SAP career advice from a SAP expert

The recent post about the qualities of a SAP consultant was greatly welcomed in the SAP community.
SAP expert started to receive lots of questions after that from different people who are interested in a career in SAP. Of course, SAP expert is happy to share the knowledge, not only in the technical SAP area, but also in the area of SAP careers.
Some of the questions and answers typically come up more frequently than others. That is why SAP expert decided to publish them here.

1. Will a SAP career sustain in the long-term perspective?

Yes, a SAP career will sustain in a very long perspective. SAP sits too deep in the core business processes of large corporations and even government structures to be replaced easily. It is too big to fail. As long as there are customers to implement and support a SAP system, there are good career perspectives.

2. Is the SAP MM module good?

Yes, the MM module is good enough, as is any other core SAP module. You will have a very strong competitive advantage compared to other potential candidates who can apply for the same position as yourself, if you have business knowledge. If you worked in a real environment and know business processes, your head will be more valuable to headhunters.

3. What is an average pay scale in SAP?

It varies from one country to another. As long as we are in different countries, my numeric answer won’t help you much. However, I can assure you that SAP specialists earn more than average business people and average IT people. That is simply because a decent consultant should have knowledge in both these areas.

4. Does the SAP consulting field require a lot of travelling from one place to another?

It depends on the company and on the role. Obviously, consulting companies usually require people to be flexible on travelling. At the same time, end-user companies usually allow you to have a single place of work. However, there are exceptions on both sides. You should ask this question during the interview.

5. How good is the market today for SAP? And when will it be good?

The market for SAP is always reasonably good. It may be not so rosy as it was a few years ago, but there are still some open vacancies.

6. Is entering the SAP field very difficult even with certification?

I would say that a Certificate as a piece of paper should be at the bottom of your priorities’ list. What really matters is your knowledge, your project experience. Therefore, I would advise you to try to get a position in a SAP team as early as possible. You can get knowledge as you do your daily work. If you have technical questions, SAP Expert is always ready to help. You can pass certification later, if you still feel it necessary.

Maybe you have different questions? Please ask!
 

Images by University of Salford and Ed Yourdon, licenced under Creative Commons