2013 Apr 12 1:19 PM
Good day Ladies and Gents,
My name is Rudolph and I have a few questions regarding getting started with SAP. I guess I should give a bit of my background. After leaving school I completed a Business Administration Associates Degree. From there, I attempted to finish my Bachelors in Business Management but I had to stop short for personal reasons.
My work experience is as follows: The majority of my work experience(4years) is in construction as a foreman. Some of that time was spent on a mine. I'm sure my construction experience would not help much coming into IT but I am quite computer literate. Before construction I had temporary jobs at 2 companies where I did clerical work and I was using Microsoft SharePoint and The Office Suite to do payrolls and general admin. Just to add, I was very active on the computer during my high school years where I managed to build a website or two.
With that said, I've had enough of being in construction and I've decided that my time would be better spent in IT and I've been told that I should look into SAP. I've read up a bit and spoken to friend of mine. He recommended that I should get certified in R3. I would like to become a consultant and be part of the implementation process. So, my questions to you all are:
Where do I get started? What certifications should I get that would essentially land me a job so that I can get some first-hand experience? Any other suggestions and insight would also be very welcome
Thank you for your time and I say thank you in advance for any answers. Hope I could one day also be a SAP fish.
Regards,
Rudolph
2013 Apr 12 2:58 PM
Hi Rudolph,
The starting point would be you need to decide which module does suite your knowledge MM / SD / FICO / PP / PM / HR / QM etc. If have technical / programming abilities, you need to look into ABAP / Basis / BI etc. This is the starting point.
Once you have decided which module is the right fit for you, then you can start reading
help.sap.com
I would also recommend you to regularly read the articles / answer the questions on SCN.
If you get access to service market place (http://service.sap.com), it would be a great source of knowledge.
If you access to any system to practice, please go through configuration guides and business process documents given on SAP building blocks.
http://help.sap.com/bp_bl604/BL_DE/html/Content_Library_BL_EN_DE.htm
Certification is a process to make yourself more marketable, that does not mean that it is a job guarantee program. Please note that number of consultants with certification are still struggling for job. In addition to certification, employers now a days are expected from employees to have domain knowledge, soft skills, business process knowledge, communication skills, attitude, willingness to learn, configuration skills etc. All these skills would give a great deal to consultant.
Please let me know if you need any further help.
Kind Regards,
Ravi
2013 Apr 15 5:50 AM
Rudolph,
Since you have experience in the Construction business, you might want to start with SAP for Engineering and Const. Industries - Something you can well relate to, in terms of process and terminology.
Here is a link to the Industry specific solution : http://www54.sap.com/industries/engineering-construction-operations.html
Like Ravi said, a certification can not guarantee an SAP Job, but Certified means you have enough knowledge to carry out activities related to that solution.
A list of certifications and training can be found at https://training.sap.com/us/en/training-options/certification
"Best run businesses run SAP" , so at the core it is computer system with built-in best practices to run a business. At the same time it is a system that lets you enhance it to suit your needs. Once you understand the solution and the system well enough, you can start "Consulting" - telling others how to run businesses using SAP.
Wish you all the best!
2013 Apr 23 9:50 AM
Thanks so much for your time Gents!
I have since done a bit of research and spoken to another person about SAP. He basically said that I need to get certified with ECC
I have been struggling to find an equivalent certification, I did contact my local SAP training center and they basically referred me to a course named "Application (Solution) Consultant SAP ERP / Procurement (MM)" and he also said I should look into TERP10(Integration of Business Processes in SAP ERP).
Personally I find ERP the most attractive core. My questions to you fine folk are:
Do you think I should immediately jump into procurement or would the TERP10 give me more of an understanding so that I can make a better decision regarding MM,PD etc. ?
Which of the two would make me more sought after in the job market?
Thanks so much in advance again!
2013 Apr 23 10:48 AM
Hi Rudolph,
I can very much relate to the dilemma you are currently facing .
Hope that helps you make wise decision
bets wishes,
/V