Hello.

I am doing my MSc in Management at NUS. I am from Myanmar (Burma). I am thinking of pursuing MSc in SCM-related after this. I feel that a general business degree like MIM does not fit in with the harsh job market in Singapore. I'm currently on summer break and getting no internship so far in SG. (Even tho I had 3 months of internship in Thailand, and 1 year of work experience in Logistics industry).

So in terms of MSc in SCM-related degree, can I not focus so much on ranking because I want to study and live my life comfortably? Because right now in Singapore, everything is super costly, especially healthcare for foreigners (almost 3x more expensive than citizens/PR). Normally, I receive great healthcare access at a super affordable price back in my home country. But right now, it is not very possible to go back to my home country due to hot political situations, and the future is unforeseen too.

So recapping
1. Is it okay not to look at ranking for second master anymore because my current NUS is pretty strong already? 
2. In terms of countries with reasonable healthcare access and some good SCM-related courses, which ones would be suitable? Sorting from ascending to descending would be very appreciated (UK, US, Hong Kong, Thailand, Malaysia)

Thank you !

My take:

1. You are interested in an SCM degree to open doors that NUS cannot. On that basis, ranking is significant because you are looking for an MSc that places well with employers, and placement is often a critical factor for rankings. A no-name school won't get you where you want to be. However, niche programs, like the MIT SCALE MS which recently closed in Malaysia, might be too small or early to be on many SCM rankings and could still be high-quality programs.

2. I don't think this is the right board to ask questions about healthcare accessibility. There are many rankings of healthcare. Look at them and compare their criteria and methods to see which best meet your needs.

PS Also take a look through https://find-mba.com/board?keyword=SCM%20MSc and the replies to your 100 plus posts here.

[Edited by Duncan on May 02, 2024]

Thank you very much as always sir. Just a few more opinions from you.

1. Is it really a good idea to pursue MSc in Supply Chain Management considering I already have MSc in Management by that time? Cos it's like one same keyword over another

2. How would my MIM add value to my industry/role/employability/etc. if, let's say, I went into SCM industry after getting M.SCM? Because I just thought that the employers would just look at M.SCM and ignore MIM, then I would feel that I wasted my time and money on getting MIM.

If you think the main difference between a qualification in management and supply chain management is just a keyword then maybe you need to rethink your goals.

For what it's worth, the UK supply chain jobs market is in relatively good health according to surveys in the last year. It was a hot market from 2019-2022 driven by the need to be able to cope better with supply chain disruption caused by Brexit, the Covid pandemic and Ukraine war.

There is a shortage of younger people entering the sector and firms are trying to increase diversity given almost 90% of employees are white and over 80% male.

Thank you for your input @aslamo

I'm also wondering if pursuing MSc in engineering discipline would give me a chance to enter logistics and supply chain industry (I got BEng) ?

Because I heard that engineering master holders even from tier 3 universities (e.g. northumbria, Swansea, Leicester - just for illustration purpose) have great employability rather than business-specialized degree holders from tier 3 universities.

I think it's very often the case that people with a degree in specific business function will have better placement than people with a degree in general management. An obvious exception is when you have a top tier school that feed into rotational junior management programmes. However, many of the biggest providers of these rotational programmes are hiring far fewer people. Generally, if you can fit the ground running in a specific business function then you will be well placed.

A key factor here was to be fit with your aptitudes and preferences. You decided to take a MiM even after a specialised degree was suggested to you. What were your career goals then, and what sort of role will you be happy in and well suited for? A career apritude test will help you. So will informational interviewing with NUS alumni who are often very well placed.

Thank you for your input sir. I will take a look into career aptitude test. I took MIM at NUS because I got 30% scholarship and I was not really sure about my capability to handle deep-down learning of specific business functions at that time back then. I was a bit scared to be honest.

[Edited by Thant Htet Sint on May 04, 2024]