anyone have any info on becoming a SAP Consultant?

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jxharding

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just for interest sake (meaning im bloodywell hoping to do this one day),
does anyone have any info on becoming a SAP Consultant?
except that its bloody expensive, and that some info can be obtained here
http://www.sap.com/southafrica/services/education/faq/index.epx

are there loads of developers moving this route?

if so, are they moving to it later in their career? after how many years of development, on average?

are developers uninformed if they think they can do this course and do this career change?

will a degree in CS/IS count in your favour here if you've studied SAP afterwards, and apply for a job then with both qualifications?

how about if you have an Hons in Information Systems, would SAP Consultancy be a (logical) possible option to explore?

are there many jobs in RSA for this qualification?

if so, what about in Cape Town?

what is it going to cost in total for training fees to enter a SAP Consultant position?

How many modules are required in order to enter a SAP Consultant position?

can i get the SAP software to work with somehow whilst studying, because i dont have access to SAP at work?

there are so many areas in SAP, do your first target an area you like and then go look for jobs in that area, or do you look at what areas are currently
requiring consultants and then pick one of them you feel good with? (this is different to the 'go study generic programming and end up anywhere' approach followed at tertiary institutions). the site answers this
"How do I decide which area to focus on if I do not have the relevant experience?"
We would advise an individual to only attempt an area with the relevant business experience within that area.
what if you plan to get out of the industry youre working in? is it thus only possible to become a consultant if you have existing experience in a system?

is it better for a current developer to first study ABAP (SAPs programming language), and then become a consultant, or can this stage be skipped?
 
I think the only question you left out is - how long is a piece of string?
 
SAP consultants are incapable of understanding more than one module. They'll be quick to point out it's because of the sheer vast awesomeness of SAP. Best in the world... bla, bla, bla.

I''ll become a prostitute before I become a SAP consultant. Both f#ck people for money but at least the prostitute is honest about it.
 
unskinnybob said:
SAP consultants are incapable of understanding more than one module. They'll be quick to point out it's because of the sheer vast awesomeness of SAP. Best in the world... bla, bla, bla.

I''ll become a prostitute before I become a SAP consultant. Both f#ck people for money but at least the prostitute is honest about it.
Click to expand...

erm... i'm basis, BW and PI certified :wtf:
 
jxharding said:
just for interest sake (meaning im bloodywell hoping to do this one day),
does anyone have any info on becoming a SAP Consultant?
except that its bloody expensive, and that some info can be obtained here
http://www.sap.com/southafrica/services/education/faq/index.epx

are there loads of developers moving this route?

if so, are they moving to it later in their career? after how many years of development, on average?

are developers uninformed if they think they can do this course and do this career change?

will a degree in CS/IS count in your favour here if you've studied SAP afterwards, and apply for a job then with both qualifications?

how about if you have an Hons in Information Systems, would SAP Consultancy be a (logical) possible option to explore?

are there many jobs in RSA for this qualification?

if so, what about in Cape Town?

what is it going to cost in total for training fees to enter a SAP Consultant position?

How many modules are required in order to enter a SAP Consultant position?

can i get the SAP software to work with somehow whilst studying, because i dont have access to SAP at work?

there are so many areas in SAP, do your first target an area you like and then go look for jobs in that area, or do you look at what areas are currently
requiring consultants and then pick one of them you feel good with? (this is different to the 'go study generic programming and end up anywhere' approach followed at tertiary institutions). the site answers this
"How do I decide which area to focus on if I do not have the relevant experience?"
We would advise an individual to only attempt an area with the relevant business experience within that area.
what if you plan to get out of the industry youre working in? is it thus only possible to become a consultant if you have existing experience in a system?

is it better for a current developer to first study ABAP (SAPs programming language), and then become a consultant, or can this stage be skipped?
Click to expand...

Ok, ill try and answer some questions:

are there loads of developers moving this route?

I've seen that ABAP developers are quite in demand, if you are a technical minded person, you can look at ABAP, BASIS, PI [XI] or Portals

if so, are they moving to it later in their career? after how many years of development, on average?

Not sure, some Abappers are fresh, some have years of other programming experience, what some abappers do, is move from coding into BASIS

are developers uninformed if they think they can do this course and do this career change?

