top 10 myths about sap certification

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SAP Certification: Top 10 Myths about SAPCertification

Posted by Ravi Sankar Venna 13-Jun-2012

SAP Certification has helped many individuals to achieve their career goals. Many consultants have achieved

decent breakthrough in SAP arena or updated their current skill set. SAP Certification is not the ultimate the

thing in your career. There is definitely something beyond this. By saying this, I would like to point out some of

the myths regarding the SAP Certification. I am in no way disputing the value of SAP Certification and it has

its own merits, as I have done 6 different certifications from SAP. These are purely my personal opinion and

I would like to invite if there are any contradicting views. There might have been many websites discussed

regarding this topic. Any overlapping with my thoughts is just coincidental.

1. SAP is Certification will give definite job guarantee

Many people are with the intention; passing SAP Certification will give them a definite job. SAP Certification

has helped many people, particularly in the past, to achieve their goals in their career and cherished their

dreams. That does not mean that SAP Certification will give guaranteed job for everybody who has passed.

Having said this, people going for SAP Certification, it is recommended to have the domain knowledge in

particular functional area. In the initial booming days of SAP, many people are able to achieve the jobs based

on SAP Certification, but those days are gone now. The number of certified consultants got increased day

by day in the market and the companies are more matured to look for practical experience rather than just a

certification. If the people think that just passing SAP certification will give a guaranteed job, then they may

have to rethink.

2. SAP Certification will give you definite & good ROI

There is no standard yardstick that every SAP Certification will give you a good Return on Investment (ROI).

SAP Certification might have helped many when they are intending to jump into SAP Consulting Career or a

job in SAP market. Nowadays, the skills are getting redundant very quickly; hence, each certification may not

give you good amount of ROI. There are many people invested huge amounts into SAP Certification by taking

http://scn.sap.com/people/ravisankar.venna

SAP Certification: Top 10 Myths about SAP Certification


bank loans, but miserably failed to get any returns out of it. Please do not be under the impression, if you go to

SAP Training for 5 weeks and pass the Certification you may recoup the investment within a year or so. It may

definitely not happen in all the cases. You should be prepared to see the other side of the coin.

3. In order to get a SAP Job - SAP Certification is a must

There are many people in the market who are non certified, earning good amount of money than the Certified

Consultants. Therefore, Certification is not a must for you to fetch a job in the market. However, if there are

two people shortlisted with the similar skills and experience, probably, in such situations, the Certification

will give you an edge. Otherwise, the customers are looking for the people who can effectively deliver the

goods without certification. It is not my intention to tell that the certified people are incompetent. You will find

number of knowledgeable people in Certified Community. You will also find many people who believe they are

extraordinary in their own area of SAP, but failed when it comes to passing SAP Certification. Then they start

blaming the SAP Certification itself or the people who have passed the SAP Certification (LOL).

4. With SAP Certification - you will be successful in interview

SAP Certification courses are structured in systematic way, hence, it gives you very good fundamental

knowledge regarding the concepts. They would be really helpful in order to pass your SAP Certification, if

you go through the curricula in a religious manner. However, this will not give you any guarantee that you

are going to be successful in an interview. Reason could be the interviews might have been conducted on

different parameters to see your overall skills, but not just your Certification. Certification may keep you in

better position to explain the fundamental knowledge gained during the course of Certification, but it may not

meet all the expectations of an interview. Even with certification under your belt, you do not even know what

type of questions the interviewer is asking for.

5. With SAP Certification - you will deliver the customer commitments



SAP Certification is a good starting point in your journey of career. It would give you good knowledge about the

functionality of the system. Particularly, if you are fresher in SAP area, it would take some years to understand

complete end to end business processes. By the time, you might have completed few projects. But even you

will feel that you are missing the overall view of such complexity in the system. Probably, SAP Certification will

give you knowledge in a particular area. Whereas, SAP is tightly integrated system between different modules,

so you may not be able to visualise the total picture. With number of projects under your belt over a period of

time, you will gain such high level knowledge. If your current role expects to go beyond your certification to

deliver the commitments from other modules, you may feel the pain. But, definitely, you need to take this an

opportunity to learn new things.

6. SAP Certification will give you "high-paying" jobs

There is a misconception that as soon as you are certified by SAP, you will get “high paying” jobimmediately. There are number of certified consultants failed to make an entry into SAP area. Inmy opinion, they are mainly unsuccessful because they have viewed SAP as a 25 days course.It only helped them to put that SAP Certification in their in CV in bold and italic. Except very fewlucky people, many number of certified consultants are really struggled a lot to make an entryinto SAP consulting world, including me not an exception to this. If somebody is thinking thatSAP Certification will give you an immediate “high paying” SAP job, probably, you are under themisconception.

7. SAP Certification is an ultimate thing in your career

Many people think that doing SAP Certification is ultimate thing in life. When you are on a learning spree, SAP

Certification is just a negligible part in your total career. If you have enough financial resource and attitude,

you would see yourself with a new SAP Certification every month. At the end of the story, SAP Certification is

just a multiple choice question test. If your fundamentals are clear, I do not see any reason in not clearing the

SAP Certification. The SAP Certification you have done may become redundant in next couple of years. I have

done my first certification in SAP FICO 4.6C in 2003, but if you now a days, no customer is using this system.

Unfortunately, some people stop learning new things and pretend themselves as if they are the masters in

everything. But, as a professional, you should keep your learning habits on for your entire career. Do not just

look for SAP Certification, try to think beyond that.



8. SAP Certification may give you good jobs in your area

I have read this point somewhere in an article. The first thing as an SAP Consultant you shouldvisualise yourself as a “travel freak”. Certification may not always give you the job in your nearbyarea. If you are in offshore location, probably, you may get job in your preferred location, asevery major offshore city is flooded with SAP consulting companies. No client will be intendingto pay you money unless you go to onsite and deliver the expectations. There may be a smallexception to this for the people who are supporting SAP systems through remote support. But, asan SAP consultant, you should always pack your bags, away from home, eat food whatever youget and sleep wherever you can. If you think your SAP Certification will get you a good 9 to 5 jobin your area, it may not be true always.

9. With SAP Certification you may start doing Contract Jobs

Contracting concept you mostly see in Western countries. This concept is getting familiar in Offshore / Eastern

countries too. Contracting jobs are lucrative at the same time they are strenuous when compared to permanent

jobs. By saying this, I am in no way demeaning the importance of the Permanent Jobs. Many people think that

just by completing SAP Certification, they can land up in Contract jobs. But, the things always will not work

in that way. The expectations in Contract Jobs are much higher; therefore, you need to check your calibre to

handle the roles. No Certification will help in delivering the results within the deadly time lines.

10. Learn SAP only for Certification and Job

Many people think that learn SAP for Certification and get a job. If you are thinking to learn SAP just for

Certification and job only, then I would suggest you may better skip to learn SAP. Learn SAP with passion and

this passion should drive your career. I would believe everybody should maintain the passion throughout their

careers. It is easy in theory but very difficult in practice. At certain age in your career, it may not be possible to

maintain the same amount of passion in your career, due to socio, economic and physical reasons. But, by that



time, you would have become a master in your own areas within SAP. Learn SAP with passion, if you are only

looking SAP for Certification and Job, probably, SAP is not the right path for you.

Best Regards,

Ravi

29063 Views Tags: sap_education, sap_certification, sap_careers, sap_learning, sap_freshers, sap_jobs

13-Jun-2012 6:41 PM Gregory Misiorek

certification is only a theoretical test, nothing more and nothing less. it can't replace hands-on system and project experience, no matter how easy or how difficult.

13-Jun-2012 6:47 PM Ravi Sankar Venna Gregory Misiorek in response to

You are right Gregory. No certification can ever replace a project experience. But, theyare many people with good hand-on and project experience, still fail a simple theoreticalcertification test.

14-Jun-2012 12:13 AM HARSHA murthy

Hello, Ravi Shankar ji.. U seem to b a Good guide for freshers and all whoz takingcertification. i've been working in sap abap from past 1yr and i had enrolled in sapcertification online training C_TAW12_04 1 yr back but havent taken its exam bcoz i hadbeen postponing the date. now i've made up my mind to finish up with that within this month.i need to know more about the old pattern of question paper. i know negative markingdoesnt count . could u tell me about the partial credit system in some questions. and any

other imp tips in old pattern.. thanx..

14-Jun-2012 2:38 AM Jarret Pazahanick



Very good article Ravi to help level set expectations around certification especiallygiven some of the articles recently by the SAP Education group. I believe that the SAPEducation is FINALLY starting to listen over the past few weeks and I am hopefully they startcommunicating what is on the roadmap and what they plan to address so that longer termsome of those "myths" can become reality.

On a side note it is impressive that you have 6 certifications which I believe gives you addedcredibility when writing an article such as this.

14-Jun-2012 4:12 AM Ravi Sankar Venna HARSHA murthy in response to

Dear Harsha,

Thank you very much for your noble words.

Many people join the online training courses for cost effectiveness. But, the negative side ofthis you will not have that tempo when compared to a class room training. This gives a extracomfort to the participants which may lead to negligence. I am really not sure how this sapexamination C_TAW12_04 is valued by SAP. But, definitely, I can give you the differencebetween old and new pattern of valuation.

Old Valuation: You may be given multiple choice questions. Even multiple choice questionwill have more than one sub stems. Each stem will have a "yes" or "no". You need to select"Yes" if it is correct and select "no" if it is incorrect. Please note that if you leave an incorrectquestion, then it will be treated as unanswered question and you will not be awarded anymarks. For example, out of the 4 sub stems, if you have scored 3 questions correctly and 1question incorrectly, then you will get marks for 3 sub stems correctly answers and you willnot be given marks for wrong answers.

There are also single answered questions, where you can only select one answer. If youselect the correct answer, you will get the marks. If you do not select the correct answer,then you will not get any marks.

New Valuation: It still follows the same type of multiple choice and single answeredquestions. But, for multiple choice questions, within the question itself, they will advise you



how many correct answers are there in the question. If you in put any wrong answer in themultiple choice question for any sub stem, you will not get any marks for the whole answer.The single answered questions remains the same here also.

In old pattern, you have a privilege to take lottery on many questions (which everybody

does, including me ), but in new pattern you lost that privilege.

But, I would not much bother about the valuation and pattern of the exam, which areobviously, beyond our control. Moreover, the patterns will not make any difference as longas our fundamental concepts are clear.

I would advise you to complete the course at the earliest and give the exam soon.

All the very best.

Best Regards,

Ravi

14-Jun-2012 4:31 AM Ravi Sankar Venna Jarret Pazahanick in response to

Thank you Jarret. I am so privileged to receive your comments.

In the recent past, I have seen number of questions on certifications and some of the peoplecontacted me for guidance on the certification. Most of them are of intention that certificationwill change the life over night and they are ready to make any type of big investment for thatcertification by taking large financial risk. I would only like to address them on this platform.For that matter, every certification (whatsoever) has its own limitations, unless we continuedfurther with the same passion even after certification, it will be just a piece of paper. Inthis regard, I would like to stress on passion rather than certification. If they have passion,



certifications and money will follow one after the other, may not be today, but definitelytomorrow.

