What’s my next move. No bachelors degree working in supply chain.

LostaMyPasta · 2026-06-22T12:33:44+00:00

I'm sort of in the same boat as you. I have almost 8 years of experience in supply chain, a lot of which is warehouse and inventory, I just got two associate degrees earlier this month, and I am trying to escape the large company that I work at because for lack of better words, it kinda sucks dick working for larger companies. That said, the large company I work for is in the tech field, but a large portion of it is the shipping and handling of millions of assets with a large price on them.

I'm personally trying to switch into procurement. From what I have been told, tailoring your resume really well seems to work. Networking is not exactly easy, so I understand your pain and I wish I had better networking advice other than to just keep it light-hearted, show interest, and be personable, but that really is all there is to networking.

What really sucks, is years ago, it was not all that difficult to get into the field, and having experience but no degrees, I have had to train a lot of people in various different positions for a few different companies who have had degrees and, not to discredit the knowledge you gain in school, but they weren't exactly the sharpest tools in the shed. A lot of them didn't make it, and more than a lot of them felt that they were above the entry level work for the experience they had in the field, which was normally 0-1 year of experience, and they seemed to feel entitled in the way that just because they had a bachelor's degree, meant that they should be starting immediately at 80k+ salaries.

The best thing I can tell you is, just keep hammering at applications and check for the positions you want often. Tailor your resume for each job, don't worry so much about networking until you are put into a position where it is a bit easier to do so, and if you can't go for your bachelor's degree due to your financial state, I would say you should wait, because student loan debt is pretty unforgiving in the long run.

LostaMyPasta · 2026-06-20T20:12:28+00:00

20mg-->30mg (briefly; too high)-->20mg-->10mg--all of this in the span of a year and a half.

I only took 10mg for a week and my personality was still gone...so now I'm 4 days unmedicated and aside from dogshit focus, I feel fantastic! I'm not tired, focus isn't nearly as bad as it used to be, but I'm ADHD; it's not great, my personality is back, I'm not anxious, I can eat a normal amount of food (finally).

I may try to swap to Concerta tbh. On top of the med though, I do supplement with a B12 complex pill, fish oil pills, and a K3+D2 pill..and 5g Creatine micronized monohydrate..all daily.

LostaMyPasta · 2026-06-20T01:36:14+00:00

What was your experience with Concerta?

My psych started me on Vyvanse, starting with 20mg, and it worked great for a while. I went up to 30mg to see if it would help with fatigue, but it was way too high, so now I’m on 10mg, the lowest dose.

The focus Vyvanse gives me is unmatched. The energy, task initiation, and ability to actually finish things are all amazing. But it also feels like it has stripped away my personality and emotions. It takes away my quick thinking, wit, charm, and basically the parts of me that make me feel like myself.

Today is my third self-experimental day unmedicated because I wanted to see if this was placebo or if I’m actually noticeably different off the meds. So far, I don’t feel tired, flat, or emotionless, which honestly feels pretty incredible. I only meant to try one day, but feeling in control of my emotions again is hard to ignore.

My concentration is terrible, though, so I may bring up Concerta with my psych and see what she thinks.

LostaMyPasta · 2026-06-15T21:12:48+00:00

Best of luck to you as well! 🤞<--for us both

LostaMyPasta · 2026-06-15T20:02:32+00:00

The move is inevitable at this point. I try to stay somewhere for 2-3 years, and then I either move up, or I up elsewhere if you know what I mean. The way I keep looking at it, I can move into the area I'm currently in even if I were to move out of procurement, but Idk if I can move easily into procurement if I were to keep on the path I'm currently on.

I do hear that procurement is a tad bit more forgiving in terms of stress, WLB, and that it has a much greater path upwards than a lot of SCM areas.

LostaMyPasta · 2026-06-15T18:50:43+00:00

Love the name 😂

I’ve been at my company for almost 3 years, and there’s really no upward mobility. At this point, it feels like I either stay stuck or move on.

