SAP Consultants Thread

[tatsumaru]

I'm from Bayantrade Group.

Cool! I'll try to apply there soon. I'll tell them tophe referred me hehe.

[tatsumaru]

Sir Tophe, Bat di na ba naghihire ang BayanTrade for free training and with the bond with company. Almost the same na lang sila ng Kaisa. Ayun kay Sarah Lee Gonzales, Butch Ronquillo, Luigi Manto mas proper daw sa kanila mga HR yun dumaan sa ganon process unlike the previous trainings that they have. Could I ask why? Bakit lahat na lang ng mga institution nowadays for SAP nagpapabayad na. Dati di naman ganun, kaya maraming nasusuffer na mga katulad ko na walang money pero gustong mag career shift to SAP.

Bro, that sucks! If no companies are hiring SAP trainees for the purpose of deploying them in their projects, then I'm fresh out of ideas on how to get into SAP. If only I had 100K lying around somewhere....

tophe,
can you give us any other suggestions on how to get into SAP, if we can't afford the training? Thanks!

[tatsumaru]

Can you give us an idea of what a typical day on the job is like? Whether it's doing support, implementation, etc... And is it stressful, fun, or boring? Thanks!

[poohkyaw]

Hi,

I'm a cobol developer for 4 years now and wanted a career shift. I am curious about this SAP. What can be my career path if I would choose SAP as my next career?

[b4uc]

sir poohkyaw kailangan mung magwaldas ng Pesos 100K, (VAT not included) to get into SAP for the training, at para maging friends ka nila. Pagwala kang pera meaning your basura ka, or a loser.

[mb065]

tatsumaru, when i was still doing consulting...

during an implem, a typical day would be quite stressful especially if the timeline is tight. it's not boring because new things happen everyday, new problems come up almost everyday. it gets even more stressful as the go-live date draws near. worse pa if go-live is on jan 1 so halos no christmas break. the part i like the most is system design, the part i hate the most is data migration. but for me, once the system goes live and it stabilizes, it's very fulfilling to finally see your hard work pay off. until now when i go to this service company that was my very first SAP project and i see how they use SAP, nakakatuwa. proud ako sa ginawa ko. of course may enhancements na since then (that was 9 years ago pa) but the basic system design is still there.

when i did application support, there were times it got boring because pag walang call, wala masyadong work. but sometimes, when it rains, it pours so it can also get pretty stressful. but fulfilling pa din when you resolve an issue. when i got assigned to provide on-site application support, it was to an industry i so wanted to get into so it was very interesting and challenging and i tried to learn as much as i could everyday.

in between projects, we would normally get involved in sales calls. we would sometimes help prepare proposals or conduct demos to prospective clients. ito yung medyo relatively relaxed part.

now i do in-house support and manage SAP improvement projects for an oil and gas company, the same company for which i did on-site application support.

in terms of SAP support, i head the team and i do level 2 (level 3 is regional). i have a very competent team who supports 2 modules and not very many issues get escalated to me, they resolve most of these on their own so the few issues that get escalated to me are difficult issues that are really challenging. i focus more on improvements - i initiate/propose/recommend, justify the need for it to the business and if they approve it, i head implementation of the improvement. in a way, i get to do small-scale implementation projects. win-win for me because stress levels are healthy, i get paid more than i did when i was senior consultant and i get great benefits.

for me, my work is fun because i love my work.

as regards naman your other question on how else to get into SAP, these are some options i can think of.

a relatively easy way is to work for a company that uses SAP and become an end-user. these companies normally have a no training, no access policy. but you only get trained as an end-user. later on you can probably try moving to in-house support.

or look for a company that has in-house support and work with that team. when you gain enough experience, it might be easier to move to a consulting company. if you're lucky enough, you might get into a company that will send you the SAP Academy, like ours. all of my team members should complete the academy and should be certified at some point.