Thank you once again for your motivating words on my certifications, I too believe that itgives me an extra comfort when attempting a blog on a platform like this.

Best Regards,

Ravi

14-Jun-2012 7:01 AM Tom Cenens

Hello Ravi

You already know I'm passionate about SAP and I have a big interest in education /certification as well. I agree with Jarret that SAP has been listening the past few weeks andthat they are comitted to take action which is positive.

Interesting post, I think you have a lot of valid point there. There is some overlap of different

points but that's to be expected of course .

I don't dispute that certifications hold value, it's just that they could hold more value. I dobelieve specific certifications are useful and I somehow feel that it helped me out to getcertified as a Technical Consultant in my first year working in the SAP realm. As a junior thecertification gives you added credibility, even though it's only theoritical knowledge. Once Igot to a higher level, the certifications didn't change my job much really.

Best regards



Tom

14-Jun-2012 7:26 AM Ravi Sankar Venna Tom Cenens in response to

Thanks Tom for your comments.

It is good sign if SAP can accept the valid suggestions to make more constructive valueto SAP Certification. If they can increase the brand value of SAP Certification, it would beidentified as a differentiator in the job market.

I have written whatever points come to my mind, hence, there could be some overlapping in

thoughts and points

I echo your thoughts, SAP certification would help somebody to break into SAP arena orupdate their current skill set. You are right as a Junior, it would give a kind of credibility.For senior level consultants, professional level certification may give respect among clientsand colleagues. But, yes, you are right once you moved to a senior level, certification maynot change the job much. If somebody is doing a certification at that level, it is purely theirpersonal interest.

Best Regards,

Ravi

14-Jun-2012 8:00 AM Susan Martin

Thanks Ravi - you have many valid points here. Certification is not a job guarantee butone component in a series of credible "trump cards" that someone has going into a careeror progressing in the chosen career. Experience, good references, soft skills, etc. willalways play a significant role in rounding off that career profile but it is unlikely to change lifeovernight if the rest of the trump cards don't align.



14-Jun-2012 9:25 AM Ravi Sankar Venna Susan Martin in response to

Thank you Sue. You have summarized my total post in your own words. I believe this is thegist of my whole thread.

Best Regards,

Ravi

14-Jun-2012 11:09 AM Chirag Shah

Dear Ravi Sir,

I am a SAP FI Certified consultant with 18 years of domain experience with only 1 year of experiencein the field of SAP.

First thing first I agree with all your TOP 10 Myths

And here I am sharing my experience on it.

I have experienced that there is a vicious circle in learning process of SAP Implementation, that isone will not get a Implementation JOB unless and until they have its knowledge and end user job isnot considered while it comes to Implementation JOB.

Only a good mentor like you can break this vicious circle by holding their students hand but that cannot be the case with all the students.

So I would say that getting certified is a starting point to get into the world of SAP Implementation bybreaking the vicious circle.



If one wants to put himself on fast trek towards SAP carrier without having a mentor in that case SAPcertification can fulfill this GAP. Only thing is, as you said, to have patience. The struggle period mayvary from 1 year to 3 year depend on your luck and hard work.

I have experienced that in this profession no body teaches anything to their colleague or theirsubordinate. Or one can put this in rosy word that no body can learn anything without havingexperience himself and no experience in life is free of cost.

So getting certified is a cost for those students who want to gain experience without having a mentorlike you, Sir.

Correct me where ever I am wrong.

Regards

Chirag Shah

14-Jun-2012 11:32 AM Ravi Sankar Venna Chirag Shah in response to

Dear Chirag,

I sincerely appreciate your honest comments on this blog. After having domain experiencefor 18 years, if you have struggled means, a fresh individual can understand SAP is not arosy road. In my opinion, if you save the money in a bank, your money will fetch you interestmay be doubled. But, if you save the knowledge within you, the it will be depleted. Theknowledge will grow 100 times bigger, when it is shared with 10 people. But, in this practicalworld, you will hardly find any such individuals. I am proud to say, I never hesitated myselfin sharing my knowledge. If I really do not know something, I will be the first person to admitthat.



Even the people of good professional qualifications in addition to SAP Certification hasstruggled a lot. (including me). Struggle is part of life and we have to accept it. But, then ifthe people do not get a job after SAP Certification, they should never demotivate themselvesand loose focus. Within that time if they can start attending number of interviews, they willcome to know what kind of questions are expected, how they should better convince theinterviewers. Once you are certified, if you have perseverance and right attitude, surely youwill land up in a decent job, if not today, definitely tomorrow. It is only a matter of time.

Best Regards,

Ravi

14-Jun-2012 11:47 AM Chirag Shah Ravi Sankar Venna in response to

THANK YOU, SIR.

14-Jun-2012 2:53 PM John Appleby

Hey Ravi,

I enjoyed this article and agree on the whole. It serves as a reminder that certification isone element of an armoury of overall experience, project battle scars, learning, personality,networking, social media and so many other things. On its own it means nothing. One area Idisagree with:

However, if there are two people shortlisted with the similar skills and experience, probably,in such situations, the Certification will give you an edge.

From the perspective of a hiring manager, Certification is never a hiring factor and I believethis is a myth. There are lots of things that I take into account whilst hiring:



• Intelligence and Potential• Cultural Fit• Personality, Personability• Personal Network• Skills• Project Experience• Domain and Vertical Experience• Breadth of overall knowledge• Willingness to travel• Flexibility• Graduate and Postgraduate University Education• And lots of other things depending on the role...

All of these other things are more important than certification and 2 candidates are veryrarely evenly matched. If they were - certification wouldn't be the decisive factor, it would besomething else.

Regards,

John

14-Jun-2012 3:05 PM Ravi Sankar Venna John Appleby in response to

Thanks John for adding much context to this blog.

I do accept that no two individuals cannot be same. But, when two people with similar kind of

skill set / experience, SAP Certification may (corrected - not will ) give an edge. Need notnecessarily Certification is the final deciding factor. But, it could also play a role in recruiter's

mind. There are many jobs which are specifically mentioned that you must be a "CertifiedConsultant". Probably, those kind of companies may do prefer certified people in the saidcontext.

Thank you once for your valid points to this thread.



Best Regards,

Ravi

14-Jun-2012 3:19 PM John Appleby Ravi Sankar Venna in response to

We'll agree to disagree on this one :-)

I would say not "will" or "may" but "will not" give an edge :-)

One of the blogs gave stats on the number of jobs that require certification and there maybe some regional context here because in Western Europe / North America the number is <2%. Perhaps it is higher in your market - I'd welcome the statistics.

The only instance where I might consider certification as a hiring factor is in the instance ofa consultant with 1-2 years experience. In this case, 1-2 project lifecycles plus certificationcould give a sign that he/she was very keen to learn.

However that is a moot point because we never recruit that type of person; we prefer to traingraduates with no SAP experience so we can help them learn our way.

14-Jun-2012 3:35 PM Susan Martin John Appleby in response to

Hi John,

we are currently doing some research on the job posting point as we believe that to be avery important benchmark in assessing the importance of certification. The 2% mentioned inthe other blog was a valid statistic for one job site and one region but it makes more senseto have a comprehensive overview of these statistics across regions and across job sites inorder to be able to cite it as a benchmark. We will be publicizing the results of that researchin the next two weeks and will be giving quarterly updates as a benchmarking exercise. Ican understand that you prefer to recruit and train graduates with no SAP experience but



I think it is equally important to look at the holistic picture with an ecosystem the size ofSAP's. Not every company has the option or wishes to follow this approach and it is SAP'sresponsibility to ensure that those parties also have a benchmark they can rely on to makesmart decisions.

14-Jun-2012 3:38 PM Ravi Sankar Venna John Appleby in response to

Particularly in Europe what I have observed is no much care about Certification. If you seeany SAP Certification Examination Center across the globe 80% (may be more) are Indians.(seen in UK) This could be due to differences between their educational system. I do work inUK, here, nobody much care about the Certification. Whereas, Eastern countries still thereis a lot of craze for the Certification. I believe that is the reason SAP will make it a point to

conduct one of their "TechEd" in Bangalore (India) every year.

I really doubt, if we can get a statistics like that. Because, there are number of jobs floatingin the market with number of agencies, recruiters and consultancies etc. But, I would alsolike to see those type of statistics to know.

There could be number of factors that may play a role in a selecting a candidate. I haveseen number of graduate trainees, where we have put lot of effort and training, within 2years, 90% of those people left, that means, whatever training imparted to them is being

used for some other employer

14-Jun-2012 6:25 PM Gregory Misiorek Ravi Sankar Venna in response to

i agree with Ravi and maybe it's because I'm in the middle of the certification life cyclemyself. certifications world over are being used for weeding candidates out and SAP is notdifferent in this respect. if there's a hypothetical candidate that matches in all other respectsanother one, i will choose the certified one.

this is a purely hypothetical exercise as no two people are alike and other qualities count ifnot surpass the certifications.

i think John's point is not to discourage someone from pursuing a career in SAP onlybecause they are not certified.



14-Jun-2012 8:47 PM Stephen Johannes

As much I agree with the top ten myths, one of my biggest complaints about certificationexams is that they are only multiple choice type questions. Perhaps multiple choice is finefor non-developer type cerifications, but even freshman level computer science clases haveessay style questions. I still remember getting a few points off of syntax errors on a hand-written exam done with no computers, and just pen and paper. I do not understand howyou can be certified as a developer by only answering multiple choice questions. Developercertifications should include essay style questions that involve writing code and not justselecting what is valid from choices.

That being said, I agree some people who know how to make the system work will failcertifications due to testing methodology and focus on best practice theory. We wouldnot need the partner system if SAP products were always implemented to best practiceprocesses and every company could adopt these with no changes. I don't think it makesthose people less qualifed, it is just the fact once you go into the deep-end of customprocesses it's hard to come back to shore.

Take care,

Stephen

14-Jun-2012 8:57 PM Ravi Sankar Venna Gregory Misiorek in response to

Thank you Gregory for letting us know your views.

There could be different recruiters with different mind sets and priorities depending on thesituation, project, cost, time, quality and other factors. In my opinion, having certification isnot a bad thing. We do not know how the recruiters / companies look at us with what mindset. If you have all qualities as Sue mentioned plus certification, then definitely, it would bean added advantage. There may be better drivers without license, but the person havingthe license is considered as driver on the road. I am not demeaning the people who are not

certified.

14-Jun-2012 9:12 PM Ravi Sankar Venna Stephen Johannes in response to



Hi Stephen,

Please let me thank you for giving your time and views on my blog.

I am not sure how SAP can cope if they want to bring the essay style type of examination.Some of the exams like CISA, CISM exams are paper pencil based exams but still multiplechoice question. I still feel that they are strenuous 4 hours exam and many number of peoplestill fail in those examination. Because those exam will not allow the partial credit. In thatpoint of view, I think SAP has made an improvement by removing the partial credit. Whenthe partial credit was allowed many people are just used to take the lottery approach, evenif it is not correct, nothing is going to be lost, as there are no negative marking. Consideringthe cost (for correcting, maintaining papers, cost involved, global level language barriersetc.) I really doubt whether SAP will ever go into essay style of essay writing mode for SAPCertification. I do believe that exams like CPA exams in US, Prince2 in UK are also basedon multiple choice questions (paper pencil based). It gives them the extra comfort in orderto correct the papers at a much faster rate. But, still they are considered to be the toughestexams. I am in no way demeaning your views, but only raising my doubts.