No, ABAP is not the most difficult language to learn, and if you have a bit of JAVA experience, it will only help you

will a degree in CS/IS count in your favour here if you've studied SAP afterwards, and apply for a job then with both qualifications?


From my own experience, no one cares in what you are qualified, i think the whole degree things just means you can stick to something for 3+ years, but i know SAP MM and FI consultants that studied Marketing

how about if you have an Hons in Information Systems, would SAP Consultancy be a (logical) possible option to explore?

I've got an Hons in Informatics, and ended up in SAP BASIS/XI environment

are there many jobs in RSA for this qualification?

Purely abap, yes, there is quite the demand for GOOD programmers

if so, what about in Cape Town?

Most SAP opportunities will be in Gauteng, i've been looking to go down to Cape Town for the last 2 years, but the job is here

what is it going to cost in total for training fees to enter a SAP Consultant position?

It can be anything up to R100k for a 5 week certification cost, and exam [exam on its own +- R3000]

How many modules are required in order to enter a SAP Consultant position?

If you just going to program, then you just have to be ABAP certified, the more modules you understand, the better for you.

can i get the SAP software to work with somehow whilst studying, because i dont have access to SAP at work?

i've come across this site, if you really serious, they might be worth looking at: http://www.sapcloudcomputing.com/intro.html

there are so many areas in SAP, do your first target an area you like and then go look for jobs in that area, or do you look at what areas are currently requiring consultants and then pick one of them you feel good with? (this is different to the 'go study generic programming and end up anywhere' approach followed at tertiary institutions). the site answers this"How do I decide which area to focus on if I do not have the relevant experience?"
We would advise an individual to only attempt an area with the relevant business experience within that area.
what if you plan to get out of the industry youre working in? is it thus only possible to become a consultant if you have existing experience in a system?

is it better for a current developer to first study ABAP (SAPs programming language), and then become a consultant, or can this stage be skipped?

If you have no experience in SAP, you wont find work easily, people in the SAP world is VERY picky with who they hire, So if you have some programming experience, i would suggest getting certified, and then try and get into a company where you can be a junior developer. Everyone thinks SAP pays big, but your first 3-4 years, you don't earn that much, only from 5+ years' experience, can you expect to earn some real money.
 
unskinnybob said:
SAP consultants are incapable of understanding more than one module. They'll be quick to point out it's because of the sheer vast awesomeness of SAP. Best in the world... bla, bla, bla.

I''ll become a prostitute before I become a SAP consultant. Both f#ck people for money but at least the prostitute is honest about it.
Click to expand...

haha I met an oke a while back at some random braai who was a SAP consultant, biggest/dumbest a-Hole I have ever met. According to him SAP was too big and too awesome for my little first year mind to understand an yet the simple ass scrips he had the job of troubleshooting I could write in my sleep. Apparently : "the whole world runs SAP".... oh and with the ridiculous amount of money he earns he can't seem to afford smokes that cost more than R15? Lost quite a lot of interest right there.

When I grow up one day I want to be a SAP (insert idiotic over glorified techie position here) !
 
Last edited:
Bizkit87 said:
It can be anything up to R100k for a 5 week certification cost, and exam [exam on its own +- R3000]
Click to expand...

and in simple terms, how legit will the piece of paper (diploma? certificate? ) be anywhere else when SAP isn't for you anymore?
 
Ipwn 4 said:
and in simple terms, how legit will the piece of paper (diploma? certificate? ) be anywhere else when SAP isn't for you anymore?
Click to expand...

How much will a CCNA certification count for you, if you don't feel like routers and networking isn't your thing anymore.

Stupid question.
 
Bizkit87 said:
How much will a CCNA certification count for you, if you don't feel like routers and networking isn't your thing anymore.

Stupid question.
Click to expand...

To pose the question at a level you will understand (obviously too high for me but I'll try my best to make this question appear more intelligent to you ). What can one do after paying R100k for this (insert the type of qualification here) outside of SAP? Do other companies care take this into account as a proper qualification? Can one go abroad with this qualification?

