SAP Career Advancement Learning Guide

No matter how much you may love your career, every SAP professional is looking for advice and information on hot career trends and the best options in the IT market. This SearchSAP.com guide gathers premium information from across the Web to prepare you for every aspect of career transition -- whether you're looking to make a drastic career change or simply advance your current position. Check out our expert advice, resources, articles and online learning tools designed to get you ahead and make you a valuable commodity in today's competitive job market.

* Don't miss our companion guide -- SAP Job Seeker's Learning Guide *

Drop me an e-mail to let me know what other learning guides you'd like to see on SearchSAP.com.

Lauren K. Hoyt
Assistant Editor

TABLE OF CONTENTS    Changing careers? Here's some advice    Refresh your skills    Certification    Networking    Consulting    Outsourcing questions   Books/discussions/other resources    More Learning Guides   Changing careers? Here's some advice...  Return to Table of Contents "The best way to make career transitions is to find a way to 'leverage' your current skills and show the employer who will be 'cross-training' you that you have something to offer them right away." -- Jon Reed Expert advice> Training for a career change (SearchSAP.com) Expert advice> Hot areas: BW, portals or APO? (SearchSAP.com) Expert advice> Springing to managerial level (SearchSAP.com) Expert advice> Advisable: Project manager to consultant? (SearchSAP.com) Expert advice> Moving to the functional side (SearchSAP.com) Expert advice> Should I become an SAP trainer? (SearchSAP.com Expert advice> Should I make a move to NetWeaver? (SearchSAP.com) Expert advice> Creating a career in NetWeaver (SearchSAP.com) Expert advice> BW or NetWeaver? (SearchSAP.com) Expert advice> What is required for BW? (SearchSAP.com) Expert advice> Is mySAP ERP important for the future? (SearchSAP.com) Expert advice> Transferring from one ERP to another (SearchSAP.com) Expert advice> Using .NET experience in ERP (SearchSAP.com) Expert advice> From Java to NetWeaver or ABAP? (SearchSAP.com) Expert advice> Career move for ABAPer (SearchSAP.com) Expert advice> After ABAP (SearchSAP.com) Expert advice> Jobs vulnerable to outsourcing (SearchSAP.com) Expert advice> Switching to CRM (SearchSAP.com) Expert advice> Should I jump into SAP SD or CRM? (SearchSAP.com) Expert advice>SD to CRM (SearchSAP.com) Expert advice> From security consultant into SAP (SearchSAP.com) Expert advice> Chance of working in security after a two-year absence (SearchSAP.com) Expert advice> Take an SRM position with no MM experience? (SearchSAP.com) Expert advice> Position within SAP (SearchSAP.com) Expert advice> Switching to SAP XI or J2EE (SearchSAP.com) Expert advice> SAP PLM or XI? (SearchSAP.com) Expert advice> Starting out in SAP PLM (SearchSAP.com) Expert advice> Moving to SAP PLM (SearchSAP.com) Expert advice> Changing from authorizations to financial configuration (SearchSAP.com)

You'll find even more expert advice on changing careers in our Ask the Expert section. If you're looking for personal advice, send in a question to our resident expert Jon Reed.

Refresh your skills

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• Expert advice> Expanding and growing in SAP (SearchSAP.com)


• Expert advice> Keeping ABAP skills fresh (SearchSAP.com)


• Featured topic> Consultant wanna-be? (SearchSAP.com)


• White paper> 10 consulting notes for CO-PA analysts (SearchSAP.com)


• Article> Is This Job All There Is? (ITtoolbox)


• Article> Getting training down to a science (IT toolbox)


• Article> How to Prepare for a Performance Appraisal (ITtoolbox)


• Article> IT Skills for Tomorrow (ITtoolbox)
  
• Article> ROI, Security Driving IT Employment Trends (ITtoolbox)


• Article> Trends in the Job Marketplace: The Reemergence of Multiple and Counter Offers (ITtoolbox)


• Article> Career Changers Consider a B-School Injection (ITtoolbox)
  
• Article> Consulting Will Remain Bright Spot for IT Employment (ITtoolbox)


• Article> Six Tips for Effective Career Development Programs (ITtoolbox)
  
• Article> Don't Become a Dinosaur (ITtoolbox)

Certification

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• Expert advice> Is ABAP certification right for me? (SearchSAP.com)


• Expert advice> Is SAP Basis certification required? (SearchSAP.com)


• Expert advice> FI or CO certification (SearchSAP.com)


• Expert advice> Will NetWeaver or WAS certification help advance career? (SearchSAP.com)


• Expert advice> Do Basis positions require certification?(SearchSAP.com)


• Expert advice> Do I need ABAP/NetWeaver certification? (SearchSAP.com)


• Expert advice> Certified, yet jobless (SearchSAP.com)


• Expert advice> Do Java skills help with SAP certification?(SearchSAP.com)


• Article> Certification Navigation: Five Strategies for Success (ITtoolbox)


• Article> Developer Certifications: Joining the Mainstream (ITtoolbox)


• Article> Certification Navigation: Five Strategies for Success (IT toolbox)


• Article> Developer Certifications: Joining the Mainstream (ITtoolbox)

Networking

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"Improving your soft skills can only benefit your career and help your organization ... if you're an individual IT professional who wants to improve your interpersonal skills, you can pitch the idea of a full-scale training program to your upper management, or you can attend a seminar series outside the company. You can also consider hiring a personal coach. While natural leadership skills are good, few [IT managers] can claim they have nothing to gain from some extra coaching."

