Getting into SAP work

[mikeyboy]

I've been working as a systems engineer on Microsoft stuff for nearly 8 years now. It's all starting to get a little stale and I want to learn something else.
I'm really interested in seeing a bit of the world and there seem to be plenty of jobs everywhere for SAP Consultants.
Obviously I'd have to start at the bottom again and spend a few years working my way up.

I haven't the first notion about SAP. Only some small experience as a user.
How do I get a foothold in the SAP game? Can I do a bootcamp to learn the admin skills?

[northernladuk]

The quick and dirty answer is you don't (at the same level you are at now, I am discounting the option to start back at user level and work up). It's like SC clearance. You gotta get lucky to get the experience to springboard you in to a nice closed shop.

I would say the best option is to try go permie and get trained or moved sideways into it.

Most contract postions want experienced guys because they don't have your own so chances of blagging it in and learning on the job are slim to nil.

Am sure somene will say read a book and blag it on CV but there you go.

[thunderlizard]

The absolute quickest way would be to join one of the big IT consultancies in a junior position, and say you've got a preference for SAP. They'll give you a book to read, then put you straight out to work as a senior SAP guru.

[Pogle]

The absolute quickest way would be to join one of the big IT consultancies in a junior position, and say you've got a preference for SAP. They'll give you a book to read, then put you straight out to work as a senior SAP guru.

Hey - that happened to me with Cognos
Put on site as a 'Data Manager' expert to build data marts having spent 10 mins looking at the software.
I left that consultancy shortly after!

[zemoxyl]

The absolute quickest way would be to join one of the big IT consultancies in a junior position, and say you've got a preference for SAP. They'll give you a book to read, then put you straight out to work as a senior SAP guru.

Whilst there is some truth in the above, you've got to think of reasons why they'd take you in preference to any of the many thousands of graduates they can pick for a pittance and train up.

[northernladuk]

Whilst there is some truth in the above, you've got to think of reasons why they'd take you in preference to any of the many thousands of Indians they can pick for a pittance and train up.

FTFY

[northernladuk]

Whilst there is some truth in the above, you've got to think of reasons why they'd take you in preference to any of the many thousands of Indians they can pick for a pittance already trained up.

FTFY

[NotAllThere]

On sdn.sap.com, you'll find many Indians asking the same question.

You can go through SAP Training and get certified. That might swing it for a permie to take on a junior. But it's a long shot.

I got into SAP in the late 90s, when there was a huge demand for SAP consultants. I had to go permie for a while, and was trained up by the employer - and enduser rather than a consultancy. I left after 15 months to go contracting again. A few years ago, I switched from ABAP on ECC to BI/BW. And I could only do that because one of my clients was very cooperative, had a project that needed doing, were willing to trust me to do the job, and were willing to support me. That's very unusual.

I encounter very few SAP contractors younger than ~35.

[DS23]

another way is to piggy-back on business process experience. if you can prove that you know your onions about say, the implementation of best practice hr and payroll, you could potentially pick things up from manuals
a few training courses.

but if you don't know your onions from your bunions about business process then its a long, hard slog. offer yourself to some of the consultancies and who knows where you might end up.

[northernladuk]

another way is to piggy-back on business process experience. if you can prove that you know your onions about say, the implementation of best practice hr and payroll, you could potentially pick things up from manuals a few training courses.

but if you don't know your onions from your bunions about business process then its a long, hard slog. offer yourself to some of the consultancies and who knows where you might end up.

I believe this is not true for SAP hence it being so difficult to get in to. It is far too big and complex to attempt this one and get away with it.