Supply Chain Master’s Degree Now Rivals Elite MBAs in Jobs Market

By Maria Jesús Saénz, Executive Director, MIT SCM Masters Program; Leonard Morrison, Manager, Professional Development MIT SCM Masters Program; and Ken Cottrill, Global Communications Consultant, MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics

Early graduate job placement numbers for the MIT Supply Chain Management master’s degree (SCM) in 2024 show that the program outperformed many elite Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs in the US.

The disparities reflect the growing demand for professional education in supply chain management, and the function’s strategic importance for companies navigating an increasingly challenging competitive landscape. 

Dwindling MBA job offers

Leading business magazine The Economist recently analyzed MBA employment numbers in an article titled, Why elite MBA graduates are struggling to find jobs: Is a degree still worth it? The analysis concludes that at the top 15 US business schools, “the share of students in 2024 who sought and accepted a job offer within three months of graduating, a standard measure of career outcomes, fell by six percentage points to 84%. Compared with the average over the past five years, that share declined by eight points.”

The Wall Street Journal reached similar conclusions in the article, Even Harvard M.B.A.s Are Struggling to Land Jobs. According to the Journal, 23% of Harvard MBA job-seeking students were still looking for jobs three months after graduating last spring. The figure was 10% in 2022. The decline is not confined to Harvard. Over a dozen top MBA programs “had worse job-placement outcomes last year than any other in recent memory,” says the Journal. 

A drop in the number of graduates recruited by management consultant firms is one reason given for the decline in MBA employment opportunities. The Economist estimates that the number of graduates securing jobs at the big three firms (McKinsey, Boston Consulting, and Bain) fell by one-quarter in 2024 compared to three years previous. Tech companies have also cut their intake of MBA grads, the publication points out. Another issue cited is that some universities offering MBA programs could be out of step with the demand for talent. “If America is reindustrializing, word has yet to reach the campus,” says The Economist. 

Comparing the employment statistics for the 10-month MIT SCM program tells a different story. 

In 2024, 95% of MIT SCM students accepted a job within five months of graduation. The performance gap widens further between SCM and MBA graduates for employment opportunities in the tech sector. Bucking the MBA trend, 67% of SCM students landed jobs in tech companies last year, up from 19% in 2023. SCM graduates also won generous salary packages. In 2024, the SCM graduate median base salary increased to $143.5K, and the median total compensation (including singing bonus and equity) exceeded $245K. These compensation figures reflect the high value of a supply chain master’s degree and the SCM brand. Notably, 72% of graduates attributed their employment as “school facilitated.”

The increased salaries also enable learners to recoup their investment in this sought-after professional degree relatively quickly – in only 10 months for the residential pathway or 5 months for the blended pathway, compared to the typical 18-month MBA program.

Opportunity gap causes

A key reason for this performance gap could be that supply chain expertise is in high demand. The function has become a strategic resource that is critical to company competitiveness. 

This is not a new trend; supply chain management has been evolving beyond its logistics and transportation roots for decades. However, the Covid-19 pandemic and its aftermath brought the function’s strategic standing into sharp focus. Leading companies have long recognized that efficient supply chains enable them to stay ahead of the competition. Now, most companies appreciate that supply chain management skills are essential to competitive success.

An indication of this change is how supply chain professionals are climbing the corporate ladder all the way to the C-suite. Examples of high-flying executives with a supply chain background include Tim Cooke, CEO of Apple, and Dave Guggina, the former Vice President of Supply Chain at Walmart, recently appointed as the retailer’s Chief E-Commerce Officer in the US. 

In addition to boosting demand for high-performing professionals the function’s rise has also placed a higher premium on supply chain knowledge. It provides how to translate the business model into its operations and the value provided by the product or service.

There is increasing interest in MIT Center for Transportation & Logistics (MIT CTL) bespoke courses for companies that teach supply chain management to senior managers from various functions. Cross-functional sign-ups in our MIT MicroMasters Program in Supply Chain Management have increased steadily. While disciplines such as finance and marketing do not need deep technical supply chain expertise, “an appreciation of what the tools can do in terms of the company’s ability to meet customers’ needs and compete effectively will become increasingly important,” says MIT CTL Director, Yossi Sheffi, in a LinkedIn Influencer post titled, Why Every Manager Should Speak Supply Chain. 

Future growth 

Supply chain’s influence within companies will continue to grow in response to changes in the competitive environment.

For example, risk management, a core element of managing supply chains, has gained importance in a world where risks such as geopolitical instability and climate-related threats are on the rise. A new generation of design tools enables companies to stay competitive by rapidly redesigning their supply chains in response to such changes. 

Supply chains are on the front line of technological change as automation, fueled by innovations such as AI-driven processes, transform the way companies operate and compete.

Companies need supply chain know-how when responding to market shifts. A notable example is the dramatic growth in e-commerce that requires companies to develop omnichannel supply chains, supported by digital transformation, that give customers cross-channel buying options. 

There is also a discernible shift in preference toward technical education programs instead of traditional MBA offerings. Says The Economist, “Even if the consulting industry springs back to life, few think that the MBA will be as critical to getting on in the future. Advanced degrees, particularly in science and engineering, are seen as more credible by consultants’ clients today.”

Given these trends, we believe the need for corporate leaders with supply chain expertise will increase, as will the demand for educational resources such as MIT CTL’s SCM program. The program is constantly evolving to meet these challenges. For example, in addition to “hard” technical skills, SCM students further develop their “soft” communication and leadership skills to effectively persuade and influence in preparation for future senior management roles.

Understanding how supply chains work has always benefited company managers, says Sheffi. “However, in today’s complex world, such knowledge has become foundational to running a company.”