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Want to swim in the SAP ocean, but where to start?

Former Member
0 Kudos
316

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

4 REPLIES 4

former_member182098
Active Contributor
0 Kudos
173

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

vimalv
Active Participant
0 Kudos
173

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!

Former Member
0 Kudos
173

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!

Former Member
0 Kudos
173

Hi Rudolph,

I can very much relate to the dilemma you are currently facing .

  • Personally I believe if you have some user-experience on Microsoft applications, I recommend you better stick to Microsoft technologies and develop your career along MSFT products (Dynamics / Navision / SharePoint product line). reason being - you will have some working experience to show on your CV! which is very very important when you go out in the job market. I think working experience in any domain / technology is worth 'x' time more than training / certification in other technology you dont hold any experience in.
  • Which country are you based in? by any chance are you aware if SAP has good market there...for example I am here in NZ, and I see it's not SAP but MSFT that dominates enterprise market. But if you are in Germany probably SAP dominates, and thus better career opportunities in SAP
  • Lastly the confusion around module - courses comprising each modules etc. I can recommend visit http://www.lithangenovate.com, under SAP TRAINING SCHEDULE choose any training centre location and you will see an XLS file listing module and courses that comprise that module. If you are thinking of MM module (procurement-I & II), following pathway may suit you leading to "Application Associate" level certification (the beginner's level) :: https://training.sap.com/in/en/curriculum/scm5_mm_sol-application-solution-consultant-sap-scm-sap-er...

Hope that helps you make wise decision

bets wishes,

/V