I should agree with your best practices point. Currently, most of the SAP certifications arejust product based. If SAP can give much priority to include some of the best practices intothat examination, that would probably give extra quality to these certifications. At the end,it all depends on the participants how they will stand on their toes to pursue the furtherknowledge and grab every learning opportunity even after the certification.

Best Regards,

Ravi

15-Jun-2012 7:35 AM Chirag Shah Stephen Johannes in response to

Dear Stephen,

I agree with you that SAP needs to improve its examination style.



In my view:-

All sap students should be given an opportunity to work with SAP partners on to any live project for a period of

at-least 3 to 6 months as a trainee or as an article (Same as how it is there is Chartered Accountancy exams).

I have given this suggestion to SAP also when I was not getting job even after certification saying that you do

not have any live project experience even though I have life cycle experience (Domain Experience) for more

than 18 years.

There is a Vicious circle in this profession which is very difficult to break by students themselves where as

SAP can help breaking it by improving their education system by training & testing their students from all the

angles.

If SAP does so, out of 10 myths I guess at-least 2-3 or may be 5 myths may be wave off.

Correct me where ever I am wrong.

Regards

Chirag Shah

15-Jun-2012 7:47 AM Simon Polovina Ravi Sankar Venna in response to

I would just add that multiple choice questions can be well designed to elicit deepconceptual, applied and technical knowledge having designed such questions myself (notfor SAP Education I hasten to add). As for the value of certification I'd concur that in itself itadds little direct value but as a part of a suite of knowledge and experiences it's invaluable,given that certification covers gaps in knowledge that hands-on experience alone misses.Certainty in my experience as an SAP instructor I have often come across experienced SAPConsultants who have discovered gaps in their otherwise excellent professional experienceby prepping for a certification. This also raises another valuable point about certification inthat it can add value post- as well as pre- experience.



15-Jun-2012 7:57 AM Susan Martin Chirag Shah in response to

Hi Chirag/Stephan

I have a couple of points there. I think Ravi has already covered them quite well but I thoughtyou might want to hear the SAP view as well.

1 - SAP Education are constantly looking at ways to use more innovative examinationmethods and essay writing has been one of the areas we have looked into in depth in thepast and will continue to look into. But the current state of technology in this area offersus neither the scalability nor - and that is probably an even more important point - theobjectivity that we would need for a program the size of SAP's certification program on aglobal scale. Also - as Ravi correctly points out - the majority of our certifying community arenon-native English speakers - so we could potentially be introducing a discriminatory testingform which would test a candidate's language and writing skills much more than the coreskill set that we are supposed to be validating. But we continue to keep an eye on this area.Certainly in terms of the hands-on testing ideas for developers at more advanced levelsthere are some interesting technologies available that we are currently looking into.

2 - Chirag - your proposal brings us back to the core of Ravi's blog. Certification isnot project experience and should never replace project experience. The steps youare proposing are very valid but that would be a joint skills initiative between SAP andits partners and has nothing to do with the certification. As Ravi said and I reiteratedcertification is only one of the trump cards and has to remain objective. It is a very goodidea but is not related to the certification and will in no way dispel the myths. The myths aresimply myths.


Dear Chirag,

If you see the SAP Curriculum, it has a project of 5 days at end of every course (mostcourses). This is almost like a dummy project most of the areas are covered in that. Inaddition to that every certification course has the practical examples at the end of eachchapter. But, unfortunately, most people are tend to ignore or not able to complete (including

me ). In this way, SAP is trying its best in order to give their best within limited time tocover large number of concepts, samples test, practical examples and a dummy project. Icannot expect anything beyond this from SAP. I should still appreciate SAP making theireyes open to improve the quality and brand value of the SAP Certification.



Chartered Accountancy courses are approved professional body by a legislature in eachcountry and they are established way back to 50 years. SAP is an organisation like anyother organisation conducting certifications like CISCO, Microsoft, Oracle etc. They cannothandhold each individual for a 6 months project. It has time limitations, cost limitations andcommercial limitations etc. Therefore, I do not think this is a feasible options. Yes, employerswill have their expectation, but if you have 18 years experience, I do not think it will evergo waste. May be initially in SAP field you are a fresher. But, within a couple of years ofSAP experience, you will be in a commanding position to guide the junior consultants. Thewhole trick resides in braking that vicious circle. Everybody has undergone that vicious circle(including me)

All the best. I sincerely hope you will come up with flying colours.

Best Regards,

Ravi


Hi Sue,

I sincerely appreciate your valuable comments to this blog.

I would like to reiterate (as you pointed out) every certificate has its own limitationconsidering cost, time and other deliverable constraints. If SAP can open up MastersLevel Examination, everybody can test their waters. In this way, everybody will havean opportunity to prove their skills. Criticizing SAP Certification is an easy but giving aconstructive criticism is very difficult. If somebody never ever appeared an SAP Certification,they will never know in and out of SAP. They should first test the waters and give the validconstructive criticism. I sensed that many individuals with lot of experience may think thatgoing to SAP certification will degrade their stature. For such kind of people SAP will haveProfessional Exams and Master Level (shortly).



Whatever criticism SAP certification is having, I cannot rule out the craze that it hasgenerated all over the global. Everybody all over the world (particularly in India) is dreamingthemselves to be a certified consultants. They drink, eat, sleep and dream for SAPCertification. Many families are intending, hoping and praying their sons / daughters to seeas SAP consultants (may be certified) and make a good mark in SAP. Somebody has toreally see these things to believe.

On this platform, I would sincerely appreciate your efforts to bring quality to SAPCertification.

Best Regards,

Ravi

15-Jun-2012 9:02 AM Chirag Shah Susan Martin in response to

Dear Ms. Susan,

I agree with you that “Myths are simply myths”

but

behind some myths there are some supporting events and when such events repeatedly & regularly take place in that case

Myths becomes beliefs.

As I said, in India, unless and until a student finishes his article ship period with a qualified practicing Chartered Accountant

and get a certificate from him he is not eligible for final Chartered Accountancy exam. (I am sure that SAP must have

gone through this education method as SAP Education are constantly looking at ways to use more innovative examination

methods)



In this process Institute of Chartered Accountant will provide placement in case if some students doesn’t getplacement for their article ship period at their own and apply for the same to Institute.

The bare minimum rules-timings-remuneration etc. for this article ship period are governed by Institute of Chartered

Accountant.

I guess there are some hints in this system for SAP to analyze and improve their education system.

I don’t say that this is THE BEST system but something is good in this system which is worth adopting bySAP.

There is nothing harm in adopting good things, from whom so ever it may be.

I understand that it is SAP who selects their partners.

I understand that it is SAP who decides the conditions and set of rules to have partnership with SAP.

I understand that it is SAP who frames the Partnership Deed by and between their partners.

I understand that it is SAP who can stop this Myths becoming beliefs.

Correct my understanding where ever It requires.

Regards

Chirag Shah



15-Jun-2012 9:32 AM Susan Martin Ravi Sankar Venna in response to

Hi Ravi,

I have also seen many such cases over the years and this is why I find your blog especiallyvaluable. I think it is particularly important to differentiate what certification is and what it isisn't - and shouldn't be - as misconceptions are rife in that area. As you say our certificationis an IT certification, like MS, Oracle or Cisco. That means it will always evolve as timegoes on. We have already made some massive changes to the program over the last fewyears - some of which are more behind the scenes and probably would not have too much

significance to anyone other than a certification geek - but have in fact significantlyimproved the reliability, validity and credibility of the program, e.g. the switch from productfunction and feature focus to a job task analysis basis, the inclusion of more businessprocess and integration topics, the introduction of the Professional level certification, etc. Butas the needs of the market, the technological testing capabilities and psychometric findingschange, there are always ways to improve. There are still changes to be made and we areworking together with the Certification and Enablement Influence Council (CEIC) to ensurethey are in line with the needs of the market. But this sort of blog is also immensely helpful inhelping us identify some of the community needs. Thank you!

Sue

15-Jun-2012 9:38 AM Chirag Shah Ravi Sankar Venna in response to

Dear Ravi Sir,

I thank you from the bottom of my heart for all your wishes.

I was not lucky to have a project of 5 days at end of my course. We were just given a book of that dummy

project of M/S Byke International. I asked to have practical project on it but I was told that students from

different module themselves will have to make a team and solve the same. I even asked for solutions on paper,

which is not available.

I agree with you and appreciate that SAP has keep their eyes open for Improvement.



I really want and wish SAP to come up with a perfect and optimum education system.

Sharing my experience, views and suggestions is only a step towards it and may be the first step towards

guiding my junior consultants.

Thanks to SAP & YOU for this Blog.

Regards

Chirag Shah


Thank you Sue for the update.

Best Regards,

Ravi


Dear Chirag,

When I have done my FICO course back in 2003, our team could not start this BikeInternational Project. Though it is 20 days course and 5 days project, the training iscompleted within 16 or 17 days. Everybody will be in a mood to crack the certification,nobody could even think of configuring the project at the point of time. We though we shouldagain team up after passing the certification. But, after passing the certification everybodyhas departed. But, if you have access to the system, you can easily configure that projectbased on the knowledge you have gain during your course. I have also used SAP BuildingBlocks for configuring different scenarios in different industries. This has given me lot ofconfidence boost at that point of time.



http://help.sap.com/bp_bblibrary/470/BBlibrary_start.htm

(This is 4.70 - please check for ECC 6.0 Library)

Furthermore, somebody has summarized different informative sites. This could also beuseful to you.

http://scn.sap.com/thread/349500

Furthermore, after your certification, you must be having access to Service Market Place

https://service.sap.com

You will find lots of information, files are available.

You will have always access to help.sap.com (which is like bible for consultants)

Hope all these will be useful to you.

Best Regards,

Ravi

15-Jun-2012 3:04 PM Stephen Johannes Susan Martin in response to

http://help.sap.com/bp_bblibrary/470/BBlibrary_start.htm

http://scn.sap.com/thread/349500

https://service.sap.com



Sue,

You are telling me that SAP as a global company is technically unable to create essay styleexams for coding because the organization is not capable of supporting multiple languagesfor exams? I personally find this pretty amazing that a company that sells software globallywould cite language discrimination on exams as a reason why not to do the right thing. Ifany company can handle globalization needs I would expect SAP. Technically I could argue15 years ago that ABAP exams discriminated against english speakers because the ABAPlanguage and corresponding code was all in German. I haven't taken a computer scienceclass in another country, but I would assume they can teach in the native language andhave people write code in the computer language without fear of language discrimination. However I could be wrong about computer science can be taught in languages besideEnglish.