[poohkyaw]

sir poohkyaw kailangan mung magwaldas ng Pesos 100K, (VAT not included) to get into SAP for the training, at para maging friends ka nila. Pagwala kang pera meaning your basura ka, or a loser.

ganun ba! pera-pera lang. but meron naman ata mga companies na ngha-hire for SAP trainess. Dun na lang siguro ako. Gusto ko lang malaman eh, worth it ba na iwan ko ang 4 year experience ko to start another career, like in this case SAP.

[mb065]

may tanong lang ako sa mga aspiring SAP professionals. i hope you don't take this the wrong way.

why do you want to get into SAP? dahil ba malaki ang sweldo? or dahil "in-demand"?

i've heard of some people na makagamit lang ng SAP for a short while, ang lakas na ng loob mag-apply sa consulting companies. they make their qualifications look good on paper pero pag pinag-config mo na or pinag-troubleshoot, wala palang alam.

in terms of asking salary naman, medyo extremes din. some of these people didn't earn so much pre-SAP consulting so when they get asked what their asking salary is, ang baba even for an entry-level SAP position so offer-an sila ng mas mataas ng konti sa asking nila, tatanggapin na only to find out later on mababa pa din pala yung offer sa kanila.

some naman think na because may SAP "experience" na sila, they ask for very high salaries so minsan iisipin mo tuloy ang galing-galing siguro niya pero pag in-interview mo na, wala naman palang config exeprience at all. eh bakit ganon kalaki ang asking?

these are real-life scenarios ha, not hypothetical.

over the years, the market rate has changed a lot but i am not so sure if it's better or worse now. there came a point when my boss at my previous employer told me i was getting too expensive, that i was skewing the salary structure of SAP consultants. i was the most senior, i had the most experience but because of scenario 1 above, i got into a "bad" position on the bell curve. i left the consulting world shortly after that.

now when i get calls for interviews, i go even if i don't have any intention to leave my current job just to know how much my market value is. not one offer was better than my current package. the worst offer i have ever received was HALF of my current salary. the best offer naman was a bit better in terms of benefits but basic pay was still way below. nagulat ako.

just sharing my experiences and observations. don't shoot me please.

[rabbaddal]

there came a point when my boss at my previous employer told me i was getting too expensive, that i was skewing the salary structure of SAP consultants. i was the most senior, i had the most experience but because of scenario 1 above, i got into a "bad" position on the bell curve. i left the consulting world shortly after that.

It's simple. To justify your salary at that company, they would have had to make you the boss. Your ex-bosses didn't like the idea of you taking over their jobs so they made it look like it was you who was in a bad position.

[tophe_17]

Good morning!

@tophe_17 : thank you for posting the ad. i noticed that it was mentioned in the ad there is "PLACEMENT OPPORTUNITY".

can anyone please give me any feedback regarding "PLACEMENT OPPORTUNITY"?

i have been meaning to shift career to IT (specifically doing ERPs like SAP). and i am torn between getting a company that will hire me (and bond me) or getting training from SAP eAcademy. admittedly, i find the cost quite steep.

any feedback from you guys will be greatly appreciated. God bless you all.

Upon finishing the course, the company can give you an opportunity of getting into an actual SAP work - either implementation or support, depending on the need.

IMHO, getting "bonded" is not as hurting as spending 100K. When you're bonded you're guaranteed of enough experience for you to jump into a higher level of SAP work. But make sure that you get what you're bonded for.

Sir Tophe, Bat di na ba naghihire ang BayanTrade for free training and with the bond with company. Almost the same na lang sila ng Kaisa. Ayun kay Sarah Lee Gonzales, Butch Ronquillo, Luigi Manto mas proper daw sa kanila mga HR yun dumaan sa ganon process unlike the previous trainings that they have. Could I ask why? Bakit lahat na lang ng mga institution nowadays for SAP nagpapabayad na. Dati di naman ganun, kaya maraming nasusuffer na mga katulad ko na walang money pero gustong mag career shift to SAP.

I'm not sure about it. I think it would depend on the module you're interested to work on. If you want to go on EAcademy modules like FI, CO, SD, MM, PP, you might get on that highly expensive path.

