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Want to move to SAP after 6+ years of experience in a completely different field?

Former Member
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Hi and Good Day to all lovely people on SCN.

I have been following this site for quite a few months now, reason: I am hooked to the wonderful world of SAP.

I still haven't personally experienced it, and currently in dire need of suggestions from your expertise.

After completing my MBA in Finance & Marketing, I started working for a Multi-National Bank in its Back Office Operations.

Been 6+ years and now am planning to also explore and enhance my knowledge in IT field which would be relevant to my

current experience and help amplify the chances of improving my career.

Am confused, and unable to determine which modules should I start with to get the basics of SAP.

Hence request you all show me how to take my first steps and gradually move faster by strengthening my roots.

Request you all to show me a road map, which would help me overcome any hurdles on the way to my destination of

being certified in at least one module.

I support Foreign Exchange operations and have fair (but not in depth) technical knowledge of how two systems are linked together to get the

job done automatically. Since, basically am from Finance, I have good knowledge on different financial products. Hope this would help you to

determine which module in SAP would be well suited for me.

I request every one of you to, please help me out and guide me so that I can make most of it.

Anxiously looking forward to receive responses.

Thank you & Regards

Bilal Ahmed D

1 ACCEPTED SOLUTION

Colleen
Product and Topic Expert
Product and Topic Expert
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Hi Bilal

In your shoes I would look at "strengthening roots" differently. I would use the roots of banking and and industry knowledge to transition to SAP focus instead of starting with zero experience and knowledge and going straight for education/certification.

If you have quite a few years experience in banking, why not research which banks use SAP and try to obtain a job there. I assume your current employer does not have SAP. This would be a way to get closer to SAP without taking major reduction in salary and invest in training and certification without guarantee of a job. Quite a few large banks around the world have implemented SAP Core Banking and also use SAP for other purposes.

If you find an opportunity to join a bank that uses SAP  you may get more hands on practical experience and exposure to possibly move to become a Super User/Expert in your product knowledge. You may then be on a path to getting involved more closely with the system support, etc and from there who knows.

There are many paths to getting into SAP if that is your desire. Certification will not guarantee you entry. This recommendation may take longer and you may speed up by looking at training in parallel. But which is more preferable to you: taking a risk, spending more on training and starting all over again OR finding a new job, getting paid and learning on the job?

In short: use your experience to get there instead of starting all over again.

Regards

Colleen

11 REPLIES 11

Former Member
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Hi, Ahmed

According to your expirience and bckround, I'd weromend to start with SAP FI.

Stepes:

1). Engage your knowledges in accounting(you need to understand all accountiong processes).

2). Pass SAP FI courses(you can find it in the net). Or you can pass SAP education by SAP AG in your region(it quite expensive wherer to pass courses by yourself).....You also will need the connection to SAP educational system (IDES), cost around 50$ per month. (duration - around 3 month by yourself and lees by SAP education).

3). After pasing standart courses(than should include as operatioans as customizing information), you need try to customize FI module by different business cases(it would be better if you will also write a blueprint to it business cases), test it and see how it works after complete setting.(duration - 2-3 mounth)

After such steps you can try to find junior-fresher position in SAP FI.(the best way is to be hired to real implementational project, not in support)

3rd step is not neceserally but it would really engage your understanding of the system.

regards

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Hi Pavlo

Many thanks for the reply, and also explaining things which would help me how to take my first steps.

When you say SAP FI courses, do you mean certification, and what is SAP educational system IDES.

Sorry I ask this as SAP is completely foreign for me and have kept all my trust in you people. Also please through some light on SAP AG.

Thank you once again in advance.

Bilal

Colleen
Product and Topic Expert
Product and Topic Expert
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Hi Bilal

In your shoes I would look at "strengthening roots" differently. I would use the roots of banking and and industry knowledge to transition to SAP focus instead of starting with zero experience and knowledge and going straight for education/certification.

If you have quite a few years experience in banking, why not research which banks use SAP and try to obtain a job there. I assume your current employer does not have SAP. This would be a way to get closer to SAP without taking major reduction in salary and invest in training and certification without guarantee of a job. Quite a few large banks around the world have implemented SAP Core Banking and also use SAP for other purposes.

If you find an opportunity to join a bank that uses SAP  you may get more hands on practical experience and exposure to possibly move to become a Super User/Expert in your product knowledge. You may then be on a path to getting involved more closely with the system support, etc and from there who knows.

There are many paths to getting into SAP if that is your desire. Certification will not guarantee you entry. This recommendation may take longer and you may speed up by looking at training in parallel. But which is more preferable to you: taking a risk, spending more on training and starting all over again OR finding a new job, getting paid and learning on the job?

In short: use your experience to get there instead of starting all over again.

Regards

Colleen

Former Member
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Hi Colleen

Thanks heaps for such a wonderful suggestion.

In fact you have hit all those chords which were playing in my mind.

But I highly doubt if any employer would be interested in hiring me, since I have zero knowledge on SAP. I also heard getting certified in SAP is very tough and doing it simultaneously while working might not bring positive results. Am completely in favor of studying while working, by this way I won't loose my current salary. Would you please let me know how intensely should I work on it, and what module would you suggest me based on my experience and qualification.

One more thing I forgot to mention is am thinking of completely moving out of banking industry. I want to try in other industries now, more like manufacturing or other financial institutions but not banks.

Does this sound a good move, please put your expertise at test and help me overcome this situation.

Thank you once again, as a matter of fact, I can't thank enough to the people here for the kind of suggestions they provide, am sure millions must be taking benefit out of it and putting themselves in the best phase of their career.

