getting into senior corporate management, take the LSAT and if you can, go to Law School, (I went nights while a corporate executive. Tough, not easy, but worth it). An MBA is not as valuable as a J.D. EXXON, among other of my clients, is looking for women particularly, who are trained in logistics/supply chain, who know how to negotiate, and who are lawyers, for their international contract operations. Good luck.

Tom Cal, CFA ⋅ San Francisco , CA Army Veteran, Investment Manager ⋅ 25 years experience

Nicole,
* It's great that you are pursuing your PMP certification. There are several older threads with great comments and information, and be sure to evaluate the programs offered at the Veterans Career Transition Program at Syracuse University. (e.g. Free exam preparation courses, pays the exam fee, seems like a good program to me, next deadline is Aug 26, 2013, see:

https://acp-advisornet.org/question/903/veterans-career-transition-program-at-syracuse-u.-free-it-certs-applications-due-aug.-26-2013

https://acp-advisornet.org/questions/topic/pmp
https://acp-advisornet.org/questions/topic/project-management
https://acp-advisornet.org/questions/topic/pmi

* Do you have access to the GI Bill? Might a degree make sense? (I advocate for in-person education)

* For pretty much any career aspiration a Veteran has, I offer this advice: Reach out via email, phone and in-person attendance at public meetings to professional organizations in your field of interest, both local and otherwise.

e.g.
using:
https://www.google.com/search?q=supply+chain+organizations

I found:
e.g.
http://cscmp.org/
http://www.supplychaindigital.com/top_ten/top-10-business/top-10-supply-chain-organizations

* Join industry and professional groups on LinkedIn
http://www.linkedin.com/vsearch/g?type=groups&keywords=supply+chain&orig=GLHD&pageKey=my_groups

* Research certifications in your field of interest, and try to determine if they offer value. I like using indeed.com to gauge the relative number of job-listings that mention various certifications. I often use "PMP" as a benchmark. In this case it certainly seems like the PMP certification is probably more valuable than the CSCP certification.

https://www.google.com/search?q=supply+chain+certification
http://www.apics.org/careers-education-professional-development/certification/cscp

CSCP finds 272 job listings
http://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=cscp&l=

PMP finds more than 13,000 job listings
http://www.indeed.com/jobs?q=pmp&l=

* Use the "Advisor Plus" directory to find advisors and possible mentors:
https://acp-advisornet.org/directory?sort=&dir=&c=&e=64&s=

Tom Cal, CFA ⋅ San Francisco , CA Army Veteran, Investment Manager ⋅ 25 years experience

Ray - On behalf of all your fellow Veterans, thanks, much appreciated!
Nicole - Good luck, and please report back so you other Veterans can learn from your success, and also where not to waste their time.

Ray Martinelli ⋅ Flanders , NJ U.S. Marine Corps, Sergeant ⋅ 8 years served

Nicole,

If you qualify and are accepted to programs, like the VA Vocational Rehabilitation & Education, and go full time they would be able to pay for the MBA and give you a COLA as well as any support you need to complete this. That is only one program I know of, but there are others available.

Francis makes a great point; studying law and/or becoming an attorney is universal and can break any "industry" barrier as well as open doors to the executive levels that perhaps other MBA's would not.

I don't mean to be too forward, but if you are willing to invest in your future career growth with a pay cut or some other sacrifice, perhaps the 1 year at University of Houston is the same or similar? In my humble opinion make sure you weigh each option and opportunity individually for where you can end up. If you think of it in other terms, compare 8 or 9 months vs. a year or more of pay cuts to lifelong career opportunities.

This is a project. The planning is a job in itself that demands assistance and input from others. Don't get slowed down in preparing your career strategies worrying about the pitfalls of job security, as we all do sometimes. They are and will always be present, those will be your challenges later. You are doing exactly what you should by arming yourself now to prepare for those obstacles later.

It seems you will do very well with whatever you decide is best for you.

All the best.