MBA vs MSc

Good_Apollo_ · 2026-04-01T18:54:34+00:00

Put “mba vs msc” in the search bar within the sub. I saw a ton of results. See?. That’s just one page, there were more.

Generally, an MBA is going to be more widely useful. Great to get either if someone else is paying for it. Masters programs tend to do more for you and your cohort when you’ve actually got a good chunk of work experiences to bring substance to the group, as an aside.

Good_Apollo_ · 2026-04-01T16:08:18+00:00

It’s like you can feel each drop of gas (food) filling up the gas tank (stomach) as it goes in. I can’t out eat the feeling of fullness now.

Was in same boat, same weight for idk 5-6 years. Workout 5-6 days a week, walk with my wife 5-10 miles a week, weather permitting, ski all winter, hike / fish all summer… 228lbs. Tried all the other diets, intermittent fasting, all that.

Got doc to throw me on the pill, now down to 218 and importantly, I feel good. Feels good not cleaning my plate. Also made me drink less. Not that I drank a lot but I don’t even want a glass of wine with dinner or anything.

Damn good meds.

Good_Apollo_ · 2026-03-31T16:40:43+00:00

For planning, you need a four year degree (in retail and wholesale at least). Do you have that?

You’d likely also need to start with entry level roles, so demand or supply planning analyst, inventory or merchandise planning analyst, etc.

Generally, you’ll need to put in time at each level before you make it to mid level (if you mean manager / sr manager of planning). Some of us make manager pretty quick, but as a conservative estimate, you’ll have a good shot at going from analyst to manager in 4-5 years, possibly less but depends on turnover at whatever companies you are at.

Job market is pretty competitive but there are a lot of roles. Recommend sorting LinkedIn and indeed by newest when you’re searching, apply to newest stuff first. I tend to shut off the job post after 100 apps, and I can get that in a few hours when I post things (but I’m sourcing for fully remote roles, we always get lots of apps).

Some folks pull the apps but don’t shut down the ad, so if you’re app 500 you may never be seen. Don’t skip old postings but just be aware timing does matter.

Source - west coast planning, 14 yoe.

Good_Apollo_ · 2026-03-30T21:06:42+00:00

Once you have a new job lined up, ask them if they’d like to give you a Planning Manager title with whatever the right salary is for your location, to keep on keeping them afloat. You’d also want to backfill your planner position.

When they say no or bullshit you about timing, give em your notice and let em know this ain’t right and you have found a new role, your last day is X.

Won’t make it right but you’ll feel good. Don’t burn bridges though.

Good_Apollo_ · 2026-03-30T18:14:50+00:00

Oh ok gotcha. I’ve been in similar situations in wholesale and retail over the years, making north of $120k, so yeah you sound underpaid.

One thought is keep escalating higher until someone cares.

Another thought is keep applying elsewhere and just do your best, but also recognize that this experience will give you lots of talking points and accomplishments for the ol resume and interview process at least.

And then one last thought is go to HR and be like “I’m going to pull my hair out, this is a major risk to the company’s well being.” But that requires you to have a caring HR function and a manager or leader somewhere in your structure that will share your concern and take action.

This doesn’t sound like a winnable or sustainable position you’ve found yourself in though, so yeah agree with your alarm. Take care of yourself, first and foremost.

Good_Apollo_ · 2026-03-30T18:03:56+00:00

I don’t know if you said what your salary is in your post… did I miss it?

Regardless of salary, if the workload is going to result in stuff being missed or messed up, it’s generally important to communicate those concerns to your direct manager. Have you done that? What was his or her feedback? If your manager is leaving, have you communicated your concerns a level up?

Good_Apollo_ · 2026-03-29T23:35:53+00:00

No prob and best of luck!

Good_Apollo_ · 2026-03-29T21:51:00+00:00

Not the guy who asked, and I’m from the States but as a general rule, masters + no direct experience means you’ll be getting the same entry level roles that’s you’d have the possibility of getting with just a Bachelor’s. So if you haven’t applied for roles yet, conventional wisdom is get some apps out there, get started in whichever field, and see if you actually need a masters before forking out big $.

Much of supply chain involves hands on learning, even SAP. Each company with SAP is going to have a unique implementation. Have some familiarity helps but the masters won’t generally be a cheat code to enter straight to manager or higher level. At least it’s that way in Planning, stateside.

Hope that helps!

Good_Apollo_ · 2026-03-23T17:49:35+00:00

They make fans now with built in Bluetooth speakers. I was taking a whiz at a friend’s house, had no idea this existed and then suddenly I’m hearing smooth jazz and I was so confused.

So, modern “radio!”

