navin_c
Par 100 posts (V.I.P)
If a career in Supply Chain Management & Logistics interests you, you might try joining a Transportation & Logistics Company or the transport division of a major airline. It will take you approximately 5-7 years depending on company, job and location to reach a team lead position, after which you're in perfect position to attend an MBA and make a career jump. Maersk is the world's largest Transport, Shipping & integrated logistics company. Every year, they hire people for their Maersk International Shipping Education (MISE) program (Maersk.com, Entry level programmes). You could also try getting into a good port management company like Dubai Ports International (DPA), which manages the Nhava Sheva International Container Terminal (NSICT). Do 2-3 years at least in these or similar companies, then go back to school.
The best colleges abroad offering the kind of education required for this career, are of two types
a) the same ones that offer the best MBAs; your set of electives taken would centre on Operations Management (of which Logistics and SCM is a subset). Therefore the usual suspects - US Top 10 B-schools (with MIT, Michigan & Stanford probably top of the pile for the kind of career you look for), in Europe it would be LBS, INSEAD etc...BUT you can't get into ANY of these schools without work experience.
b) Schools offering specialized Master's Degrees in Logistics and Supply Chain Management. However, in order to attend these - you still require at least 2-3 years of good operations / scm / logistics / transportation experience like you would for an International MBA. Some of the better programs you can look at 2-3 years down the line are:
1) The Logistics Institute, Asia Pacific AND Georgia Institute of Technology (known as Georgia Tech) Dual M.Sc Program (The Logistics Institute - Asia Pacific). You'd study in Singapore and Georgia Tech (USA). With your degree and about 2 years of experience, you'd be perfectly positioned to apply to this one. Read the website, it's a very interesting proposition for those really on for a Logistics Career. Georgia Tech is (http://isye.gatech.edu) widely known to be the world's finest school of Industrial / Systems Engineering, Supply Chain Management, Transportation Engineering and Logistics.
2) Cranfield University School of Management (UK) runs a well regarded M.Sc in Logistics.(http://www.som.cranfield.ac.uk/som/m...tics/index.asp). It's a one year program, to which you could in theory be admitted, but which will not add value now unless you bring some experience to the table. Again, best to have 2 years of experience before applying.
3) MIT - School of Engineering, Cambridge, USA - runs a very successful M.Sc Logistics (M-LOG) through it's Engineering Systems Division (MIT's Engineering Systems Division). This is a 9-10 month program, for which you will need at least 5 years of experience NOT for the course itself, but to appeal to employers that recruit graduates from the program.
4) The Cass Business School of the City Universty in London conducts well regarded M.Sc Courses in Shipping, Logistics & Trade (Masters Programmes | Cass Business School | MSc Courses & Masters Degrees). While related to the operational aspects of the career you seek, these are however finance heavy courses, but which I think will add tremendous value to your career if you want financial specific education after 5-6 years of operational experience.
If you want a career + education + career in Logistics & SCM functions or industries, look no further than the above schools.
Good Luck