Logistician Career
A Logistician handles the flow of a business’s supply chain through coordination and analyzing relevant data. They move product from supplier to consumer by implementing standard operating procedures to maximize efficiency.
It requires skills with inventory, math, management, transportation, packaging among others. It is a fast paced job with little room for error. Any variation in the SOP or the figures could be catastrophic. You could easily send the wrong amount of the wrong product to the wrong location. Or you could just as easily accept an incorrect delivery from a logistician at a different company.
Diligence and consistency are paramount in this field.
Logistician Career Snapshot
Logisticians work in most every industry. Any company that needs to acquire, store, and ship material will need some form of logistician. The size and scope of a company will determine what type of logistic needs they have. Some companies will have an entire department of logisticians, and other companies will only have one person who has logistics as just a part of their responsibilities.
Further details on a career as a logistician are listed below (statistics from the May 2015 Bureau of Labor Statistics and Onet Online):
is the average annual pay for logisticians.
increase in employment between 2014 and 2024.
have a Bachelor’s degree while 8% have a High School Diploma.
Logistician Education
There are so many variations of a logistician that a bachelor’s degree might not be absolutely required, but it is highly recommended. An associate’s degree will be enough for some positions, but obviously the higher your education the better job opportunities you’ll have to choose from.
Logistician Job Duties
The overall concept is to maintain a structured plan to keep inventory coming in and out. You’ll also be expected to foresee any problems and correct them before they slow or stop the inventory flow.
Logistician Salaries
The average logistician makes around $75k per year according to the BLS.gov May 2015 statistics. Pay will fluctuate depending on location and company, but logisticians make a comfortable living.
Logistician Job Outlook
Luckily logistician jobs span so many different industries that not only will there always be a demand for qualified workers, but you’ll have a broader list of choices. There is only a 2% expected increase over the next ten years, but the job is so prolific that there’s really not much room for overall growth.
Logistician Career Skills & Abilities
| Logistician Skill Set: | Required Abilities: | Tools Used by Logisticians: | Typical Work Activities: |
|---|---|---|---|
| • Critical thinking • Active listening • Coordination • Monitoring • Reading comprehension | • Deductive reasoning • Inductive reasoning • Information ordering • Oral comprehension • Oral expression | • USB flash drives • Video projectors • Notebook/Personal computers • Project management software • Enterprise resource planning software | • Communicating with others • Organizing and prioritizing work • Decision making • Problem solving |
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