Kindest Regards

Bilal

Colleen
Product and Topic Expert
Product and Topic Expert
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Hi Bilal

Honest question here: Why SAP? You appear to have zero exposure or experience, including not knowing what "SAP AG" is yet you are keen to completely change your career? How did you hear about SAP? Sorry, I do not mean to be unkind.

So far you have described your background and asked what module. You've received some recommendation on what module based on a very high level summary you have provided - back-end operations can mean a multitude of work activities.

I have also tried to provide you with an alternative approach to entering SAP. In my recommendation it is not about being hired because you do have or not have SAP skill set. It is about getting a job because you have industry experience and you just happen to now work for a company that uses SAP. Once you start working for the company you then start using SAP as an end user. You get more exposure to the system from that point of view. You may even discover that SAP does your head in (it happens to all of us at some point) and you are no longer interested.

I am not a functional person nor industry qualified so I can't say which module is right for you. But the reality is no-one in SCN is qualified to tell you what pursue. Particularly, when you seem to want to change industry as well - sounds like you are planning to go back to square one whether you intend to or not. If you were to change industry, how would you achieve that? Your approach in changing industry would probably include the same steps as changing product knowledge to SAP: research, hard work, networking, job application, etc and a bit of luck and opportunity presenting itself at the right time for you to capitalise on.

How intensely you should work will also come down your natural abilities and motivation/desire to succeed in my career path.

For education, search SCN for Learning Hub. You can obtain free access to some course material which would include introduction for you to have a look and see what it's all about and what takes your interest.

But please keep in mind (and search other posts here).. a lot of freshers seek training and certification with expectation it will lead to a well-paid job. They then come here and ask why no one hires freshers or why did they spend all this money on certification when experience is sought. You have experience, just a different flavour.

Regards

Colleen

Former Member
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Hello Colleen

You definitely aren't unkind, am glad that you took out your precious time to provide such a sensible answer to my uneducated question. The only reason I wanted to opt SAP is, to explore something new, technically challenging and don't just want to stick to operations. I don't know after doing SAP will I have more technical approach to the work I do. I was introduced to SAP immediately after completion of my education (which was 6 years ago), it was wide spread talk that SAP is going to put you in a high earning salary, but even then they needed people with experience. Hence I wasn't keen to do it at that point of time and joined a job which is close to my domain knowledge. Now six years down the line, I have developed an interest in exploring it, to have much more self satisfaction from the work I do than what am having at the moment and also to add new learning to my life.

I knocked the door of SCN, with a hope of finding a right direction, and correct way of doing it. And so far after reading your invaluable responses, I can satisfactorily say that am very close to taking a decision.

Thanks once again Colleen.

Colleen
Product and Topic Expert
Product and Topic Expert
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Hi Bilal

Glad to hear you are getting closer to your decision


was wide spread talk that SAP is going to put you in a high earning salary, but even then they needed people with experience.

This used to be the case. As SAP has spread more people know about SAP and learn it. Companies also had the time to develop their own in house capabilities.

SAP on your resume no longer guarantees a high earning salary. It may be higher compared to other industries but in IT it's not always the top anymore as so many people have sought work (think economics 101 with your basic supply and demand).

In my experience, due to market conditions, I have taken pay cuts to secure work and I consider myself lucky compared to others. The higher incomes in SAP are the niche skill areas as well as the solution designed and architects. You have to continually invest in your skills to remain current and there is a cost of time, money and effort to do that as well.

Good luck with your future. I don't mean to discourage you but I feel quite a few people come to SAP to ask about a career in SAP and one of their key reasons is because they have heard it pays well. In your situation, it sounds like you are after a career change altogether. Research about SAP company, products, the modules. If you find a module that sounds interesting see if the Learning Hub has an introduction course (there is also opensap.com) to get a bit more knowledge. Then go on and observe some of the content SCN for that product

Although you are wanting to leaving banking, you could read up on industry specific information such as

Regards

Colleen

Former Member
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Thank you very much Colleen

My decision of posting a question here on SCN is proving very beneficial. Especially the kind of responses you have provided has really helped me to clear all misconceptions and superstitions I was living with till now. But not anymore, big thanks to you for being so kind. I will give it some time now, think before taking any step, as you rightly said SAP is not the only thing to explore and there could be many other options.

I will pay attention to every single point you have mentioned and move forward accordingly. However would bother you if needed, hope you won't mind.

Thank you and Regards

Bilal

Colleen
Product and Topic Expert
Product and Topic Expert
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great to hear

Ps....don't forget to close your thread out and mark answer complete when you are finished.

Former Member
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Hello Bilal,

I can't echo Colleen's words strongly enough. There are two cardinal rules for folks coming to SAP late in their career:

  1. Use your current skills to get the job you want.
  2. Don't quit your current job!

Please look at the blogs collected at SAP Career Blog Links.  In particular, you might be interested in FAQ: How do I get my first SAP job? which discusses how to find companies that run SAP. Your first task is to find a job at a company that is already running SAP. Once you have that, you can work on migrating into the support group from within the company. In the Career Blog links, you'll find several blogs from folks who quit their job, got trained & certified, and then couldn't get a job because the number 1 hiring criteria is experience. Get experience with SAP first, then certification later.

I hope this helps!

Best regards,

--Tom

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Hi Tom

Thanks bunch for very clear reply, let me reiterate what I understood from your response. I should first look for a company working on SAP, get a job there (not necessarily be SAP department, which in any case is impossible). Then try to move internally within the company to a process which works on SAP.

Have one question on this, can I start my SAP course now, if yes, which module do you think could be suitable for me. I first want to understand what SAP is all about, and then take on the modules. I will also go through all the blog posts you suggested me. Which mode of training would you suggest, online or instructor led. Where can I find the material and what are some of the best books to start with.

Sorry if am posing too many questions.

Have a good day and weekend

Warm Regards

Bilal