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Career change from SAP FICO ?

Arun_Kumar_Vijayan
Participant
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I am an SAP FICO consultant with 2.5 years of experience. I have joined an mnc in 2013 and initially was trained in ABAP. Then when moving to a support role, was put into learn FICO. I have learnt all the basic concepts but now I am finding it difficult on various complex finance tasks.

I am feeling lost right now and cannot proceed forward in my career. I would like experts help in this matter for a good career advice for me.

Thanks in Advance.

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

ajaycwa1981
Active Contributor
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Hi Arun

Dont consider me harsh. But its your fault!!

Why did you accept something which is not your domain? The so-called IT Companies who talk of ethics, values infront of clients, do all nonsense gimmicks behind the scenes to reduce the cost!!

I was myself asked to train ABAP like you in FICO and I politically stepped out of it.

If you donot know where you have to go, people will take you for a ride

One girl I know - Fresh Qualified, ICWA (CMA) Qualification, CA Inter, SAP Certified Joined one of the Big 4 in Hyd. The day she joined, after talking of all ethics and values, the manager tried to push her into EPIC Software. Ever heard its name? I am sure you have not and many of us would not have!!

The girl showed guts and blasted people then and there. She was hounded by Officer at every level for 4 months. You name a designation in the IT company and she was hounded by that person. But the girl stood rock strong, unfettered by all the so called geniuses of this industry. She won!! And all this is just 2 months old

What makes her different? Clarity in what she wants to do and achieve!!

What makes her fight? Belief in herself, that if not here, she will get it somewhere else?

I sign off with one last comment. If you have one fear inside, there are 1000 hounds / cheats in the market to capitalize on it.. All the Astrologers, Tarot Readers, Good-Luck Sellers are thriving only based on the fear of people!!

Ajay Maheshwari

14 REPLIES 14

SivaPrasad_Vasireddy
Active Contributor
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Hi,

Career change at this movement will cost you with salary

you can better update  yourself with SAP Simple finance and proceed with present career for great oppurtunities

scenarios might be complex but with little exploring you can solve the issues

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2,084

Hi Siva,

Thanks for your valuable comments. Is there any training centre where we can learn Simple Finance? I am also interested in ABAP and know the basics. Would there be any oppurtunities with that as well?

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2,084

Hi,

if you are in Hyderabad you have many centers with Affordable cost,you can also opt for online training which is more Flexible for you.

Mean while you can check www.opensap.com for free courses

Former Member
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Hi Arun,

The initial boost to learn any new concept in any field is our own curiosity and passion to learn/excel without thinking about the potential benefits or materialistic things.

As you already hold good amount of SAP FICO experience plus have some ABAP knowledge, I suggest you better go for S4 HANA with Simple Finance because that will actually add value addition to your profile since you have FICO + ABAP knowledge and you seems also interested in ABAP ( which many finance consultant find hard to do).

1) To begin with, you can start learning the concepts, logic's, requirements and benefits of simple finance.

2) Then, you should first try acquiring as much as knowledge from various sources such as google,scn, other SAP forums, SAP Simple finance experts( if you know someone )

3) As rightly suggested by Siva Prasad Vasireddy, you can contact some good & genuine institutes in your city that offers SAP simple finance training with sound exposure to real time scenarios. Read, Learn & Practice every possible concepts starting with simple one then graduate it to complex one.

Probably, I believe that by following above steps and of course with your own heart & mind course plan you will surely get into very new ,challenging & demanding career where you can grow in coming years.

All the Best.

Thanks and Regards,

Shakir Shaikh

SAP FI Consultant

Arun_Kumar_Vijayan
Participant
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Thanks a lot Shakir and Siva. I am trying hard to find a right way in my career. I would strongly follow your advice. Apart from this, If i need to stay in technical module, shall i pursue training in SAP HANA?

Also career in SAP simple finance is a secure option in the future?

Colleen
Product and Topic Expert
Product and Topic Expert
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Hi Arun

If you are going to continue down the Finance path - which includes Simple Finance - then perhaps you need to look at some non-vendor specific training in basic Finance concepts (e.g. Accountancy). It sounds from your comments what is holding you back is domain knowledge.

If you like the work you do but need knowledge then consider looking at some MOOCs to joining a course somewhere to learn Finance. From there you will improve your SAP consulting skills (whether you move to Simple Finance or not)

Regards

Colleen

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Hi Colleen,

Thanks for your information. I am trying to get some online courses in basic accounting concepts. Would that be helpful for me in learning?

Also, I am little bit confused about learning SAP simple Finance. What are the job oppurtunities in the near future? I am also interested in learning technical module as well.

Please provide your valuable comments.

Colleen
Product and Topic Expert
Product and Topic Expert
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2,084

Hi Arun

I'm not from a functional or financial background. Simple Finance is the the step towards S4HANA. It's relatively new and will become the (impression I'm given) the "new Finance" over time.

So yes, the people in this forum are right in saying it has a future

However, if you are saying that you are struggling with the content and what you are configuring then learning it will not help you. Hence, why I suggest to focus on improving your domain knoweldge.

I can't recommend completely what to study. Ask yourself which areas of the system make little sense to you (what are those complex items you refer to). How familiar are you with financial transactions (Fb*, F-, etc) and concepts (Gl, cost centres, profit centres, taxation, recurring journals, dr/cr)

Where you are unsure, seek out learning that material to get a better understanding of what you are configuring. From there, you can master FICO and consider learning Simple Finance as you move towards S/4HANA.

