[Updated Jun 2003]
Solution, Process and Role-Oriented EducationThe new look of SAP Consulting Education incorporates the concept of PACE for developing the educational curriculum. The improved curriculum are based on the Generic Profile Maps, just as the SAP Solution Maps, it indicates what consulting knowledge is needed for implementation of SAP solutions. Instead of modules, consultants should apply their know-how in the form of business processes. This means that consultants must be able to carry out cross-module implementation. Check out
http://www.sap.com/asia/education/ for more information.
SAP currently structures it’s training packages on three broad levels:
SAP provide an Application/Technical Academy, which they claim is the best route for those who do not have any SAP System know-how, who wish to gain knowledge and become a Certified Consultant for the SAP R/3 System.
Experienced, Non-Certified Consultants may take the exams directly, or supplement their knowledge with some alternative courses before taking the exams.
Other applicants can choose to do a standard course in one of the following areas:
Financial Accounting
Controlling
Sales and Distribution
Materials Management
Human Resource
Production Planning
ABAP Workbench
Many people have got their SAP careers kickstarted by obtaining certification beforehand. However, to quote Jon Reed, ‘the key to long-term success in SAP is to develop a career strategy that parallels SAP’s own evolution from “back-end” solution to “outward-facing” e-business architecture.’
From an article in SearchSap, he further comments on the merits of certification:
‘First of all, you don’t need to work for SAP directly in order to become an independent consultant. And if you’ve read my previous columns, you know that I think SAP certification is overrated. You need two things to succeed as an independent SAP consultant: You need a hot, niche skill, backed up by years of relevant, focused experience, and you need client references from multiple SAP projects. Judging from your background, it doesn’t seem like you have either one of those things. The good news is that it’s still possible, in some instances, to break into SAP consulting even if you’ve only worked on one SAP engagement. However, you do need a deep, focused niche. You must address this issue if you want to “go independent.” My suggestion would be to forget about certification and training, and start applying for SAP contracts right now. At this point, if you actually land a contract, that’s a bonus. What you’re really trying to do is get some feedback from hiring managers and find out where your skills fall short. It can be hard to get this kind of specific feedback - too often, the only reply you get is “no thanks,” but be persistent and try to get some feedback that helps you to identify the gaps in your background and figure out which of your skills are the most marketable. Once you determine that, you want to enhance/focus on the hottest skills you have. You might be able to do that within your current project, but if you hit a wall there, consider applying for a perm job at another SAP end client. Those kinds of jobs are out there right now - not in abundance, but they’re there. They aren’t lucrative, but your main goal is not money at this point anyway. Getting an additional project under your belt will give you more credibility and better prospects for future contract positions. Just do your best to choose a perm position that will build on your best skills.’
I believe he offers solid, proven advice. At the end of the day, what employers want is proven SAP experience, and that cannot be obtained solely by attending all the relavant SAP courses.
Further Reading
Advice from Jon Reed from SearchSap
> I’m planning to take a SAP course and came across a lot being offered. I would like to get your expert advice on which course to select. My background is that I have a college degree with double majors in Accounting and Management Information Systems. My knowledge of accounting is very solid. However, I’ve ended up working as a programmer in Cobol and Mainframe environment for 6 years. The SAP FI functional module seems to be very attractive to me but I really don’t know what to choose. I hope you will be able to help me out after knowing my background specifically. Your advice/input is most appreciated. Thank you and hope to hear from you!
This question posed on 25 July 2002
We’ve gotten several questions recently from folks with a combination of financial and IT experience who are trying to break into SAP. At first glance, that would seem like the perfect background for SAP, since successful SAP implementations require both heavy technical skills and strong business process knowledge. However, there are very few successful consultants out there who are 50% functional and 50% technical. We have seen that type of hybrid consultant succeed on smaller SAP projects, where everyone on the project wears many hats, but the bottom line is that there’s just too much ground to cover to stay current in both technical and functional areas at the same time. The ideal mix is something like 80/20 on either side, giving you just enough exposure to be able to interface with the other project teams. Your question seems to indicate that you are aware of this, and you’re trying to choose between functional and technical SAP work. Specifically, you want to either break into technical SAP work or the FI module.
It seems like you’re drawn to the FI work, but you’re not sure if you can pull off the transition from legacy programmer to FI specialist. In fact, this would have been a challenging transition even in the heyday of the SAP market. Right now, in such tight market conditions, that’s not going to easy to pull off. If you decide to try, you shouldn’t think of it as “breaking into FI,” you should think of it as “making a career transition from IT programmer to financial software specialist.” You should look at it as a five to ten year plan, and approach your transition as a long-term strategy with short-term benchmarks. If you look at it this way, you’ll see that SAP FI is only one way forward. There may be other ways of moving towards that same long term goal - for example, perhaps Microsoft’s Great Plains financial software acquisition is opening up new consulting opportunities you hadn’t considered.
But if we assume that you have your sights set on breaking into SAP, your best bet might be to stay technical, and get a perm mainframe programming job working for a major SAP client that is running a hybrid legacy/client-server/web-based IT infrastructure. In that case, you might be able to leverage your legacy expertise and get experience with real-time data integration over the web. This might lead you into Java and XML-related skills, and even if you never got specific SAP exposure, your new “hybrid” IT skills would position you better for the future. Over time, if you win the trust of your employer and make a major contribution to the project on the technical side, you might be able to get them to support a major career transition into the financials side of SAP. Just keep in mind, however, that as I’ve noted in another question this week, core SAP FI experience is also becoming less marketable, as FI becomes more of a back office commodity and less of an innovation. SAP is a moving target - often the best way to get involved is to anticipate where SAP is going next and meet it there. Don’t assume that what used to be hot will continue to be so.
Of course, I am not trying to imply that your previous accounting knowledge and degree is irrelevant. In the long run, it will give you an edge. I am only saying that in a tight market, hands-on project experience is the key to moving ahead. When the economy moves into more of a growth cycle, then more opportunities will open up and there will be more ways forward. Based on this outlook, before you make any serious moves you might want to have a talk with your current employer about your long term skills and career aspirations. It’s always good to try to get help from a company that already appreciates your contributions to date. Good luck!
Further resources
SAP Careers & Certification section at SearchSap.com
Futurestep
Other HR Links
Monster
JobsDB