-- Krissi Danielsson, freelance writer, covering IT careers

• Tip> Sharpening up your soft skills (SearchSAP.com)


• Article> Networking Resources (ITtoolbox)


• Article> Eleven Commandments for Smart Negotiating (ITtoolbox)


• Article> PR 101: Getting Credit for Your Work (ITtoolbox)


• Article> Standing Out from the Crowd (ITtoolbox)


• Article> Meet the New Boss, Not the Same as the Old Boss (ITtoolbox)


• Article> Want to Succeed in Your Career? (ITtoolbox)


• Article> Building Bridges: Making a Graceful Exit From a Job (ITtoolbox)

Consulting

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You need two things to succeed as an independent SAP consultant: You need a hot, niche skill, backed up by years of relevant, focused experience, and you need client references from multiple SAP projects.

-- Jon Reed

• Expert advice> Breaking into SAP consulting (SearchSAP.com)


• Expert advice> Common consulting job terms explained (SearchSAP.com)


• Expert advice> Am I good candidate for a SAP CRM consultant career? (SearchSAP.com)


• Expert advice> Functional vs. technical SAP consultant (SearchSAP.com)


• Expert advice> Persuing a career as a functional SD consultant (SearchSAP.com)


• Expert advice> Is certification helpful to become a consultant? (SearchSAP.com)


• Expert advice> What will be the demand for SAP Basis consultants in the future? (SearchSAP.com)


• Expert advice> Questions about becoming a functional consultant (SearchSAP.com)


• Expert advice> Becoming a functional consultant (SearchSAP.com)


• Expert advice> Becoming a functional IT consultant (SearchSAP.com)


• Expert advice> Career change -- tech consulting to modules consulting (SearchSAP.com)


• Expert advice> Chance to join SAP consultancy firm and learn ABAP (SearchSAP.com)


• Expert advice> Establishing a part-time SAP consulting role (SearchSAP.com)


• Expert advice> Typical career path for an SD functional consultant (SearchSAP.com)


• Expert advice> Hourly rate for security consulting (SearchSAP.com)


• Article> A State of the Union on the Consulting Industry (ITtoolbox)
  
• Article> Consulting Will Remain Bright Spot for IT Employment (ITtoolbox)
  
• Article> The Consultant's Fee Calculation Formula (ITtoolbox)

Outsourcing questions

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• Article> Career Strategies for the Age of Global Outsourcing (ITtoolbox)


• Article> Life After Outsourcing (ITtoolbox)


• Article> Offshoring and the Future of the U.S. IT Worker (ITtoolbox)


• Article> Outsourcing Embraced In Europe As Well (ITtoolbox)


• Article> Sea to shining sea (ITtoolbox)


• Article> The China Syndrome (ITtoolbox)


• Article> You Can't Outsource Everything (ITtoolbox)

Books/discussions/other resources

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• Expert advice> Best SAP CRM self-training techniques? (SearchSAP.com)


• Books> Becoming an SAP Consultant (ITtoolbox)


• Books> Teach Yourself SAP R/3 in 24 Hours (ITtoolbox)


• Books> Mastering the SAP Business Information Warehouse (Amazon)


• Books> Administering R/3: The production and planning module (Amazon)


• Books> SAP BW Professional (Amazon)


• Books> Workflow for SAP -- Effective Business Processes using SAP's WebFlow Engine (Amazon)


• Books> Implementing SAP with an ASAP methodology focus (Amazon)


• Books> The SAP Consultant Handbook (Amazon)


• Discussion> SAP Career Discussion Forum (ITtoolbox)


• Discussion> Blog> Viewpoint of an IT Recruiter: Career Advancement & Job Search Tips (ITtoolbox)


• Article> Are ERP Positions Immune From the Technology Downturn? (ITtoolbox)


• Article> Career Planning: It's all about attitude! (ITtoolbox)


• Article> Hiring in a Down Economy (ITtoolbox)


• Resources> IT salaries hold their own (ITtoolbox)


• Resources> Careers at SAP in the United States (SAP)


• Survey> The Big Payoff: CertMag's 2004 Salary Survey (ITtoolbox)


• Survey> 2003 ITtoolbox Outsourcing Survey (ITtoolbox)


• Survey> 2003 ITtoolbox Salary Survey (ITtoolbox)


• Survey> 2004 ITtoolbox Hiring Survey (ITtoolbox)


• Survey> 2004 ITtoolbox Salary Survey (ITtoolbox)

More Learning Guides

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* Don't miss our companion guide -- SAP Job Seeker's Learning Guide *

• Learning Guide> SAP Job Seeker's Learning Guide (SearchSAP.com)
• Learning Guide> SAP NetWeaver Learning Guide (SearchSAP.com)


• Learning Guide> SAP BW Learning Guide (SearchSAP.com)


• Learning Guide> BI Learning Guide (SearchSAP.com)


• Learning Guide> SAP HR Learning Guide (SearchSAP.com)


• Learning Guide> SAP XI Learning Guide (SearchSAP.com)


• Learning Guide> SAP RFID Learning Guide (SearchSAP.com)


• Learning Guide> BAPI Learning Guide (SearchSAP.com)


• Learning Guide> Basis Learning Guide (SearchSAP.com)


• Learning Guide> Learning Guide for Sales Effectiveness (SearchCRM.com)


• Learning Guide> Wireless Learning Guide (SearchMobileComputing.com)


• Learning Guide> Learning Guide for Marketing Effectiveness (SearchCRM.com)


• Learning Guide> XML Learning Guide (SearchWebServices.com)


• Learning Guide> Linux basics for Windows pros (SearchEnterpriseLinux.com)