So if we are stuck with multiple choice can you possibly after five years actually reflectthe certifications to match the knowledge areas that the market demands? I still don'tunderstand after three or four years and SAP Education offering a course why we don't havea SAP Web Client and/or CRM Technical certification. Oh that's right only certified peoplecan build certifications and since there are no relevant technical certifications for SAP CRMthen most people don't take that. Oh well I guess having area with 0% people certified onthe topic is pretty awesome even though every single customer using the that product wouldhave internal resources or consultants requiring that skill.

Sorry I no longer buy into any of the explanations that progress is being made or we areworking on this. If the current offerings under the current system can't match marketreality within 4 years of being released, then I have no hope for there ever being anythingmeaningful done with certification. Then again we want certifications to match the marketneeds and not the fictional consultant profiles that SAP wants to sell us.

Take care,

Stephen



15-Jun-2012 6:34 PM Anupam Ghosh

Hi Ravi,

Awesome blog. I was planning for sap certification but now I am focusing more onlearning the subject , understanding it and implementing the solutions. If recruiters are smartenough , I am sure I will be shortlisted.

Regards

Anupam

15-Jun-2012 6:44 PM Ravi Sankar Venna Anupam Ghosh in response to

Thanks Anupam.

Certification is one of feathers in your cap. If you have all others like project experience,good references and soft skills etc. certification will be an added advantage. Without havingother ingredients, only just certification may not be much helpful.

Best Regards,

Ravi

15-Jun-2012 10:46 PM Ashok Bishnoi

Hi Ravi,

First I want to heartily appreciate you and your blogs. Having a mentor like you in such an area for students like

me is really amazing.



I read all above comments and these are really very helpful. It’s true that I drink, eat, sleep, and

dream to learn SAP, get into it and be SAP Certified like other Indians as you mentioned above. I come to know about SAP

just three months ago and since then I am trying to know about it through people and blogs.

I am from India and I have done Engineering in Electronics in 2010.Now I am planning to pursue SAPthrough a Master's degree course from UK. But I am still in doubt that whether these course will give me adistinguish knowledge of SAP, so that I am able to get into the market of SAP and if not then how it can bedone? As it’s true that I am a fresher in this field and getting loan and investing money to study is not reallyaffordable when you will come to know that you still have to fight to get a job.

Your valuable experience and suggestions will be decision making for me.

Thanks.

Regards,

Ashok

16-Jun-2012 8:32 AM Ravi Sankar Venna Ashok Bishnoi in response to

Hi Ashok,

Thank you very much for your appreciation on my blog.

I do not have any idea about this University Alliance Program. However, I can see thereis a SAP University Alliances Program in UK. But, I am not aware of the cost, schedule,deliverables and placement etc.

http://www.sap.com/uk/services/uap/index.epx

http://www.sap.com/uk/services/uap/index.epx



You may need to contact them at

[email protected]

Thomas Dulaney has written some fantastic blogs within this forum. They are veryinformative and most motivating. If you find time, you please go through them.

Some of his blogs are:

http://scn.sap.com/community/career-center/blog/2012/03/13/advice-for-recent-college-graduates-aka-freshers

http://scn.sap.com/community/career-center/blog/2012/05/01/advice-for-students-interested-in-a-career-in-sap

http://scn.sap.com/community/career-center/blog/2012/05/01/learning-sap-when-you-dont-have-a-sap-job-already--web-sites

Furthermore, you need to identify yourself to go into which module. As I said the skills aregetting redundant at a faster rate, you should be ahead in selecting the skills, which youpresume they will be there in the market for next few years. Such of those skills I wouldrecommend is Business Objects (BOBJ), High-Performance Analytic Appliance (HANA),rather than going for conventional ABAP etc, where the competition is extremely high.

If you are going for SAP Certification exam in the near future, the following blog would bevery handy for you.

mailto:[email protected]









http://scn.sap.com/community/training-and-education/certification/blog/2012/03/22/how-to-crack-a-sap-certification

Initially, everybody does SAP course for getting into a decent job in SAP arena, once youget a job, then you may have to concentrate on developing the number of new skills in SAP.

Wish you all the best.

Best Regards,

Ravi

16-Jun-2012 8:58 AM Simon Polovina

I echo Ravi's comments. My institution (Sheffield Hallam University) is one of the foundingmembers of the University Alliances in the UK and whilst I can't guarantee you successwe, like the other universities in the alliances, do have established contacts with employers(e.g. SAP, Cap Gemini, CIBER, ...) and most of our students manage to get onto the jobladder afterwards. Employers continue to approach us looking for good students, that theseemployers in turn take on board the development of the student's career.

16-Jun-2012 9:23 AM Ravi Sankar Venna Simon Polovina in response to

Thank you Simon for the update.

16-Jun-2012 9:20 PM Jarret Pazahanick Susan Martin in response to

Hi Sue

I believe the 2% was for Dice in the US but pretty informal research so excited to hear youwill start releasing this information quarterly for various regions as it will be a good data point





to show how the initiatives you are working on are affecting the overall demand for certifiedresources.

Can you please provide where you will be releasing these results in 2 weeks as I seethe SAP SCN being a very good spot to hit a wide audience and hopefully the first articleexplains the criteria that went into the results.

16-Jun-2012 9:36 PM Marssel Vilaça

Hi Ravi. Thank you for sharing your vast experience with us.

I Would like to comment on the recoup of investment in certification. I Believe That largelydepends on the volume of projects in each country. 1 year is a very good time to have areturn of capital, but I bet in 3 months in an economically heated location.

16-Jun-2012 10:08 PM Ravi Sankar Venna Marssel Vilaça in response to

Hi Marssel,

Thank you very much for your good works.

The period to recoup of investment is largely depends on the case to case basis. It isinjustice on my part to give an average period as the period for ROI is largely depends onthe individual capability, country they reside, kind of job they got, salary rates, daily / hourlyrates, onsite opportunities they got, promotions they have received, kind of certification theyhave done and the market demand, the kind of training they have attended, the amountspent (some countries training from SAP or Authorised Training is not mandatory to appearfor Certification) etc. Many people have not recouped anything out of certification andprobably, some lucky people might have recouped everything they have invested in 3months to one year.

Yes, but if you take a presumption of getting job immediately after certification, probably,they could recoup the investment within 6 months. But, in my personal opinion, the passion

supersedes recouping.



Best Regards,

Ravi

17-Jun-2012 8:47 AM Ashok Bishnoi Simon Polovina in response to

I do believe that universities has contacts with employers but no university guarantee theemployability of all students,nevertheless it is more difficult for overseas students to get ajob because of the VISA conditions,though,they have to pay high tuition fees.I have seen theSAP related master's course in the Sheffield Hallam University but still it's difficult to decidethat which University and Which course is best to study in UK.

17-Jun-2012 9:57 AM Ravi Sankar Venna Ashok Bishnoi in response to

Hi Ashok,

Different countries might be having different visa rules and regulations. I do not have anyknowledge in this area and you need to seek expert advice from the educational / visarelated consultants. Every overseas education definitely come with some advantages anddisadvantages. Because of the quality of education and other facilities they are offering, itwill come with a hefty cost. I may not be able to guide you the courses that are being offeredby UK Universities, as I have very limited knowledge. You are requested to contact theUniversities in UK / other countries (if you prefer) to find the further details.

Hope you will find the suitable course and wishing you all success.

Best Regards,

Ravi

17-Jun-2012 10:36 AM Ashok Bishnoi Ravi Sankar Venna in response to

Hi Ravi,



Investing money is not easy in education and students have to endure financial burden.Thisis the reason why I want to know where to study and what to study but no one is ready toclear the picture.I talked with many education consultants but it's difficult to trust them.

I have been using SCN to know people learning experience and their knowledge.As yousuggested I read Thomas Dulaney blogs and they are really helpful.

If you know any expert education consultant who is in the field of SAP let me know it will bereally helpful.

Thank you Ravi for your best wishes.

Regards,

Ashok

18-Jun-2012 8:04 AM Susan Martin Jarret Pazahanick in response to

Hi Jarret,

we'll be sharing the results of the research with the CEIC in our next meeting on June 28thand discussing with them how best to use it as a measure of awareness so I will definitelykeep everyone posted.

Sue

18-Jun-2012 10:39 AM Simon Polovina Ashok Bishnoi in response to

Hi Ashok,

I'm afraid no one will be able to give you the magic answer you want - I wish I could!



Rather, as you can see in this forum and elsewhere you will find a diversity of viewsfrom which you must distil your choice and put your energy behind it. Certainly thegeneral experiences from Sheffield Hallam's students have been that it has been a usefulspringboard for their careers, but it is a judgement you must make for yourself, be itcertification, MSc course or otherwise.

Incidentally re UK visa situation you may find "UK welcomes 'genuine' students" (http://sp.m.timesofindia.com/PDATOI/articleshow/14225585.cms) of interest.

Regards, Simon

10-Jul-2012 11:24 AM Mridul Chakraborty

Hi Ravi Sir,

I am also one of those, who invested 3.5 lac rupees and completed the 4 week trainingprogram , after which I cleared the certification.I had approximately 5 years of experiencein Procurement Operations before I joined the training @ an SAP partner. I was fortunateenough to get a job within 45 days of completing my certification ...... During this period I had

attended multiple interviews . Failed multiple in a row, and eventually cracked one

Through my experience I learnt, my urge to know more and more about what SAP systemwas a type of suspense for me, very similar to a novel about a mysterious character , andthe eagerness to know why is it so much in demand and why so highly appreciated, helpedme gain the necessary knowledge which is required to get through an interview . I had neverprepared exclusively, for even a single interview .Actually, I was never bored of attendinginterviews in fact, as every interviewer had some unique question and every time i ended

up asking more questions than the interviewer in my never ending curiousness to knowmore and more, irrespective of the necessity .....In fact, I am so am lost in my research thatI have accepted a job which is paying me 1.7 lac rupees lesser than my previous job .... But,somehow I have the feeling, that I always wanted to do this and I am really satisfied with

myself ....... Any inputs from you , as I am new to ERP Consulting, would be an honor ....

Regards,

Mridul

http://sp.m.timesofindia.com/PDATOI/articleshow/14225585.cms

http://sp.m.timesofindia.com/PDATOI/articleshow/14225585.cms



10-Jul-2012 11:26 AM Mridul Chakraborty Ravi Sankar Venna in response to

Hi Ravi Sir,

I am also one of those, who invested 3.5 lac rupees and completed the 4 week trainingprogram , after which I cleared the certification.I had approximately 5 years of experiencein Procurement Operations before I joined the training @ an SAP partner. I was fortunateenough to get a job within 45 days of completing my certification ...... During this period I had

attended multiple interviews . Failed multiple in a row, and eventually cracked one

Through my experience I learnt, my urge to know more and more about what SAP systemwas a type of suspense for me, very similar to a novel about a mysterious character , andthe eagerness to know why is it so much in demand and why so highly appreciated, helpedme gain the necessary knowledge which is required to get through an interview . I had neverprepared exclusively, for even a single interview .Actually, I was never bored of attendinginterviews in fact, as every interviewer had some unique question and every time i ended

up asking more questions than the interviewer in my never ending curiousness to knowmore and more, irrespective of the necessity .....In fact, I am so am lost in my research thatI have accepted a job which is paying me 1.7 lac rupees lesser than my previous job .... But,somehow I have the feeling, that I always wanted to do this and I am really satisfied with

myself ....... Any inputs from you , as I am new to ERP Consulting, would be an honor ....

