I"M A SAP NEWBIE WHERE DO I START FROM?

[Former Member]

Hi guys,

I'm a Sap newbie, please where do i start from. I need a guide. I don't have the installation software neither do I have learning materials. I'm enthusiatic and want to learn SAP. Can somebody help me out?

Thanks,

dguzzyman.

[TomCenens]

Dear

You could install a trial version of SAP software for example [http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/downloads?rid=/library/uuid/a0a6bd7b-3dfc-2c10-eb95-aae0f777d4ab].

SAP SDN site is a good resource site as you can find elearning, articles, blogs here.

Another recommended site is [http://help.sap.com].

Course wise I would recommend following SAP course ADM100 if you want to start a basis administration career.

Kind regards

Tom

[Former Member]

Hi,

You should ask this kind of question in the career forum.

Also, there is no need to shout (capitals are considered shouting and so rude in forums posts or subjects).

You have to start by choosing which SAP software you want to learn and which job you want to learn : administration ? programming ? functional consultancy ?

Regards,

Olivier

[Former Member]

Thank YOU. Mind you, that was my first post. Never meant to harm anybody.

[OttoGold]

"Want to switch to SAP consultancy"

/people/otto.gold/blog/2010/03/31/want-to-switch-to-sap-consultancy

Regards Otto

p.s.: do NOT use caps.

[zal_parchem2]

Hello Dguzzyman...you do not say what your educational and/or work background is, so I am starting with base zero with my sugggestions...

There are a few things you might want to do:

1. Find our what partners are in your area and contact them. See if they will let you be an intern as an extra set of eyes in a project and/or support area for a few months. Nothing is better than a mentor: I once had a young lady from Ireland working with me who knew nothing about SAP - it took her about two months to get up to speed and the partner finally ended up hiring her after three months (and since I am an independent, the hiring was completely up to them).

2. While doing that get some books in that SAP area from Amazon or SAP (Galileo Press) and read late into the night while being an intern. Nothing impresses them as good as when you actually know more than when you left the previous afternoon.

3. Consider working in SAP Business One. I know everyone thinks the R3 world is "it", but with SAP B1 you get an overview of the entire business process from start to finish. I have worked with folks in the R3 world and they know their little niche, but it is a great find in the R3 world of a person who knows the entire business process.

4. Join the forum group here in whatever you end up pursuing and participate actively. When I am between "gigs" (like now) I go to the SAP Business One Core Forum and not only do I help others, I also learn by taking their questions and testing them out on my test system. LOL - I was number two in the forum for this month in rewards pts - how that happened I do not know!

5. If you have no programming experience, a good way to start getting into the "programming" frame of mind is to learn SQL. Yes, you can learn it on your own - it is not that difficult and it puts you in a good frame of mind to think logically. There are some good books and web-sites to help you learn on your own.

6. Be realistic with the world-wide economy right now. I do not know where you are at, but offshore outsourcing is driving some rates down. And try to find out where the greatest demands are for SAP.

7. Do not jump on the certification bandwagon until you have had some real working experience. The certificate exam is expensive and shows nothing more than you can regurgitate information. When certification and experience are combined together, then you have a good footing.

Well, those are just my ideas - they may be completely different from others, but I hope they help...

Regards - Zal

[Former Member]

Zal,

Thanks a great bunch for breaking the whole stuff for me and giving me pointers as to how and where to go. I'm indeed very grateful for your kinda attention. I would like you to help/ show me the way in every way possible.

I have done my research on where and how I can do internship with the few companies who're into SAP implementation here in Nigeria and there seem to be non at the moment. The few small ones there're are into SAP training which are very expensive and as you've said, I need a mentor. I don't know if there're any company international where I can do internship and get a first-hand experience. Please if you know of any, kindly let me know.

Would be waiting for your prompt response. Thanks for been a mentor and a friend.

Regards,

dguzzyman.

[zal_parchem2]

Try this site to see if you have gotten everyone...

http://www.sap.com/southafrica/sme/howtobuy/businessone/partnerfinder/index.epx?SearchQuery=&Country...

I know of no international company where internships are available. Being an independent consultant/freelancer, I kick around looking where ever I can and the first place for you would be the continental SAP headquarters itself...not much I can do from this side of the world, but it might be a good idea to contact SAP there in Africa and they would have much more input than I in how to get started in your area. They will know much better how to move into the market there...

Take care and good luck - Zal

[zal_parchem2]

Here it is:

http://www.eseyin.blogspot.com/

[Former Member]

Hi Zal,

Ones again, thanks a great deal. I have visited the web and I've contacted him via email. I do hope I'll get positive response. You really have been helpful. Once again, thanks.

dguzzyman.

