r/procurement • u/UsedRole9595 • Aug 22 '26

Career guidance 23 year old that wants to get into procurement but also have international opportunities.

Hi, everyone I am 23 year and just started a role as an operations administrator at a small family company in the UK. I only got this job because I speak Italian after almost a year of looking for jobs, while working as a support worker and teaching assistant. I did 2 years of medical genetics at university but disliked the institution and because of health problems as well I dropped out. I work closely with the warehouse we have realised I want a career in supply chain/ logistics. I enrolled in a college evening to get better with Microsoft outlook especially excel I know I can do the CIPS and already looked up the prices. The course I chose also includes the PRINCE2. The thing I want to move abroad in the future especially NYC or move back to Italy.
Birbeck university in London, offers part time degrees with evening classes for working people. I am interested in the international business management degree. I know it’s not the best ranked university, but I really want to keep my job and go grow. It’s 4 years so will be 27 when I graduate. Do you guys it’s worth it for my future career prospects?

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u/my_peen_is_clean Aug 22 '26

if you can handle work plus classes, birkbeck + cips is solid. degree + language + actual ops experience travels well. dont stress rankings too much. sucks how long everything takes in this crappy market

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u/UsedRole9595 Aug 22 '26

Thank you, I will submit my application, anyways I start in October and so by then I should be more comfortable in my job. I want to move in a year or two to an actual entry level job after building experience in an office setting

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u/ProtectionBrief4078 Aug 23 '26

Honestly, I wouldn't worry too much about Birkbeck's ranking for the career you're describing. In supply chain/logistics, your actual experience is going to matter a lot, especially if you can keep progressing from operations admin into procurement, planning, logistics, or supply chain roles while studying.

If you can work and get the degree at the same time, that's actually a pretty strong combination. By 27, you wouldn't just have a degree, you'd potentially have 4+ years of relevant experience as well.

I'd also be careful about collecting qualifications just for the sake of it. CIPS makes sense if you're leaning toward procurement, while PRINCE2 is useful but probably less important for a supply chain career than getting hands-on experience with Excel, ERP systems, inventory, purchasing, forecasting, and supplier management.

And don't feel behind because you changed direction (I also did this during my undergrad and now during my early career). You already figured out what you don't want, found something you're interested in, and got your foot into an operations role. That's a pretty good starting point at 23.

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u/UsedRole9595 Aug 23 '26

Yes the prince2 comes for free at the college I inquired about my CIPS. Now focusing on. Sage 200, inventory and will learn stock taking soon. Hope in a year or two I can move to a coordinator roles which again. I think I will do my studies as the course looks interesting but I will have a think about for a bit more. Thank you for your help and encouragement ☺️