Regards,

Mridul

10-Jul-2012 11:58 AM Ravi Sankar Venna Mridul Chakraborty in response to

Hi Mridul,

Thank you very much for updating your experiences to this blog. Usually, there is nostraight forward job after certification. Everybody has to struggle to get the job. Even I hadto struggle when I completed my first certification. The first interview would be tough anddifficult, the more and more interviews giving, at one point of time, the candidates will be in aposition to convince the interviewers.



Though you are getting 1.7 lakhs less than your previous job, there is no need to regret andI believe you are fortunate enough to get into SAP consulting, as there are more number ofpeople still struggling to find their leg. I can only say this is a great learning opportunity, youshould having access to systems, materials and business process documents. Please makeuse those things and try to participate in SDN forums and if possible write some blogs. Assoon as you become, you need to be gear up your reading habit considerably. Whenever,you have free time, please reading help.sap.com.

There are number of documents / articles available on Service Market Place.

As far your curiosity is concerned, I believe you are on the right track. The more curiosityyou have you will learn more number of things. That is the starting point for any newinventions and SAP is not an exception to that. After you have one or two years ofexperience within SAP, please look to learn the other advance technologies in SAP likeSCM or SRM etc.

You have just started your drive, hopefully, you will have a bright and fruitful career with your

learning habits, passion on SAP, reading and curiosity.

All the best.

Best Regards,

Ravi

11-Jul-2012 9:32 AM Nandha Kumar

Nice Blog

11-Jul-2012 8:19 PM Christine Talaue



This is helpful. I just shifted from c++ to a career in SAP recently. I was thinking of takingthe certification after a year of SAP experience. And yeah, i can relate to some of the items

listed here..

16-Jul-2012 11:33 AM Raza Shah

Dear Ravi,

It was really wonderful experience to read Your given article. It clears my mind from all thosemisconceptions which i was carrying from quite long time.

Now i am feeling more passionate & enthusiastic for switching my career to SAP.

Great Job

Regards,

16-Jul-2012 12:26 PM Ravi Sankar Venna Raza Shah in response to

Thank you Raza.

Best Regards,

Ravi

2-Aug-2012 9:50 AM Narendra Konnipati

Hi Ravi Sir,



Many times Thanks for sharing this type post here.

Thanks,

Naren K

9-Aug-2012 6:02 PM Jarret Pazahanick

Check out this real world story which is sad and I believe cases like this are extremelycommon and ultimately lead some people down a path of fraud or embellishing their resume.

DOs & DON’Ts for SAP Career (Certification) on the basis of my on going journey from anAccountant to SAP FI Consultant.

On a side note it is crazy to think there are jobs out there where people have to PAY to actas a "consultant" so they can get go-live experience on their resume.

7-Sep-2012 2:33 PM Partha Sarathi

Very informative and helpful . Thanks. Past 7 years i am working as application developerstill haven't get overview of all the modules how tightley integrated . The day when i startedand worked for RICEF objects, thought that why should we build a new system similar toSAP.:).

To be my knowledge, getting the requirements of customer business demands andconverting into day to day business applications without any interruption is very bigcertification.

8-Sep-2012 10:38 AM Uday Kumar Kanike Ravi Sankar Venna in response to

Hi Ravi,

http://scn.sap.com/community/training-and-education/certification/blog/2012/08/09/dos-don-ts-for-sap-carrier-certification-on-the-basis-of-my-on-going-journey-from-an-accountant-to-sap-fi-consultant

http://scn.sap.com/community/training-and-education/certification/blog/2012/08/09/dos-don-ts-for-sap-carrier-certification-on-the-basis-of-my-on-going-journey-from-an-accountant-to-sap-fi-consultant



Sorry to point this, but I was one of those Indian student fell a prey to that UniveristyAlliance program in UK discussed above. To my surprise those universities are still claimingthat they provide "genuine" training and "genuine" job placement assistance. However,this job placement assistance is only for their own citizens. Its like other country studentsfunding for developing their citizens. I was not even made aware that I would be eligible totake certification exam one time in my module which I studied their. When I realized that, theexam opportunity has already exhausted. I can't believe still that even in my correspondencewith SAP during those days, University didn't support me to get my certification chance back.

Anyway, once for life, I learnt a lesson. No regrets for spent money.

Regards

Uday

8-Sep-2012 12:56 PM Ravi Sankar Venna Uday Kumar Kanike in response to

Hi Uday,

Experience is the best teacher of life. We cannot regret what has happened, as life is veryshort. We need to move on and achieve the best we can. Plan today for better tomorrow.

All the best.

Best Regards,

Ravi

10-Sep-2012 6:22 AM Tom Cenens Uday Kumar Kanike in response to

Hello Uday



So one could say, there is a clear lack of information from a student point of view in theUniversity Alliance program you attended?

Best regards

Tom

10-Sep-2012 7:33 AM Uday Kumar Kanike Tom Cenens in response to

Yes Tom. In my case, this has happened. Well as discussed above, the benefit of UniversityAlliance program has not being shared with all theirs students. I was completely newto University and SAP where I went to study SAP. It was their (Instructors and courseadministrators) duty to explain the advantages of the course and make sure that everystudent gets this benefit. Though I may not be able to clear certification exam in one attempt,this one attempt as a part of University Alliance Program, could have motivated me a lotand would have given me a clear understanding about certification process. At the endof the I could have had a positive opinion about the university where I studied and thecountry. Hope the situations would improve and SAP University Alliance program really startbenefiting students.

10-Sep-2012 7:49 AM Malathesha Sodad

Handsome Information for every one who wants to transform their career to SAP

11-Sep-2012 4:03 PM Kunjan Chauhan

For me the valuation could be split as follows:

A 10% Certification

B 25% Work experience in SAP

C 35% Ability to listen and communicate (verbally and in writing) - I don't mean goodEnglish, I mean to engage with clients, to listen and understand business issues and



problems, to break down problems logically and build up solutions logically, always keepingin mind the business objectives.

D 20% Degree in computer systems - far too many IT professionals cannot think aheador break down IT solutions in terms of empirical architecture and impact from boundaryconditions

E 10% Maturity and project management skills - being pragmatic, not promising morethan can be delivered; having presence and credibility in front of business users

As a co-lead in a large SAP project, we had to fire about 2/3rds of the SAP consultants. Thekey problem was lack of experience/maturity in C and D above. Almost all of them could notdraw me a single process map of the solutions they were proposing and they each had over10 years SAP experience. If you cannot crystallize or conceptualize a solution, how will youeven begin to convince users on the merits of the proposed solution?

So when focusing on certification, don't forget the other attributes that also need to bedeveloped....!!!

11-Sep-2012 7:03 PM Marssel Vilaça Kunjan Chauhan in response to

Kunjan, I really appreciate it.

Certification and work Experience aren't assurance of a good work.

Professionalism is very important. I also have seen many professionals with over 10 yearsexperience being the bottom of projects.

Regards

13-Sep-2012 11:57 AM Malathesha Sodad Marssel Vilaça in response to



Correct me if I am Wrong : To be a best consultant ; Understanding the concepts in detailsand using them in real time (at work) should go hand in hand. Getting such opportunities is

very rare...!

21-Sep-2012 6:31 PM Mukund Panse Ravi Sankar Venna in response to

Dear Ravi

Thanks for the posting Top 10 myths about SAP, I need assistance from you sir.

I have been working in supply chain, logistics, freight forwarding industry for the last 25years out of that 12 years in outside sales, used various types of CRM's well aware of rules,regulations and procedures, recently i have been thinking about getting into functional sideof SAP SCM, I have been living in san francisco bay area for the last 22 years, I wouldreally appreciate if you can let me know the best and fast way to get into SAP, can yourecommend any schools to get the SAP certification.

Thanks

21-Sep-2012 6:59 PM Ravi Sankar Venna Mukund Panse in response to

Dear Mukund,

With 25 years of experience you must be in a senior management position. I am not surehow much SAP would be really help you to at this juncture of your career. When I havedone my FICO Certification in 2003, there was a senior person with around 25 years ofexperience in our class. He was intelligent and good overall understanding about thebusiness process. But, after passing the certification, still he was sceptical and did not go toSAP Consulting side.



Even if you go to SAP Certification / Classes, get into a job, still the salary would be aconstraint. You may have to join as a Junior Consultant. You may have to consider all theseissues.

There are some universities, but considering the time, I do not think they will suit you. But,if you are serious, you may go for SAP Education / Partner Training, then again it is a verycostly proposition. You may also have to look how quickly you can recoup this. It is alsoa problem, when we are nearing end of our career, taking risks may not be much wiserdecision. There are some online courses offered by some institutes, this is economical, butwe cannot assure the quality of the tutors or the materials provided.

Therefore, it all depends on the budget, time and values that you are looking for. Meanwhile,I will be adding you as follower, please let me know if you have any specific questions.

Best Regards,

Ravi

24-Sep-2012 2:57 AM Mukund Panse Ravi Sankar Venna in response to

Dear Ravi

I picked an option of field sales in the freight forwarding industry and still a outside sales rep,I think I am ready to switch the career, do something different as far as salary is concern Iam sure SAP functional side will help me achieve atleast 150K, I will see how it goes.

Thanks

24-Sep-2012 9:35 AM Albin Devasia

Hi Ravi,



The words which you have written is very informative.

My name is Albin and i am working for SAP Sales and Marketing - Back end Operations.

I am planning to do a third party course in SAP BI as I wanted to build my career in SAP.

Expecting your feedback and suggestions always.

Best Regards,

Albin

24-Sep-2012 11:11 AM Ravi Sankar Venna Albin Devasia in response to

Hi Albin,

Can you please let me know what is the third party course in SAP BI? I am not aware of anythird part courses.

I am not sure whether this course would help you to fetch into SAP BI. You need to do SAPBI course in order to fetch into SAP BI.

With your Sales and Distribution background, I am really not sure how this course wouldhelp you. You should be mostly looking into SD or CRM type of courses rather than thirdparty course related to SAP BI.



Kind Regards,

Ravi

24-Sep-2012 11:14 AM Ravi Sankar Venna Mukund Panse in response to

Thank you Mukund.

SAP is most volatile market as far as salary is concerned. It is most subjective term. Thesalary also depends on the demand and supply in the market. I do accept there are goodconsultant who might be easily earning 150K in the market.

All the best.

Best Regards,

Ravi

24-Sep-2012 12:37 PM Albin Devasia Ravi Sankar Venna in response to

Hi Ravi,

Many Thanks for your prompt reply.

Third party Course in the sense, here in Bangalore we have many institute , they offer SAP Course in different

module. They are not authorized partners.

I was enquiring about feasible modules which matches with my skillsets. My colleagues and other seniors

advised me to join SAP SD /MM/CRM. But i would like to go for Technical modules like BI/BW.



