Reply to: Learning SAP

[oxtailsoup]

What is it about IT that attracts cheats and bullsh1tters?

Good point. However I am bloody good at my job and I had had previous experience of the 'niche technology' I was persuing, albeit not specifically SAP. But after the training I was as experienced as anybody for that particular skill as it was brand new to SAP too at the time.

After the first contract I didn't have to 'massage' my CV anymore. I had proved myself for 18 months (which how long my first contract was for).

Yes I could have gone permy for a few years to gain the experience but I was confident in my ability and knowledge and I was already a seasoned contractor. And I didn't let the client down at all, I did the job I was asked to do (and more) and then had my contract extended a few times to do other SAP techy roles. So it was hardly a bad deal for either party.

Whether this would be possible in todays market I don't know.

[Spacecadet]

Another way would be to look for jobs where SAP experience is preferred but not essential... eg data migration from legacy onto SAP. Push your expertise in the other skills, land the gig and then try to get the hands on SAP experience.

[Zorba]

.net is the future for sure. (oh sorry, I just re-read previous posts - someone has already given this good advice...)

If you must though, a good route is to join a consultancy (IBM, Atos etc), do a year or two there for the training, then go it alone. Don't go straight in unless you want to really risk it and lie about your experience - not recommended as anyone worth his salt will suss you out. It might have worked back in the golden days when there were lots of 'greenfield' implementations and the customer didn't have a clue, but you rarely find such projects nowadays and even if you do it will often be run by a consultancy who want to sub you in. Remember - all it takes is for someone to suspect you of b*llsh*t to reject you: they don't need proof. Also, the way some agents are at the moment, they wouldn't hesitate to burn your cv if you got rumbled - some of the specialist agencies are trying to increase 'quality', whatever that is. I am not an agent though so I might be wrong.

Save yourself a headache and do .net instead.

[chicane]

Isn't that a tad daft admitting to that in a public forum?

Yes - judging by previous topics on the subject of CUK anonimity, somebody will have:

a) found out where he lives and who he works for
b) hacked his computer.

Allegedly.

[wizard1974uk]

And if you want to know how I blagged my first SAP contract without any real experience.... I lied about my experience. But only because I felt 100% confident that I could do the role I was going for. It was a very specific role as opposed to a general one. From there I spent every day learning.

Isn't that a tad daft admitting to that in a public forum?

[chicane]

What is it about IT that attracts cheats and bullsh1tters?

Any profession that offers significant(ish) financial rewards in exchange for little upfront effort will attract cheats and bullsh1tters. Such is human nature.

[ChimpMaster]

I used to work in SAP (certified ABAP) from 1998 to 2000. Left to get into a more niche field with no relationship to SAP.

Regret my move but eh life is what you make of it. Eventually went contracting in this niche in 2005 and luckily it's worked out OK for me now.

Thing is, SAP has it's own specialisms which blwo hot and cold depending on demand. So SD/MM used to be hot and so did HR modules etc many years ago, paying like £1k a day. ABAP on the other hand is much more sudbued and pays a relatively OK rate of £400/day on average (I'm not 100% up to date on this though).

So if you train up in a particular module then you run the risk of discovering that it's not the best one to be in.

Follow your stengths - if you're a Unix guy, get into SAP BASIS. If you're a coder, get into ABAP. If you're a functional analyst, choose the module of the area you know best.

[Numptycorner]

And if you want to know how I blagged my first SAP contract without any real experience.... I lied about my experience. But only because I felt 100% confident that I could do the role I was going for. It was a very specific role as opposed to a general one. From there I spent every day learning.

What is it about IT that attracts cheats and bullsh1tters?

[bonpartit]

Low-cost alternative to official SAP certification is buy the material from ebay, including exam preparation exams. Some guys also offer access to a preconfigured SAP system for around 100$ a month. It would take you a few months to master the material without a tutor or relevant experience though.

Had a similar situation to yours, no knowledge of SAP whatsover. Got into a company to do permie UNIX support, then moved to the SAP basis team, and spent 2.5 years there gaining experience and certification. This allowed me to get into the contract market, now on my second contract.

[Euro-commuter]

You want to get into SAP because it pays well. The reason it pays well is because there aren't currently enough contractors with the degree of qualifications/experienced expected by clients.

You could get training, and then spend 3 years in permiedom on cr*p pay, and then go looking for SAP contracts. By which time the next big thing in IT will have come along and SAP rates will be down to 250/day because everybody else will have had the same idea as you.

That's what I thought in 1987

[oxtailsoup]

And if you want to know how I blagged my first SAP contract without any real experience.... I lied about my experience. But only because I felt 100% confident that I could do the role I was going for. It was a very specific role as opposed to a general one. From there I spent every day learning.

[oxtailsoup]

Interesting one.

I re-trained on SAP as a technical consultant back in 2000 and I took the 6 week certification exam. It cost me about £2000 a week, plus accomodation and flights (Heathrow) plus loss of earnings. So it was bloody expensive.

Luckily it worked out for me. I blagged my first contract and never looked back. Lately I've moved into a more technical project manager role but still on SAP. Money is excellent. Haven't been without work for longer than a month ever since I got my first SAP contract.

However it is a huge risk. Depends what area you are looking to get into.

Don't expect to get a job because you are SAP Certifed. Personally I don't think it has got me any contracts (but it may have, you don't really know). Clients are always more concerned with experience.

What the training and Certification did for me (apart from making me broke) was it gave me the confidence to blag my first contract straight away. But I was already a tech consultant for another ERP system so the theory was already in place, I just needed to know the 'SAP way' and the exams gave me that.

[chicane]

You want to get into SAP because it pays well. The reason it pays well is because there aren't currently enough contractors with the degree of qualifications/experienced expected by clients.

You could get training, and then spend 3 years in permiedom on cr*p pay, and then go looking for SAP contracts. By which time the next big thing in IT will have come along and SAP rates will be down to 250/day because everybody else will have had the same idea as you.

If you want the big money, take a gamble on some emerging technologies and hope for the best.

[Pondlife]

SAP courses run at about £500 per day and certification in whatever module you decide will take about 6 weeks. Which module(s) were you thinking of in particular as some will require knowledge of business processes before it makes any sense?

It has been said before on this board (and I agree with it) that certification makes little difference in getting a position in SAP - it's all about previous experience. This makes it difficult to break into.

Most SAP consultants usually come from a business background and generally were permies who worked on their company's implementation and then joined a consultancy. Very few people privately fund the SAP courses and IMHO they don't represent that good value for money, mostly because the course will be full of permies on a jolly looking for a late start and an early finish.

HTH

Have you thought about .Net - it's the future don't you know

[Flubster]

Guys, im looking to get into SAP. As i have no experience in SAP, it looks impossible that a company will take me and train me, so im thinking of learning it through these certified courses and then build some experience y getting a job as a permie and then breaking into the contracting market.

Any thoughts, comments, advice?

Stick with what you know and go from there. If you want to break into new areas, stay permie and get the free training before going contracting.