From Supply Chain Major to SAP Technology Consultant at PwC: What I Wish I'd Known Before Entering Corporate America

I didn't set out to work in technology. I set out to understand how things move.

At Penn State's Smeal College of Business, I studied Supply Chain Management: how raw materials become products, how products reach shelves, and how a single delay ripples across continents. I added a minor in Information Sciences and Technology because I've always had a passion for technology and saw that understanding how computers operate would have a lasting impact on my life. That minor turned out to be the bridge to my career.

For three years, I worked as an SAP Technology Consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers. I sat at the intersection of two worlds that are often treated as separate: the operational reality of supply chains and the enterprise systems that run them. Here is what I learned and what I'd tell any woman considering a similar path.

What the Work Actually Looked Like

Much of my work centered on S/4HANA, SAP's current-generation ERP platform. I conducted RFP assessments for more than 10 Fortune 500 companies preparing for major S/4HANA implementations. These are multiyear, high-stakes programs, and the assessment phase shapes everything that follows: scope, partners, cost, and risk.

The daily job involved hands-on work in the system. For a utilities and energy client, I configured purchasing organizations, material master fields, and source lists in SAP MM. For an automotive manufacturer, I configured the manifest process that governs how shipments are documented and received for a global client.

My IST background mattered more than I could ever have expected. Behind every SAP implementation are questions about data structures, data centers, and how information flows between systems. I learned to look at those technical layers through a supply chain lens, asking not just, "Does this work?" but "Does this move product better?"

Advice for Women Entering Technology

1. You don't need a computer science degree to belong in the tech world. Some of the most valuable people on an implementation team understand the business processes the software is meant to serve. Domain expertise in supply chain, finance, or data science is a technical advantage, not a detour.

2. Pair your expertise with one technical skill. My IST minor was a small investment that changed my trajectory. A minor, a certification, or a course in data, a specific platform, or systems design can turn a business background into a hybrid profile that employers struggle to find.

3. Get hands-on as early as you can. Strategy work builds perspective, but configuration builds credibility. Ask to work in the system, even on small tasks. Knowing how the tool actually behaves makes your recommendations sharper and harder to dismiss.

4. Speak up when you're the only woman in the room. The reality of today's world is that you will often be outnumbered. Prepare thoroughly, state your view clearly, and don't wait for permission to contribute. Clients and colleagues remember the person who asked the question that mattered, not necessarily the person who spoke first.

5. Build a network outside your employer. Industries shift, firms restructure, and careers rarely follow a straight line. Find a community that gives you visibility, mentors, and peers who stay with you through every change in your career trajectory.

6. Own your story. Your career belongs to you, not to any single company. Document your wins, keep your skills current, and be ready to tell your own story with confidence.

The Next Chapter

Supply chains run on technology now, and technology needs people who understand supply chains! That gap is an opportunity, and women are well positioned to fill it. If you're standing at the edge of a tech career, wondering whether you belong, my answer is yes. Bring what you know, and learn what you don't. As long as there's demand, there will always be a supply chain that needs you.