I have the confident that i can learn and i am ready to give full dedication towards any Modules. But right now i

am confused to select my career path. (Because of the feedback that i am getting from different source)

I am a Commerce graduate and have 20months experience in SAP Sales and Marketing - Back end

Operations.

If you don’t mind can you just give a suggestion ?

Thanks,

Albin

24-Sep-2012 12:48 PM Ravi Sankar Venna Albin Devasia in response to

Hi Albin,

Usually in order to learn BI / BW, you should have at least 2 - 3 years of ECC experienceis expected, but it is not mandatory. If you have it would be added advantage. At the end ofthe day is it is your interest. Furthermore, there are more beyond BW, like BOBJ and HANA.Particularly in SD there are already number of consultants in the market.

Regards,

Ravi

24-Sep-2012 1:04 PM Albin Devasia Ravi Sankar Venna in response to

Hi Ravi,



If that's the case can you just suggest which module would be suitable for me? I mean tostart a career in SAP. (As a Beginner ) .It would be grateful if you can write bit more aboutHANA /BOBJ

Best regards,

Albin

24-Sep-2012 1:27 PM Ravi Sankar Venna Albin Devasia in response to

Hi Albin,

As I told you, it is your interest at the end of the day. If you are looking to work ontransactional systems, then it would be SD module would be right fit. If you are moreinterested for analytic, then BI would be right one.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=2KLlrkYo56o

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kzjj2b9gPkg

Regards,

Ravi

9-Oct-2012 9:35 AM Navedali Chaudhary

Hi Ravi,

Thanks for writing good blog on SAP career path



I am in big dilemma for stating in SAP consultant field. Pls help in my profile is as below. Iwant to do SAP MM module. But the confusion is about the SAP market in future Or comingyrs. The exposure of SAP in coming yrs. Please help in clearing my douts so that it will be agreat help.

Qualification :- B.E ( Mechanical) & PGD- Operation Management.

Location :- India ( pune)

Yrs of Exp:- 3.5 Yrs in manufacturing industry. My work profile was in quality department.Looking after the shop floor quality & vender quality. That is in-warding the good as per thespecification ect. Qualifying the production (finish goods) goods. I am end user of SAP QMmodule & some extend MM module. I am having a good knowledge of purchase depart.how it works.

Now I am thinking of making a switch to SAP as I am very interested in the businessprocess upgrading. And work as an consultant for improving the process. I have worked asprocess consultant in my organization, as I was actively involved in giving the suggestion forimproving the process.

Please suggest me which module is good in term of the exposure, coming futuretrends & compensation. I have some question ….

1. How is the SAP market now , Do I get job after completing the course from Saptraining partner with certification?

2. What will be my entry level , & were I will be down the line 10 yrs.?

3. As I what to be in good management position down the line 10 yrs, does Sap will giveme these growth?

4. Which module I should go for?

5. Class room trainig is good OR Online training will wrok in entering the SAP world?

It will be great if you help me…. Waiting for your reply…

You can send the reply on my personal id [email protected]

9-Oct-2012 11:28 AM Ravi Sankar Venna Navedali Chaudhary in response to

mailto:[email protected]



Hi Navedali,

Oh my god so many questions!!! I feel like facing Bret Lee bowling

Hopefully, I will try my level best to answer your questions.

QM module, you will see limited opportunities, as it is very peculiar module. MM, probably,you will find better opportunities, once you have two or three years of experience, you canextend yourself towards SCM and SRM module. This gives you added values and technicaledge.

SAP Market is very volatile, the conditions are fast changing. I am not much bothered aboutthe market conditions, I would only worry about whether I am successful to add any newskills to my belt. If you are successful in this area, whatever be the market, you should bepremium level.

Not just me, but nobody can guarantee you any job after training even from SAP. It alldepends on how good you are in other areas. You consulting skills, communication, peoplemanagement, team leading, team playing, domain experience, education and attitude allthese will matter. But, it looks you have good domain and business process knowledge,hopefully, that should help you to a good extent.

Mostly you will be a junior consultant or consultant, as you are required to learn manypractical issues, nobody is able to predict where you will be in 10 years. I am not muchworried about the long term future, however, more focussed on the present.

With 13+ years of SAP experience, I am still working as consultant. (may be I am little

incompetent ). Please do not look for designations / management positions, probably,SAP may not be right one. Many people are happy with their consulting career as SAP



consultants, may be they are platinum consultants, but still SAP consultants. If you want toget management positions, please do MBA / PMP / Prince 2 etc. though should help yourambitions.

I would prefer you go for MM module.

Class Room Training:

Pros:

Effective

Able to clarify instantaneously

Competitive

Cons:

Costly

Cannot be on your speed

Must be able at catching speed

Online:

Pros:

Economical

Can be on your own pace

Ample time to revision



Cons:

May become lethargic

May end up in Negligence mode

No competitiveness

Hope I have answered all your questions.

Best Regards,

Ravi

10-Oct-2012 5:16 PM Navedali Chaudhary

Ravi Sir,

Thanks a lot ..... N want to be fast in life as Bret Lee bowling.

As class room training is costly & i don't want to leave my job also. I am thinking of doingonline.

Does online will give me break in SAP world OR does SAP world consider a guy from onlinecourse completion with certification.......

What is MMWM module ....is it a one complete module or different ....this i come to kn fromthe job portal .....

What is SAP MM market now ... does is it in demand in India & abroad..

10-Oct-2012 8:56 PM Ravi Sankar Venna Navedali Chaudhary in response to

Dear Navedali,



The success lies in doing simple things in better way than others. That would make youmaster in your own way.

It does not make much difference whether you are going for online or class room, as long asyou are committed to pass your Certification.

It is not the type of training you have taken will help you, but, the kind of skill set youhave and how effectively you demonstrate your knowledge in interviews. Convincing theinterviewers with your skills really matters.

MM/WM is Materials Management and Warehouse Management, you cannot divide them asboth are interlinked in number of ways.

Please do not much bother about job market. Peruse SAP with passion; that is moreimportant, rest all leave, they will follows. If you develop your knowledge over a period oftime, money and opportunities will follows.

All the best.

Regards,

Ravi

11-Oct-2012 5:59 AM Atul Divekar

Thanks for writing good blog.. I am working in SAP BI/BO since last 3 years and i am not certified yet.



you don't need to do certification for good job u just have a good knowledge in that technology.

Regards,

Atul Divekar..


Hi Ravi Sir,

Thank you very much for your valuable inputs.....surely it will help in my careerdevelpment....

I will be joining Online course in SAP MM module .......

For regular update on the topic were should i pop in regularly OR register ( I.e Web site fromwere i will be getting regular update's ) & also for the query if any ....

Once again thanks ....

Regards,

Navedali

15-Oct-2012 8:25 AM Ravi Sankar Venna Navedali Chaudhary in response to

Hi Navedali,

Thanks for your message.



I did not get what you mean by updates from the topic. If you have answered to this tread,you will be getting the updates in a normal way, whenever somebody replies to this thread,you will receive a copy.

All the best.

Regards,

Ravi


Sir,

I mean for regular updating the Knowledge on SAP MM module, were should i regularly visitOR on which web site i should register. By knw whats going on around the SAP wrold will gvme added competetive edge....

Navedali

25-Oct-2012 11:04 PM Nishan Dev Navedali Chaudhary in response to

Navedali,

There is no such thing as regular update. SAP is an OCEAN of Knowledge, it is not possiblefor SAP to send update to everyone. You have to select the thread to follow , in your fieldof interest. Suppose you like MM Module, best practise is logging into SCN every day whenever you have time, and reading the queries posted by community and try to simulate themand understand them as follow :-

a) Why this object was taking

b) What is the rational relationship of this object to other object.



c) How they are connected, Build an imaginary building block in your head and try toreconnect them.

b) and also they are many other way to link yourself to the mentors by following them or byreading their blogs.

Hope you got a clue.

Best Luck,

Nishan Dev

30-Oct-2012 6:45 PM Shwetansh Gaur

Hi Ravi Sir ,

I wonder if you would find my query naive . I am an engineering fresher and have justcompleted my Computer Engineering from Jaipur , India. I did a Summer Internship inIndonesia on SAP installed at a plant of Aditya Birla Group. The internship covered a briefoverview of some functional modules of SAP. Being an Engineering fresher , I have beenadvised to look into ABAP as a stepping stone in SAP. The internship was very brief due toshortage of allotted internship time. I have researched about SAP for quite some time nowand am keenly interested to build my career in the same. If you could please guide me abouthow I can do that. Also , I wanted to know that how can one look for SAP jobs without anactual SAP certification. Because , I have heard that some companies train freshers in SAPbearing the cost. A simple guidance could be great help Sir.

Regards

Shwetansh Gaur

30-Oct-2012 7:47 PM Ravi Sankar Venna Shwetansh Gaur in response to

Dear Shwetansh,



Being a fresh you have following options:

ABAP - Since you are from Engineering background, this could suit you in case if you goodin programming languages. You can easily pick it. The pros are you easily pick it up consare there is lot of competition.

Basis - You can also look into this option. System Administration / Security related areas.

Pro: Suits if you are good at system admin type of activities

Cons: Lot of competition no onsite opportunities

BI : BI is also a good area, you have lot of chances to learn BOBI and BPC. However, youare expected to have atleast 2 years of ECC experience, really not mandatory, however,highly recommended.

Pros: Good chances of getting a job

Cons: Lot of competition

BOBI: Lot of demand in market, however, it would be better, if you have BI experience,before going to BOBI.

Pros: New Skills, not much competition

Cons: Still lot of changes happening at product level.



I would suggest you can go with BI / BOBJ side, where you can pick up the ladder easily.

Best Regards,

Ravi

30-Oct-2012 7:58 PM Shwetansh Gaur Ravi Sankar Venna in response to

Thank you so much Sir. That was very informative. How do you suggest I start building mycareer on the BI/BOBJ side ? ... I have just passed out and will be joining TCS in DEC 2012.What alternatives can I look for ?

30-Oct-2012 9:38 PM Ravi Sankar Venna Shwetansh Gaur in response to

Please see if your employer can train you on BI/BOBJ areas.

Otherwise, you may need to join an Institute outside.

You would be lucky if you are placed in SAP area by your employer.

30-Oct-2012 9:48 PM Nishan Dev Ravi Sankar Venna in response to

Hello Shwetansh,

Although the question was not for me, so just chiming in , with the experience workingwith this Big 5, when they hire fresher, they usually dont give them alot of option on whichtechnology to select, (Observation of India only), they will add you in training on technology,which is growing in Europe and North & South America. as that their solid customer base,but if you have prior training on your preference technology area, that is always an add onadvantage when negotiating with them on Campus or on On Interview.

Best of Luck,

Nishan Dev



31-Oct-2012 5:40 AM Shwetansh Gaur Ravi Sankar Venna in response to

Ravi Sir ,

I have been trying to work for the same. And a training from an institute outside means atraining involving Certification ?

Lets hope I land up being lucky sir. Thank you once again

31-Oct-2012 5:48 AM Shwetansh Gaur Nishan Dev in response to

Hello Nishan Sir ,

You struck the perfect chord sir. This is exactly what I am worrying about. They would onlyconsider my preference for technology when I have an official certification in the field. Andnow , due to the remaining time constraint in my joining and the investment involved , Icouldn't go for the certification.