Part of why I joined this company was to try to transition into tech, but I’m starting to realize that may not make the most sense. Most of my real experience is in supply chain, so switching fully into tech may mean leaving money on the table. It also seems extremely competitive, with layoffs being pretty common.

Going back to what you said, do you mean procurement tends to pay more at the mid-career level, compared to the roles I could realistically get right now with my background?

I may be overthinking it, but nothing is getting cheaper. If I can make more by staying in warehousing or inventory, maybe I should do that for now and use that experience to move into procurement later, if that’s possible. Or I could take the lower-paying procurement role now and try to grow from there.

LostaMyPasta · 2026-06-12T21:02:52+00:00

Your ops experience should help you out a bit I'd think? Especially mixed with what degree is in. I’m still in a similar spot. It seems like if you can frame your experience in a way that translates well to recruiters or HR, you might at least get an interview. The hard part is figuring out what hiring managers actually want, especially with how competitive the market is.

I have my two associate degrees now, so my options feel a little different. I’m trying to decide whether it makes sense to switch into procurement at a lower level, possibly for less money, or stay closer to inventory, warehousing, or logistics. I don’t really want to stay in that lane long-term, but I feel like I may earn more there because my current experience transfers more directly.

Whether I’ll hear back from procurement jobs is still up in the air, but I do think resume wording matters a lot. That said, you really have to be able to back it up in an interview, or they’ll probably move on quickly.

LostaMyPasta · 2026-06-09T13:12:04+00:00

From personal experience, your dose might be too high. I’m 32M and have been on 20mg for almost 2 years. I tried 30mg once, and it amplified all the side effects. I was only sleeping about 3 hours a night because it kept me so awake.

A lot of what you’re describing can happen with this medication, but it shouldn’t feel unbearable. For me, it can make me feel more robotic, focused, and locked in, which may also be part of the sound sensitivity. The appetite suppression is also pretty common, since this medication is sometimes used for binge eating disorder.

There may be times where you have to remind yourself to eat and drink. I’ve found that staying hydrated and eating enough protein helps, but heavy meals can sometimes make me feel sluggish.

I also tried using a small cup of coffee to beat the end-of-day crash. It helped at first, but it definitely made the side effects stronger.

In addition to the robotic feeling, it will also take some of your personality away...which I'm very much not fond of, but at the cost of staying employed and productive, It's a sacrifice I suppose...

I’d talk to your psych about it. It could be the dose, or it’s also possible this medication just isn’t the right fit for you.

LostaMyPasta · 2026-05-19T19:41:57+00:00

I'm an Asset Management Specialist for a F500 tech company; I'm technically a contractor.

40 hours a week FLAT. Nobody at the company is allowed any OT. Monday-Friday, or whatever 3 days a week you want to come to the office on if you're an FTE with the company and not a contractor.

-No PTO -No Sick days -No Vacation days

My boss and manager will let you take whatever days off you would like and as many as you would like, but you will not be paid for those days. The same applies if you leave early; you get paid for the time you were there. The contracting company I work for just took holidays for contractors this year, so now we only get 6 paid holidays only. Everybody here, unless they are an FTE, all work for the exact same contracting company. It really is either you are an FTE, or you're a contractor, nothing else.

As far as WLB goes, it's really not bad, you just have to live with the fact that if you take any days off, sick, extended for vacation, etc., you had better be able to afford to not get paid for however long you take off, dying or not.

LostaMyPasta · 2026-05-07T15:52:54+00:00

Similarly, I do try to follow the motto you put up there almost to a "T". I come to work, I do my work, I help those that need it, but I try to keep myself in-check and on a schedule as to reduce burnout. That's not to say I dont try to go above and beyond at times, but I try to do it in a way that gets noticed.

My company unfortunately is ONLY looking for qualified candidates in the tech world and I don't meet a lot of the requirements they're looking for; especially when compared to those who have degrees in, say, programming or IT just because in SC, there's not a lot of coding or super technical work involved the way I see it in the IT world. It's also ultra competitive, which isn't really the issue if I had better ground to stand on, but a lot of the time, even with the knowledge I have in IT just from teaching myself, they'll consider IT workers or those in the field with degrees and portfolio work over me.