Just interested as R100k is a lot of money
 
thanks @Bizkit87, lots of insight gained
i really really cant/dont want to move out of Cape Town ever in my life, ( i cant stand the in-laws in Gauteng , serious serious problems),
so i think i should not go this route then

there is one SAP consultant I am aware of in Gauteng that knows someone who knows someone who knows me, he has a Computer Science degree and an MBA and he is COINING it. the thing was that he obtained his computer science degree YEARS ago, so i had to ask the question about the degree to see what the current state of things are. on how competent he is with programming, i dont know, all i know is this guy is going on yearly overseas visits and i'm not ,and like mentioned in another thread, there is a definite ceiling on the money a normal developer gets. I've seen recent ads for SAP consultants between R500k and R1.1m p/a.
its gotta be worth exploring, but it seems the training is a big stumble block and also the experience required.

so thus if you dont work with SAP in your current job, you're gonna have real difficulty (even with certification behind your name) to find a high paying job, since you would need to start Junior SAP Programmer, and hope you get a consultant job one day.

seems this avenue is closed for me unfortunately then :(
 
Ipwn 4 said:
To pose the question at a level you will understand (obviously too high for me but I'll try my best to make this question appear more intelligent to you ). What can one do after paying R100k for this (insert the type of qualification here) outside of SAP? Do other companies care take this into account as a proper qualification? Can one go abroad with this qualification?

Just interested as R100k is a lot of money
Click to expand...

SAP certification is not a Bcom Degree, if you do SAP certification [of which there are prob 1500+], then you are recognised by SAP as being qualified in that area of SAP.

If you are SAP CERTIFIED then you are SAP certified. This SAP certification then enables you to work as a qualified consultant in SAP. You cannot take a SAP certifications, and then get a ACCPAC or SAGE ERP or JD Edwards consultancy role. although all systems being an ERP, you might understand a new ERP system earlier.

But being a certified SAP consultant here in South Africa, will enable you to be recognised as a certified consultant anywhere in the world, but it is limited to SAP's ERP systems.

To make it a bit simpler, you are not going to apply for a certified C++ developer job, if you've been certified in VB.NET, are you?

R100k is A LOT of money, but that's why its worth it, can you imagine they make it R15k for a course, and then you end up with a MSCE.
 
Bizkit87 said:
SAP certification is not a Bcom Degree, if you do SAP certification [of which there are prob 1500+], then you are recognised by SAP as being qualified in that area of SAP.

If you are SAP CERTIFIED then you are SAP certified. This SAP certification then enables you to work as a qualified consultant in SAP. You cannot take a SAP certifications, and then get a ACCPAC or SAGE ERP or JD Edwards consultancy role. although all systems being an ERP, you might understand a new ERP system earlier.

But being a certified SAP consultant here in South Africa, will enable you to be recognised as a certified consultant anywhere in the world, but it is limited to SAP's ERP systems.

To make it a bit simpler, you are not going to apply for a certified C++ developer job, if you've been certified in VB.NET, are you?

R100k is A LOT of money, but that's why its worth it, can you imagine they make it R15k for a course, and then you end up with a MSCE.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the clarification, sound like one seriously interesting place. Had the wrong idea of SAP due to the idiot who introduced me to the company.
 
SAP = Gold mine, gain the expertise, make the effort, You will reap the reward.

Durban has appoximately 4-10 SAP customers
Cape Town between 10-20.
JHB 400 + ( as always the case JHB is the better location )
 
Thanks for the insight gasboi, puts ct in perspective, just saw a abap job in ct for R500k/a, not bad!
 
I know this thread was started a while ago, however i need assistance with SAP FI. I am a qualified SAP FI consultant. I invested in myself and qualified through the SAP Academy in Woodmead in 2016. Since then i am battling to get any consulting jobs. Can someone advise how one can breakthrough in this field. Do i have to register with employment agencies? What can i do. I have a Bcom in Accounting and a project management Diploma with Unisa. I NEED HELP!
 
RIO1 said:
I know this thread was started a while ago, however i need assistance with SAP FI. I am a qualified SAP FI consultant. I invested in myself and qualified through the SAP Academy in Woodmead in 2016. Since then i am battling to get any consulting jobs. Can someone advise how one can breakthrough in this field. Do i have to register with employment agencies? What can i do. I have a Bcom in Accounting and a project management Diploma with Unisa. I NEED HELP!
Click to expand...

Have you phoned a recruitment agent and asked them?
Otherwise why not simply phone a company that does SAP consulting, speak to HR and ask them
"what do I need to do xyz"

I've heard of Offerzen on the forum, they look at your skillset and give some advise I think
 
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