I hope I can convince them when I land up in their premises.

Will a SAP course without a certification be beneficial as well ?

28-Nov-2012 6:57 AM Niranjan Gade

Hi Ravi,

As usual this is a great article... All are very valid points about the certification. Keeping

the certification logo in the Resume doesnot gaurentee a job ..Best example ismyself.....completed my SAP certification as a Business Objects Associate.However, I haveonly two years of overall experience in Business Objects Support. Due to which I am notable to grab a job and still struggling to get a right path for my career. So "CERTIFICATION+ GOOD AMOUNT OF PROJECT EXPERINECE" gaurentes a job and a well settled career.



Thanks a lot for this article Ravi...

Niranjan..

28-Nov-2012 8:29 AM Ravi Sankar Venna Niranjan Gade in response to

Hi Niranjan,

You are correctly pointed out Certification + Good amount of project experience would reallyhelp. However, they are not the only qualification they might be looking. They are morelooking into attitude, integration into the organisation, soft skills, team player, willingness tolearn, open to share and communication skills etc.

The following thread would be handy for your interviews:

Top 10 Guidelines for your SAP Interviews

The following thread would give you overall idea about a project implementation:

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) by SAP Consultants

Do not get disappointed. Even, I had to blow off lot of interviews after my certification due tovarious reason. Therefore, there is no need to worry much. Keep on trying. You should bethere. It is just matter of time.

http://scn.sap.com/community/career-center/blog/2012/10/30/top-10-guidelines-for-your-sap-interviews

http://scn.sap.com/community/training-and-education/certification/blog/2012/08/28/frequently-asked-questions-faqs-by-sap-consultants



All the best.

Best Regards,

Ravi

28-Nov-2012 5:19 PM Nishan Dev Ravi Sankar Venna in response to

Well said Ravi,

Niranjan dont get disappointed... if you are getting opportunity to join as end user, grab it, asEnd user are the best place to clock in SAP. So Best Luck Nishan !!!

29-Nov-2012 5:55 AM Niranjan Gade Nishan Dev in response to

Hi Ravi and Nishan,

Thanks a lot for encouraging me and certainly, I shall try my best. However the problemhere is not getting an opportunity to prove myself due to the only reason lack of relevantexperience...(in the area that I have worked (BO Admin)).Anyhow I shall wait for the the timeto come........

Thanks a lot once again.

Regards,

Niran...

30-Nov-2012 6:57 AM devrishi sengupta

Hello Ravi,



Nice to read your blog and get a clear view on SAP.

I am a fresher with 1 year of experience on sales/marketing and 6 months experience inretail business customer support. Now I would however would like to learn SAP ABAP andto get into SAP.

I currently live in Hyderabad and plan in doing a SAP ABAP course from Reliance GlobalPvt Ltd where they train students on SAP ABAP for 3 months and then for another 3 monthsengage them in an implementation project. Will this programme benefit me since I do nothave enough domain knowledge ?

You say that certification is not required in all cases which I agree. But I am concerned aboutthe scope for a Fresher.

Please do guide me on should I go ahead and do this or not?

I would also like to have some ideas on how to get a certification from SAP after learningthis ? Can I sit for an exam seperately or do I have to undergo the training provided bySiemens/Genovate as a mandatory ? Or will the company I am working for help me to get acertifiction ? In short I would like to know how can I get a SAP Certification at an affordablecost as I come from a not so affluent family.

Regards,

Devrishi

30-Nov-2012 7:25 AM Vikrant Kaushik

really nice blog ... must read



30-Nov-2012 6:51 PM Ravi Sankar Venna devrishi sengupta in response to

Hi Devrishi,

In India, if you want to write SAP Certification it is based on the rules. You should be able tofulfill eligibility criteria. You should have 2+ years of imelemntation experience and workingwith SAP Partner. Please contact local SAP, they should be able to advise you.

You can check with SAP Malaysia / Singapore, where the rules are not so stringentcompared to India. You can visit these contries at an affordable cost. However, please notethat certification alone cannot help you. There are many people not able to find jobs withCertification. But, it may give you better selling point than now.

Best Regards,

Ravi

7-Dec-2012 6:41 AM Sathiyaraj M

Hi Ravi Sir,

Your article is really useful. I am into Sales and Marketing field since my completion ofB.Tech in Mechanical Engg in 2009. I am very much interested to get into SAP industry.After shifting to 2 companies Now I am with the best company in my industry & mostinteresting thing is my company uses SAP. But here I don't have access to SAP. However,I would like to learn SAP in my free time and get into SAP consultancy in a years time. Ordo you have any other better suggestion in my case? Can you please advice me in terms ofModule & where I can take up the course.

Thanks a lot in advance.



Regards,

Sathya

7-Dec-2012 11:05 AM Ravi Sankar Venna Sathiyaraj M in response to

Hi Sathya,

It would be good if you can get access to sandbox system in your company, at least you canpractice. Since you are in Sales and Marketing areas, SD would be an ideal module to bestarted with. In addition, you may please go through

help.sap.com

This is a kind of bible for learning the fundamentals of SAP. However, self learning willdefinitely have a limitation. Once you are good with some basic fundamentals, you may haveto join for a training. Then if you are really interested you may go for a certification in thefuture. You may need to plan your next 12 months to learn as many things as possible. Ifyou are able to spend the amount, please go with SAP or SAP Education Partners, whereyou may be assured reasonable quality. Other institutes, you may not what is there in theplate.

Please contact

http://www.sap.com/india/training-and-education/index.epx

After two years time, you may move towards CRM.

All the best.

http://www.sap.com/india/training-and-education/index.epx



Best Regards,

Ravi

7-Dec-2012 5:58 PM Sathiyaraj M Ravi Sankar Venna in response to

Dear Sir,

Thanks for your prompt reply.

Regards,

Sathya

12-Dec-2012 12:02 PM Karthik Ramakrishnan

Hi Ravi Sankar Venna,

Firstly I want to appreciate and thank you for sharing such wonderful thoughts and yourintention to help people around you.

I have registered myself for SAP SD online mode with ATOS training academy today! I hadexplored with so many people and finally made the big move in my career.

I'm into Sales - Particularly Channel & Enterprise sales - with 10+ years hands onexperience in my industry. Also, i have been a SAP user for my internal sales process forthe last 7 years, which has given me confidence to take up the certification thru online mode.It also gives me flexibility to attend the course as i'm employed and i can allot 20 hrs everyweek.



My query to you is

1) Is the demand for SAP SD consultants growing?

2) Some of my known sources told that SAP SD module has now become a commodity andsurvival itself is tough in today's scenario. Is that true?

3) What should be my ideal mindset during this phase (working currently in a challengingprofile with daunting daily tasks and focussing on certification at the same time)

I agree all the points you made in 10 myths about SAP and completely adhere to thembefore writing this query.

Your words will not only give me direction for next few days but definitely help me to havemore confidence in my approach.

Thanks in advance

Cheers.

Karthik Ramakrishnan.

12-Dec-2012 3:41 PM Ravi Sankar Venna Karthik Ramakrishnan in response to

it is a good idea to start with SD considering your experience. You are right OLTP systemsare death bed as there are so many technologies coming up. in two years time you mayconsider moving towards CRM. Certification alone may not help however you have decentbackground which should help you.

Regards



Ravi

ps: sorry for my formatting as I am on post operation bed rest and typing from android

12-Dec-2012 3:50 PM Nishan Dev Ravi Sankar Venna in response to

We are glad Ravi, in your un-healthy condition, you are replying to SCN queries. Get wellsoon buddy !

Best Luck,

Nishan Dev

12-Dec-2012 6:43 PM Ravi Sankar Venna Nishan Dev in response to

Thanks Nishan for your wish. Getting better.

25-Dec-2012 7:42 AM Salil Bagchi

Hi Ravi,

Thanks for the post, I have gone through some comments related to certification.

Could you advice me if I need to go for some certification in ABAP, though having 2 yrs ofimplementation experience in one of the top MNC and still doing..in perspective of my careergrowth.

25-Dec-2012 9:02 AM Uday Kumar Kanike Salil Bagchi in response to

Hi Salil,

Certification exams always would prove your knowledge in your area of expertise. It isalways recommended. However, it is not mandatory.



Best regards

Uday

25-Dec-2012 10:58 AM Ravi Sankar Venna Salil Bagchi in response to

Hi Salil,

Certification is your personal interest. It may or may not give you growth. However, itwould be definitely help you to project as a good knowledge consultant to the prospectiveemployers and recruiters. Therefore, nothing wrong being certified. It is always have to havea certification under your belt.

Best Regards,

Ravi

21-Jan-2013 12:03 PM Fleur Barnard

Hi Ravi

Wow thank you for clearing up alot of my thoughts on SAP certification.

Myth's is now what they were. I am a Trainee SAP Consultant and majority of my colleagueson Senior Level have not done any certification, I did'nt understand it.

Now I do. Thank you!

I feel for me I need to do Certification to get my stripes as i'm new to the field of SAPConsultant coming from a user background.

Excellent article, enjoyed the read.

Keep well. Fleur



21-Jan-2013 2:54 PM Ravi Sankar Venna Fleur Barnard in response to

Thank you Fleur. Much appreciated your comments.

I would always look at the positive side of the Certification, though many people disagree

with me. It would always wonderful to certify our skills by some third party like SAP.

Best Regards,

Ravi

31-Jan-2013 10:14 AM Vageesha Dharmappa

Thanks Ravi for the great posting. It is indeed an eye opener for a fresher (in SAP ), likeme.

All these days, i a had wrong perception.

31-Jan-2013 10:32 AM Ravi Sankar Venna Vageesha Dharmappa in response to

Hi Vageesha,

Thank you very much for your comments.

Number of participants attending certification has tremendously increased during the pastfew years. Just certification may not help and the employers are intelligent to look intodifferent qualifications, experience and skills.

Best Regards,

Ravi

26-Feb-2013 5:57 AM vamsi srinivas



HI Ravi shankar Venna ,

First of all I want to say thanks to you for all the help you have been doing us forthe freshers who are In confusion to do sap and In many other things.

I have some questions for you ,Please answer them when you are free

I did MBA -HR and working as HR executive and I have 20 months of experience . I wouldlike to learn SAP HR module .In our company we work on Oracle HRMS but which is takencare of some other company .I feel Its easy to use It and i can even think about how It wasdesigned at back ground . so I love to SAP and get a job In It .

In graduation (BSC computers ) I have only 58% and I passed in supplementary and the resti have more than 60%. I cant go back and change It but Im sure i have changed alot fromthat time . can i convince them in the inteview about this ?

Am I not eligible for doing SAP , because If companies dont call me for an Interview becauseof my marks , I think there Is no reason to do SAP even though I have lot of Interest In It asIt consumes lot of money and time .

My 2nd question Is about certification :

Is certification neccessary to get a fresher job in SAP , I mean especially for freshers i dontsee any fresher openings .so genovate or Atos provides campus recruitment for freshers , isaw on their web site but dont know how much it is true !