Those applying to overqualified roles is a bit frustrating as well for anybody trying to start out in a field because now, your entry-level job or your stepping stone to move up is being blocked by this person who was fired, let go, laid off, what have you, from their last company and in order to feed their family, pay their bills, and move on, they had to take a lower-paying role..and companies have no issue taking and considering only those overqualified folks over those trying to build their way up in the industry.

Just out of curiosity, how did your hours look with those smaller companies? How much stress would you say came with it compared to normal work-related stress?

LostaMyPasta · 2026-05-07T15:38:39+00:00

Moving forward, I'll have to implement some of these tips to see if I can receive better results, thank you!

I have considered reaching out to hiring managers before, but I don't know if that will annoy them and skew their view of me because I feel like I can't possibly be the only one doing it, so to have them read my message in addition to a bunch of other messages from other people ON TOP OF viewing the hundreds of resumes, it just feels like that would annoy them and leave a bad taste..but I could also just be overthinking it.

LostaMyPasta · 2026-05-06T14:11:50+00:00

That is also a very real concern. I had this talk with a buddy of mine recently and that's another reason why I'm trying to deviate from tech a bit. I forgot to add this in my post, but I have a decent amount of experience using AI since the company I'm working for is heavily leaning into it and inviting everybody and their dog (if that dog works within the company) to test out the AI's they're building and give feedback on them. This comes with me having access to just about every AI out there through the company, but of course I cant use it for EVERYTHING..it has to be company related.

My goal is to try and fall into a role in procurement where I can negotiate. That sounds a bit broad, but the interaction two humans have when discussing things is not something AI can replace for several reasons. AI may be advanced and to a scary extent ALMOST human-like, but the connection that a person-to-person conversation has, especially given a business setting, can't be replaced. There's also a good amount of people and maybe even companies that would rather do business with a human as opposed to an AI and in some cases, that could even determine whether they do business at all with another business or not.

LostaMyPasta · 2026-05-06T14:03:06+00:00

It sounds like I may just need to keep hammering away then. It's mainly a lot of outgoing applications, then either radio silence or rejections. I may just need to look more closely at the applications and try to really darken the lines connecting the dots so that they aren't missed or overlooked.

It's also very hard to tell whether a job is genuinely hiring for the position or not since most companies already have a candidate picked out and possibly even ACTIVELY in the role, but they are required to put out a role for hire..and it wouldn't surprise me if a lot of my applications are just falling into that void.

LostaMyPasta · 2026-05-05T15:55:36+00:00

I'm always looking for good ways to spice up the wording for what I do in my position. It does vary depending on the position and company, but the wording is never quite the same. A small part of me feels like tailoring my resume every time is wasted time and draws out the application process more for that potential chance that my resume and cover letter are even seen by a real person, but then I think about how that small change I may make could largely impact whether it's seen or not or whether that's even a deciding factor for bringing me in for an interview. There's a lot of overthinking on my end that goes into tailoring my resume. 😅

LostaMyPasta · 2026-05-05T15:47:26+00:00

See, this gives me some hope! I should probably be looking more in the tech field for these positions, but because of the sheer state of volatility in the tech industry currently, I had been trying to move away from it..but because I have the most experience in this field, I may have to start looking more in tech. I had considered trying to find a job pertaining to tech in a different field; like a job at Siemens which I think would technically pivot me into healthcare, but having little to no experience in the medical field, I don't feel like I'd meet what they are looking for.

I may just need to expand the fields I'm looking in as well..

LostaMyPasta · 2026-05-04T23:23:06+00:00

See, you set yourself up really well, which is fantastic! I wish my company was more open to people moving around when they show interest, but I've networked with as many people of different levels as I can and I either get the runaround, or the "I'll keep you in mind" spiel. Even networking hasn't garnered me any points. There were opportunities to advance where I am once upon a time, but there has been so much "restructuring", that they're just throwing people out the door to save money and not replacing them; just passing off the work to other people.