From my point of view, learning anything can be a hinderance

Regards

Colleen

Former Member
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2,084

Arun,

I started my SAP career in FI/CO; it makes sense to me that someone without any finance/accounting background might struggle.  To be frank, I would wonder why someone without any accounting experience and training would choose to start there. I heartily endorse Colleen's suggestion that some solution-agnostic training in general accounting principles and processes could help fill in the gaps so that FI/CO makes more sense to you. Otherwise, if your background is strictly technology, you might want to migrate away from functional work into a more purely technical role.

Good luck!

Gretchen

ajaycwa1981
Active Contributor
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2,085

Hi Arun

Dont consider me harsh. But its your fault!!

Why did you accept something which is not your domain? The so-called IT Companies who talk of ethics, values infront of clients, do all nonsense gimmicks behind the scenes to reduce the cost!!

I was myself asked to train ABAP like you in FICO and I politically stepped out of it.

If you donot know where you have to go, people will take you for a ride

One girl I know - Fresh Qualified, ICWA (CMA) Qualification, CA Inter, SAP Certified Joined one of the Big 4 in Hyd. The day she joined, after talking of all ethics and values, the manager tried to push her into EPIC Software. Ever heard its name? I am sure you have not and many of us would not have!!

The girl showed guts and blasted people then and there. She was hounded by Officer at every level for 4 months. You name a designation in the IT company and she was hounded by that person. But the girl stood rock strong, unfettered by all the so called geniuses of this industry. She won!! And all this is just 2 months old

What makes her different? Clarity in what she wants to do and achieve!!

What makes her fight? Belief in herself, that if not here, she will get it somewhere else?

I sign off with one last comment. If you have one fear inside, there are 1000 hounds / cheats in the market to capitalize on it.. All the Astrologers, Tarot Readers, Good-Luck Sellers are thriving only based on the fear of people!!

Ajay Maheshwari

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2,084

Hi Ajay,

Thanks for your response. I accept that i made a big mistake initially for opting such role given by the company. I do not regret at the moment. 

I would like to get all the things sorted out now, maybe too late. Nevertheless, I am seeking out experts opinion in drawing a correct path for me.

What is your valuable suggestion for me in this regard and as a trainer your comments would be suitable for my future.

Please feel free to provide your valuable comments.

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2,084

Brother

If you are happy with your decision, then move with it

You can make it big in any career of your choice. Give it what it takes!

Love it and it will love you back!!

I personally LOVE SAP!! I must say, am MAD AFTER SAP!!

Ajay M

Colleen
Product and Topic Expert
Product and Topic Expert
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2,084

Hi Ajay

Your point is valid... to an extent...

However, I see many situations where employer's place graduates in jobs that aren't their core skills. I see situations where the 'sink or swim' approach is common and a member could be the HR person on one place and told you need to "reskill" as the Finance at the next site.

Is this right/ethical/fair? - I'm of two minds. But more it comes back down to that life is not always fair. Sometimes you need to take so long as you don't steal.

I see members who graduate with business degrees are placed in more technical roles compare to me with my IT degree. Should they have said no to the technical role even though they now excel and considered to be an expert now?

I see people follow Richard's Branson's mantra (say yes to opportunity and figure it out later). Is this a bad approach? Again, I'm of two minds. Sometimes an employer putting you into a role is due to seeing skills that you can develop. The approach in how you move to such roles determines a bit of the ethics behind it and whether you take a stand. Then other times, they made a sale without considering their core capabilities and you've been thrown in the deep end with a stick/carrot incentive to figure it out.

The more I am on SCN and part of this community, the more I am relaxing some of my judgement of people in jobs out of their depth. I by no means think the person has zero responsibility in how they go there. And I still gets frustrated to see untrained people making decision/changes on SAP systems. However, if such members are here (esp under a real name) admitting they are struggling and keen to improve then it's a great start. There is little value in pointing out to the person a conclusion they have already drawn.

It's why on such threads like these, my encouragement to the member is to improve business knowledge. As a trainer, would you have a different recommendation to offer?

Regards

Colleen

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Hi Colleen

People are of 2 types - Self Driven and Driven by others

As a Manager / Employer, you can decide for the later. But since the majority of folks fall in that later category. the managers get used to deciding for others. That is dangerous

I manage the FICO practice for my company and when I deploy FICO guys, I take into account their Skills, Aspirations and many factors. But imagine a guy (The so-called Resource Manager) doing this. His/Her target is to fill the vacant seat in a project!!

I am not opposed to people developing multiple skills or doing multiple modules. I myself do that. A MM guy can do PP, PP guy can do QM/PM, but an ABAP guy or an Engineer in FICO? I am against it. Again, there might be a few exceptions, but exceptions must be handled as exceptions

I am opposed to the fact that you train someone in FICO, then all of a sudden ask them to learn BPC, then deploy them in FSCM. This only creates confusion and lack of confidence. If you wanna decide future path for someone, thats fine. But decide it!! It cant change twice in a year. Give your team a vision on what you want them to be, make them understand and pursue it

I think we both are talking about the same thing, with a few exceptions. But its better to have different views, that brings innovation

Ajay M