I see all most the top companies have already Installed SAP systems so In a few years thedemand will be decrease .Am I correct ?



I understood that sap consultant should have communication skills as he / she will have tospeak with lot of people and make them understand . I will work on It

.and please help me so that I can take a decision .

and Its like a entry gate If I have clear idea i will go ahead . thank you Ravi Sankar .

26-Feb-2013 12:00 PM Ravi Sankar Venna vamsi srinivas in response to

Hi Vamsi,

Unfortunately, in India, some companies do insist on the percentage on your exams,including graduation. If you are applying for those companies, they you may surely have aproblem. However, not all the companies would have same policy. Therefore, nothing muchworry about your marks, there are number of consultants in the market, who are failed / justpassed during their career.

Regarding your second question, SAP Certification is not a guarantee ticket for job.However, during the course of the training you would be get adequate knowledge aboutthe concepts in your own module, which can be successfully used in the implementation /support processes in SAP. Forget about the campus recruitment. In this world, nobodycan give the guarantee for any job. It is ultimately, your responsibility to prove in theinterviews, that the things can be delivered. In my opinion, such things are to some extentare misleading. There are number of people passed from these institutes are still waiting forjobs. So, please do not go into that trap. You need to go with passion to learn, definitely youshould be there on one day.

Communications will play vital part in every job and SAP consultant job is not an exceptionto this rule.

All the best.



Best Regards,

Ravi

26-Feb-2013 12:42 PM Deepa FI Ravi Sankar Venna in response to

Hi Ravi,

After following your SAP certification tips...i have cleared my SAP Certification TFIN52_65scoring 96% from UK london.You said right go through the study material 5-6 times.Thanksfor your valuable inputs

Regards,

Deepa

26-Feb-2013 12:51 PM Ravi Sankar Venna Deepa FI in response to

Hi Deepa,

Congratulations !!! and 96% is a stupendous score.

Thanks for updating on the forum and your success should give motivation to many otherpeople on the forum.

Best Regards,

Ravi

26-Feb-2013 11:27 PM vamsi srinivas

HI Ravi sir ,



Thank you for providing the required Infomation . I got some clarlity now. May I knowthe demand and future of HCM module ,and please give me the list of Imortant blogs orinformation regarding HCM .

So first I will learn in local institute to understand the entire concept , then i will start attendInterviews .

Have a nice day !

Warm regards,

Vamsi .

4-Mar-2013 11:11 AM Ravi Sankar Venna vamsi srinivas in response to

Hi Vamsi,

Please follow Jarret Pazahanick blogs:

Jarret Pazahanick's Stuff | SCN

Best Regards,

Ravi

4-Mar-2013 7:18 PM Shwetansh Gaur Ravi Sankar Venna in response to

Hi Ravi ,

I had posted this comment long back asking about my stepping up to a career in SAP.

http://scn.sap.com/people/jarret.pazahanick

/people/jarret.pazahanick/content?filterID=contentstatus%5Bpublished%5D~objecttype~objecttype%5Bblogpost%5D



Luckily , Now I have been recruited to another company and am being trained in SAP ABAP

right now.

You had showed me quite some light in this regard. So I just felt like informing

Also , now I have another query , Is there anyway I can get a compiler or syntax checkerkind of thing in ABAP , so that I can practice my programs at home ?

4-Mar-2013 7:20 PM Shwetansh Gaur Nishan Dev in response to

Hi Nishan ,

I had posted this comment long back asking about my stepping up to a career in SAP.

Luckily , Now I have been recruited to another company and am being trained in SAP ABAP

right now.

You had showed me quite some light in this regard. So I just felt like informing

Also , now I have another query , Is there anyway I can get a compiler or syntax checkerkind of thing in ABAP , so that I can practice my programs at home ?

5-Mar-2013 10:12 AM Ravi Sankar Venna Shwetansh Gaur in response to

Hi Shwetansh,

It is great pleasure to know that you are being recruited and trained. Please make use oflearning on job. You cannot learn anything better than on job. It is a live environment, whereyou can see number of business issues.



Unfortunately, I am not ABAPer , therefore, I may not be of much value added in thisissue.

Kind Regards,

Ravi

5-Mar-2013 5:08 PM kik ala

Hi Guys/Friends,

I am new to SAP Testing.Earlier I have worked on normal Functional Testing.Can any bodysuggest me where can i get the SAP testing documents or If you have any documentsrelated to SAP Testing please share it to me.

Can any one let me suggest/know, Is there any specific certification for "SAP Testing".Ifyes Please let me know the details.Because some where(In Google) I am seeing that SAPtesting certification program,etc....

Regards

SAPKIM

6-Mar-2013 5:45 AM vamsi srinivas

Hi Ravi,

Thank you for providing the

Jarret Pazahanick blog It Is very useful.Have a nice day .

http://scn.sap.com/people/jarret.pazahanick



warm regards

vamsi .

8-Mar-2013 3:51 PM vamsi srinivas vamsi srinivas in response to

Hi ravi sir

I have some doubts , I heard that all most all companies have implemented SAP and allnavratna companies also implemented SAP in their companies.Every technology hasstarting ,growth and decline phases .so how will be the future of SAP .Will SAP go for smalland medium level enterprises Please provide Information If you know about SAP moving tocloud and HANA( even Im not sure the question is right or wrong ).

Regards,

Vamsi .

8-Mar-2013 4:13 PM Nishan Dev vamsi srinivas in response to

Hello Vamsi,

I should ask you this question? Every company has bought computer, does that mean, the

computer shop should close it and go home and rest in peace

Thanks,

Nishan

8-Mar-2013 4:30 PM Ravi Sankar Venna vamsi srinivas in response to



Dear Vamsi,

SAP is like white elephant.

Once you have purchased it, you have to maintain it for the whole life time. There is no othergo for the companies. Though, most of the companies that are being implemented the SAP,there is log of maintenance, support, upgrad and new dimension installations happeningin the world. I do not see there is any end. At the same time, SAP is coming up with newproducts and technologies and they are pushing hard into the market. Now, it is the problemwith consultants, we need to update our skills in pace with the technology and market.Otherwise, redundant skills no longer works, because of obsolescence and the competitionin the market.

SAP is already in the market for small and medium level companies, like Business One etc.type of products. There are quite number of consultantants working within this market.

I do not see Cloud of HANA would anyway impact. Cloud is technology through you will beconnected with the world of users. Cloud would simply the connectivity and it would createease of reach to the users. Whereas, HANA is a platform, on which SAP products are goingto run, with much faster rate, effeciently and effectively.

Therefore, there is no need to worry about the future of the SAP, but give our best attempt

and learn as many skills as possible.

Best Regards,

Ravi

13-Mar-2013 11:51 AM vamsi srinivas Ravi Sankar Venna in response to

Hi Ravi sir



Hope you are fine and doing well Thank you for clearing my doubts .

I frequently hear that there Is market for this module now ( for eg lot of people now say thatthere Is good market for FICO .What is that actual demand .why Is It demand for only somemodules.


Dear Vamsi,

Since FICO is the centralised module, as any postings will other modules would effect,there is much demand. However, as there are many people in the market, you need todifferentiate by mastering niche skills like FSCM, Treasury, In-house cash, Asset Accountingetc. Learning normal FICO modules like GL, AP and AR would not be of much use.

Regards,

Ravi

18-Mar-2013 4:02 AM vamsi srinivas

Dear Ravi sir ,

I am planning to HR module so please tell me about HR module , I mean how Is Its futurescope , competition and skill set required and you analize things well In a practical way so iwant your perspective toward HR SAP .Any Information can be helpful for me .Thank you .

Warm regards,

Vamsi




Hi Vamsi,

There are many things happening around SAP HR. Many changes are around. Now, thesuccess factors etc. are coming. I am not SAP HR expert to suggest you. You kindly gothrough SAP HR forums, there are many people around to help your specific questions.

All the best.

Kind Regards,

Ravi

26-Mar-2013 3:30 PM Alberto Castillo

Hi Ravi,

I have read your 10 Myths and totally agrree with them, specially about people that areconvinced that after the Certification will automatically get a Job and that was a long timeago, today is a different world.

I found interesting thoughts through all comments from other people, but there is one thatI remember the most. One person that is a recruiter said that he looks more in the CVat things like "University degree" than SAP Certification and I questioned myself, Is thisconcept not the same?? What we get at the University are mostly tools, concepts andprinciples, in a SAP Certification you get tools and concepts, some tips and tricks, to methey look similar, of course different knowledge but same general concept.

I have spoken and work with people that has University Degree, PHD and specializationsthat looks like they wasted their time at the University, the same happened to someconsultants that has 5 SAP Certifications that only know concepts but when the real workbegins they failed miserably.



In this world the most important is not how much knowledge you get but how you use it, thatis what we call wisdom.

Kind regards,

26-Mar-2013 6:50 PM Ravi Sankar Venna Alberto Castillo in response to

Hi Alberto,

Business Process skills are crucial for an SAP consultant.

I would expect a SAP consultant to have the following:

a) Graduation: This is at least required to know the fundamental knowledge in his area.For example FICO consultants are expected to know about the accounting concepts andconventions / rules etc.

b) SAP Certification: I know certification is not mandatory, however, when you go for trainingor following the curriculum materials, you will learn the things in methodological manner,which helps to understands the fundamentals in a clear way.

c) Configuration / Customization Skills: These are very vital for the purpose of becominga successful consultant. If the consultant failed to achieve these skills, then the SAPCertification or the learning is just a piece of paper, nothing else. Many consultants, fail inthis area, though they are good in theory, does not know how to configure and how they willbe impacted.



As explained, in addition to the above skills, business process and soft skills are alsoimportant to become a successful consultant.

Best Regards,

Ravi

17-May-2013 12:55 PM Kavindra Joshi

Personally I believe SAP certifications are overrated. If somebody has right set offundamentals ( unfortunately nobody emphasizes the need for this) , then SAP would seemto follow one paradigm in most of the application / frameworks. Broadly if you are awareof CRM process , Order to Cash(Sales , Service) and Procurement to Pay ( MM) life iseasier. On top of this if you know Finance ( FI) and Controlling (CO) , you are a stud.On thetechnical front if you are familiar with good debugging techniques & what not to debug andunderstand when to use classes , reports , fms etc. etc, ( and why as well ), you are good togo.

Unfortunately the clamor for certification overtakes and people try to get into specifics. SAP software is meant

to solve all the above mentioned problems ( probably more) , that is they are referred as (business) solution(s).

SAP Certification has a differential policy based on geography that you are in . In India they have very different

policy for certification than any other place. When the solution doesn't differ but the policy differs , seriously

the concept of SAP certification become debatable .

26-Jul-2013 7:48 AM Purushottam Sonawane

Hi Ravi,

Nice blog. Especially , "as an SAP consultant, you should always pack your bags, away fromhome, eat food whatever you get and sleep wherever you can." were the striking words.

26-Jul-2013 8:27 AM Ravi Sankar Venna Purushottam Sonawane in response to



Thanks Purushottam, this is mainly truly if you are in a real consulting world. :-)

top 10 myths about sap certification

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