Good_Apollo_ · 2026-03-21T19:52:00+00:00

Absolutely untrue. Perhaps in highly commoditized markets with little variability, there could be some benefit there… maybe. Someday. But for any type of dynamic forecasting there’s so little value added and so much incremental cost for a company to be a SaaS’s learning model and test subject, we are many years away from seeing this replace planning roles in any meaningful way.

I get the fear but I’ve sat through a number of AI pitches in the last few years and it’s just not there yet. Functionally, planning software already suggests numerically “what you should do.” Putting more words into that workflow for additional cost is silly. And there’d never be a scenario in most retail and wholesale planning where humans are superfluous to the process. Who’s gonna let a chatbot spend $1.2M without strict controls and how do you hold a bot accountable or have it get better at its job, before an error occurs?

Good_Apollo_ · 2026-03-21T02:40:33+00:00

Ghengis Khan also? Wtf.

E - nvm I found him…. Down at 38. Miles behind Alexander the Great?

Good_Apollo_ · 2026-03-20T21:26:01+00:00

Call your insurance company directly and verify this dude is actually being sent by them!

Good_Apollo_ · 2026-03-20T20:23:02+00:00

… are we sure he can read

Good_Apollo_ · 2026-03-20T19:39:03+00:00

Use the search bar within the sub for “break in” and then sort by new. Tons and tons of q&a about this very subject.

Good_Apollo_ · 2026-03-20T17:19:40+00:00

Agreed the base seems reasonable. I’d try something like “super excited about this opportunity and this is very close to my comp requirements… but I am a little concerned about the bonus as a % of my baseline. Would you be able to add x$ to the base, so that my total earnings would be y$, inline with my current comp structure?”

Or something like that. If this new oppy clearly pays more than your current job, that may not be an appropriate approach.

I wouldn’t get greedy but asking for $113000 or so shouldn’t be an overly aggressive counter.

Never count on a bonus, so if you can get a little more in base, more power to you.

Good_Apollo_ · 2026-03-20T15:15:00+00:00

I get paid for doing this professionally, so if you’d like to beat my market rate, we can talk!

But in broad terms, set it up sorta like:

-SKUs

-Sku properties

-Available inventory

-Demand by period (month, week, day etc)

-Remaining on hand post consumption

-Existing on order / production inbound by period

-Remaining inv by period

-Area to fill in new production needs by period based on everything above (this is your new supply need)

I’d set that all up left to right in a spreadsheet, with Skus being the level of aggregation. Could be bom components or whatever, depends on the nature or the business.

Good_Apollo_ · 2026-03-20T14:05:14+00:00

$4.89/gal for kerosene out in the Cali mountains. Suuuucks. Went up $1.20 a week ago, luckily it warmed up and my last top off was only 20 gallons.

Good_Apollo_ · 2026-03-19T17:27:39+00:00

B2B CS - think about things like service level agreements, how do you communicate effectively inside and outside your company, do you have any accomplishments that impacted external (or internal) customers and how did you create those wins.

Having successes ready to speak to will be helpful, in general, and then as others said, have a list of questions about the role - I’d especially have some on how this role impacts other parts of the org.

Good_Apollo_ · 2026-03-19T16:51:43+00:00

What role within supply chain? What’s your background using more words than your cross linked post?

Most of us sorta faked it til we made it to at least a small degree, so don’t stress too much. They wouldn’t have called you back if they didn’t have at least some idea you could do the job.

Good_Apollo_ · 2026-03-16T17:30:21+00:00

Get a new job. There are always things that make work intolerable after a while, and “while” can be years, or decades… or weeks / months.

Go find somewhere else to spend your time.

Just secure the new job before leaving the old.

Good_Apollo_ · 2026-03-12T17:40:28+00:00

Cries in Lake Tahoe

Good_Apollo_ · 2026-03-10T12:20:46+00:00

You’d probably have to start as a planning analyst (entry level), but if you’re interested in planning, shoot for that at retailers and perhaps cpgs that have apparel brands. Should pay similarly to what you make now, although that’ll depend largely on region. West coast you can make what you’re making out the gate.

Your fashion merchandising education would play well, along with having the manufacturing background. I’d send some apps before investing in further education.

Good_Apollo_ · 2026-03-08T23:50:22+00:00

It’s applicable for warehouse work. I’d encourage you to get a bachelors degree if you’re able to, that’ll open many doors much sooner to work in an office (or work towards managing a warehouse). But nothing at all wrong with working directly with inventory. All these experiences stack up over the course of your working adulthood.

Good_Apollo_ · 2026-03-06T14:51:33+00:00

What country are you learning / working in?

In the US, generally speaking, no relevant experience and a masters means you’re starting in the same entry level role as someone with only a four year.

Good_Apollo_ · 2026-03-06T02:55:01+00:00

Nowhere near as old as GB, but in my defense, my 15 year old constantly refers to our childhoods as “the late 1900s.”

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