Before kasi, they train and bond the consultants because the company is not yet an SAP Education partner. Now that BT Academy is established, that is the training route that they prefer for the aspiring consultants.

But remember, not all modules are covered by EAcademy so the company might get you hired and bonded for training (most likely, bootcamps) and would not suggest you taking the EAcademy and spend a lot.

[tophe_17]

tophe_17, hindi ko kilala yang PS consultant na yan.

tiga-BT din? i left BT years ago.

I see.

No, I only knew of men PS consultants from BT.
The lady PS consultant I heard of is from other company.

Though I know another lady FI consultant who's familiar with PS-Financial. I got the chance of working with her on an implem project.

[tophe_17]

Bro, that sucks! If no companies are hiring SAP trainees for the purpose of deploying them in their projects, then I'm fresh out of ideas on how to get into SAP. If only I had 100K lying around somewhere....

tophe,
can you give us any other suggestions on how to get into SAP, if we can't afford the training? Thanks!

and to b4uc:

Try asking them if they can bond you in exchange of the training instead of spending 100K.

Again, not all modules are covered by the EAcademy.
Therefore, go that way!

[tophe_17]

Can you give us an idea of what a typical day on the job is like? Whether it's doing support, implementation, etc... And is it stressful, fun, or boring? Thanks!

It depends on what project phase you're in. But generally, it's a busy, stressful but fun day for an SAP consultant, especially if you're loving it. It will never be boring because you've got a lot of things to work on -- business process blueprinting, system configuration, strategizing for data migration, train the trainors for the end-user training, everyday meetings with fellow consultants and client's functional team, process flow presentation, etc.

The most stressful for me would be answering client's system issues.

[mb065]

rabbaddal, you're absolutely right. taking the natrual course, i should have become SAP project manager at some point but i like the hands-on work - i like doing config and troubleshooting issues and doing system design - so i wanted to remain a consultant.

[wacky_wacks]

Kailangan pala ng 100k for training? WTF?! Hehe.. Ganun pala siya talaga kamahal.. Anong companies yun may free training tapos i-bond ka nila? Akala ko ganun sa BT? Nandun kasi yun kakilala ko.

As for the reason, gusto ko mag SAP Consultant dahil..interesado ako magkalikot ng kung anu-ano I love the idea of implementing, yung pagiging consultant. Knowing that your client needs you or believes in you. I had consulting experiences and iba talaga yung fulfillment parang teaching profession din hehe..

[mb065]

^ mura na nga yang 100k. if you go to SAP academy mismo mas mahal pa. but i'm not sure how the 100k course compares to the academy.

and i agree with you, iba yung fulfillment. and enjoy din yung work.

[poohkyaw]

mga current sap consultants, baka meron sa inyo na same or close sa situation ko. I'm a developer for 4 years using cobol on legacy systems, wanted to have a career shift. Is it worth it na talikuran yun 4 years experience at mg start ulit sa bagong career?

[xel_7]

mag-apply na lang kayo sa kaisa para sure yung training

yun nga lang 3 yrs yung bond saka kung sap trainee yung pasok mo, 15k yung monthly salary mo regardless of work experience. babawi ka lang talaga sa training

[emsthree]

mag-apply na lang kayo sa kaisa para sure yung training

yun nga lang 3 yrs yung bond saka kung sap trainee yung pasok mo, 15k yung monthly salary mo regardless of work experience. babawi ka lang talaga sa training

pede po ang fresh graduate sa KAISA?

[g shock]

@tophe_17 : thanks for your wonderful insight.

yes, i guess being bonded is the way to go for me. i hope by january 2009, there will be lots of SAP-trainee openings. I long to be able to shift my career to IT!

good luck also to all "SAP searchees" here. hehe

Good morning!


Upon finishing the course, the company can give you an opportunity of getting into an actual SAP work - either implementation or support, depending on the need.

IMHO, getting "bonded" is not as hurting as spending 100K. When you're bonded you're guaranteed of enough experience for you to jump into a higher level of SAP work. But make sure that you get what you're bonded for.