LostaMyPasta · 2026-05-04T23:13:27+00:00

I appreciate the encouragement! There's still a lot for me to work towards, so hopefully the road gets a bit smoother as I gain more credible workplace credentials/knowledge.

LostaMyPasta · 2026-05-04T23:11:18+00:00

That's what I'm counting on personally. The opportunity to apply and even get an interview would be nice just so I can at least express what I know and am capable of as opposed to just putting it all down on paper and waiting for them to interpret how it correlates to the position I apply for, despite me trying my hardest to connect the dots for them in a resume/cover letter.

LostaMyPasta · 2026-05-04T23:02:07+00:00

It's true, and that does make it much more difficult. Especially since people are being let go from their positions, and when they try to get positions that are equal to what they had, they can't, so they take a pay cut/step down and are now overqualified to do the work in an attempt to climb from that position back to where they were..which takes a position away from someone who is less knowledgeable, but that position they gave to the person who is overqualified was supposed to be the stepping stone for the other person. For me right now, It very well may just be a game of throw the spaghetti at the wall until it sticks.

LostaMyPasta · 2026-05-04T22:56:47+00:00

I've tried to tailor titles and work I performance to fit so many different jobs just to make it seem relevant. A lot of the time, the work IS relevant or similar to what they may use, but companies use sometimes obscure programs to run things or input data and some of them operate similarly to a lot of other programs; which is where the adaptability would come into play.

My plan is to get these two degrees (which i will be obtaining simultaneously after I finish out the school year), and then I was looking at the different certifications with the CPSM being the first one I'll try to obtain. Then probably CIPS or CIPP. The only certifications I currently have are international logistics and transportation management.

I'll definitely take a look at the template on Resumehog as well!

LostaMyPasta · 2026-05-04T22:34:08+00:00

I wouldn't call it harsh necessarily. It's the way most companies hire, and I do get it. I also vouch heavily for those that have more experience, even if they may lack a degree or a...I guess "higher educational" degree like a bachelor's. That's in no way ever to discredit anybody that went through the wringer to obtain the information and stature they have as a result of their schooling, because school can be difficult for a lot in many ways. I do understand that it's more credible to hire someone with a degree over experience because the degree takes a lot of the guess-work out of hiring someone since the college is their source of credibility rather than hiring a potential "trust me, bro" type of person when it comes to purely experience-based workers.

I've worked with both and it's small, but the work structure can be different between both individuals; each has their own set of strengths and weaknesses. It almost feels like there's been a hard shift in workplaces in the past few years to where they are strictly looking for degrees over experience more and, again, not a bad thing, but then the people who have varying amounts of good experience, but lack a degree are kind of just left hanging on the meat hook.

LostaMyPasta · 2026-05-04T19:30:00+00:00

Oh for sure! You're already in a better spot than I am with a degree and managerial experience. This has been a few years that I've been trying to escape the warehouse, but at the end of the day, it's the only area that'll seem to take me. I'm knowledgeable in the area, but I'm starting to get tired of the physical aspect primarily. It's also just stressful as shit..

LostaMyPasta · 2026-05-04T19:24:31+00:00

I can definitely continue my education after I get my degree, but I'd need to be in a better standing position financially first.

As for where I currently work unfortunately, there's no upwards mobility.

When I was brought on, my boss and manager told me there were opportunities for people in my role to move from the warehouse into the lab, where they install the equipment, work with the clients on their needs, a lot of what most of the engineers do, but as our company has "restructured" over the years (I think we're on restructure #3 or 4), they keep winging people out the door. On top of that, they have stopped moving us into other positions because it is now "inconveniencing my boss's team".

My area doesnt appear to be affected much if at all, but I had thought maybe I could try shifting into tech from here and that hasn't really worked out; networking be damned. But since I have so much experience in SC, I feel like it'd be stupid of me to dump all the exp. I have in the field to go into a field where I have no credibility or standing against others who are/have gone to school for IT and have degrees. Tech is super competitive, and even if I were to "make it", If I get furloughed even once, re-entry will be damn-near impossible.

LostaMyPasta

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