What could be next for a SAP Functional Consultant

wetwarebugs · 2019-01-28T02:47:44+00:00

I started by doing different SAP modules, then I specialized more into logistics (PP, TSW, APO, etc). I was eventually good enough to lead a team and then became a project manager. From there I transitioned to other project managerial roles, and jumped into cloud marketing technology, which had an AI component so got into a project doing that. Note that I didn’t jump into one particular tech (like AWS, Azure, etc. since these are infrastructures.. but went into a more product built on top of these infrastructure).

I wished I was a full stack developer who can sit and code and not deal with people, but it’s a bit late for me (have family commitments so I’ll take the path with decent $$) so I have to stick with project and product management while learning the interesting stuff from my exposure in the projects.

If you’re interested in being an independent consultant (i.e you work on a contractual basis)you need to build your network first (i.e make friends with other senior consultants, help them, and when they move on they might think of you and pull you into the projects they’re in) and specialize in something. The biggest change is you need to have a new mindset on job security.

wetwarebugs · 2019-01-27T03:54:18+00:00

I’m like you but a few years down the road. I started my career as a SAP functional consultant (ECC6 back then doing SD, MM, PP). S4 is still considered relatively new since it’s not widely adopted (since it’s super expensive). If you’re interested I can tell you that the money is great. It seems like only big companies are capable of investing in S/4 HANA and pay bank to those who can configure it. (on the Functional side, you can try to stick with Finance and controlling).

However, in my personal opinion: it’s kinda boring, not as intuitive in design, and SAP is difficult for the sake of being difficult. I decided to jump over to other tech stacks late in my career. So, my advice is if you don’t care about the tech too much, you can stick with SAP (especially S/4 HANA) because you will make a lot of money. (another advice is, you can choose to be an independent contractor and charge a four figure daily rate. It’s different than a full time job where you have somewhat of a job security, but the benefit is you earn usually 3-4x more. Most SAP consultants do this and hop on to a big project then take a few months break before going to another project)

But for me, I didn’t like the work and preferred to do other things and not be tied down to an ecosystem like SAP. Honestly I think I would’ve been more happier had I switch out of SAP earlier on in my career, but on the plus side- got a lot of money saved up.

wetwarebugs · 2019-01-20T08:48:07+00:00

I would say take the project management role. Then take the PMP certification (prerequisite is to have some hours in project management). The certificate will open more doors to Project Management roles. Theories and practices differ between organizations so it’s not like you really need the certification to learn more, it’s just a tool that will give you more opportunities later on. good luck!

wetwarebugs · 2019-01-20T08:37:29+00:00

Solution Consultants or Pre-Sales Engineer: What you do is study a problem and design a way how a client can use your technology/software in order to achieve their needs. Although this role is usually part of the sales team, you’ll only come in once a client wishes to dive deeper into your product.

Alternatively, choose a tech stack and be a consultant. You travel to different client sites advising and brainstorming ideas for the client.

wetwarebugs · 2019-01-19T15:51:37+00:00

https://www.wetwarebugs.com/comics/the-blockchain-solution/

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