[Former Member]

hello zal

am also a newbie with same constraints as dguzzyman....i live in qatar and would like to have a mentor to grow with.thanx for the help.regards jamal

[Former Member]

Again zal,

i hold a degree in computer science and i just finished my oracle dba course...which module of sap would you advice i learn...thank you.jamal

[zal_parchem2]

Jamal - congratulations on finishing school and heading out into the business world! To be honest there are several things you might consider. These are just my thoughts, so please take them only as ideas to consider - OK? I am not in any sense a career specialist or someone who has great insight into the job market.

I know that Business Intelligence has been and continues to be a good field to get started in. With your knowledge of Oracle, that might be an area to look into for consideration. There are also side areas connected with that (Business Objects, etc) and with a good knowledge like yours in hand, you could work in the SAP ERP R3 area, the smallest area of SAP Business One (SAP B1), and also with the latest concentration coming up with SAP - SAP Business By Design (SAP BYD - sometimes called "SaaS" or "On Demand"). In all actuality, with that type of skill, you could be working with helping customers get the information the way they want it from where they want it.

Again, my humble opinion, and certainly you should do a lot more research. If you just finished school, you have the whole world ahead of you. And remember - if you find a job you love, you will never have to "do work" a day in your life!

Regards to Qatar and Good Luck - Zal

[zal_parchem2]

Jamal - here is a place where they are talking a bit about SaaS and On Demand in the blog area:

http://www.sdn.sap.com/irj/scn/weblogs?blog=/pub/t/144

It might be good to look through all the blog _categories_ to see what you can run across and what might catch your attention...

Take care - Zal

[OttoGold]

I am not in any sense a career specialist or someone who has great insight into the job market.

Nobody here is, Zal, so don´t worry:)) We only have our careers and our experience, our previous mistakes (and future mistakes). By the way... I appreciate you help the newbies, I started doing it a while ago and in few cases I found that very rewarding. Hope you will feel the same as well.

Cheers Otto

[zal_parchem2]

Hello Otto - like to include that disclaimer. More than welcome as many folks helped me along the way and handed me some ideas to carry them forward. And am sure will find that true in some cases also.

Regards - Zal

[Former Member]

Hi Zal / Otto

It will be really great if anyone can help me out. I am also very new to SAP World. My professional background is Engineering and then now completing 4+ years of experience working in IT field ( 3 years of project management of web development projects-html/php/css and 1 year of adobe flex projects - implementing oops concepts as actionscript language) . Now i plan to switch to SAP for better growth and more interested.

My Doubt is where to start ? Which field to join ie - TECHNICAL (ABAP) or FUNCTIONAL (SD,FICO etc ) , NETWORKING (BASIS) .

Which study material to follow ? I live in Kolkata India . What about Business One ?

Please guide me

Thanks

[zal_parchem2]

Hello Ravitgk - welcome to the forums as I see you just joined!!!

Well, the real truth of the matter is what is your major interest??? In my humble opinion, to tell you that you should go into this or that area of SAP would be the wrong thing to do. Do you like sitting down and concentrating on one thing while doing technical-like activities - OR - do you like to get up, move around, and interact with people all the time??? It is really your preference in the working mode that might be the first factor to consider. Personally, I love to interact with people and get antsy when I sit down to do the technical items; since I am so high-energy I like to keep moving with functional stuff.

After that is the decision as to R3 or SAP All-in-One (SAP AIO) or SAP Business By Design (SAP ByD) or SAP Business One (SAP B1). They are all somewhat different in their own ways, but I can give you my impressions. R3 probably has more open positions and opportunities, SAP AIO seems to be stalled (IMHO), SAP ByD is undergoing a big push from SAP right now to make it a hot package, and SAP B1 is used by smaller companies and, therefore, you are pretty much the "go to" expert working as the single individual in implementation and support. With the other packages, it is usually a team effort.

With R3 you are a specialist in mainly one or two areas. In the other packages, they require a person to be somewhat of a well-rounded person in both technical and functional areas; the main reason being is you must know all of the modules and functions across the entire business process.

My best and probably only true suggestion is to figure out what you like to do/how you like to work and whether you like team environments or like to head up and run projects by yourself. Then start doing research on the various packages/functionalities until you find one you like...

Talking about study material is too early and, besides, there is plenty of it around!!!

Good Luck moving forward - Regards - Zal

PS - Otto might not be able to respond as he just moved to a new adventure and has been really strapped. I have not heard from him for some time now!!!