SAP Consultant Asks Pay Question

Q. What is the salary of an SAP consultant in Hong Kong with the following experience:
Job: SAP FICO (Financial Accounting and Controlling)
Consultant Level: Team lead
Company:MNC (inhouse consulting)
Experience: 8 years
Implementation experience: 6 Years; two years' in a lead role overseeing a team of 12

Career advice from Kelly Chua, consultant, IT&T, Singapore, Hudson.
It is difficult to specify a general salary range for an experienced consultant as there are many dimensions that would significantly affect the pay scale. These include:

• The specific modules that one specializes in. For example, a SAP HR consultant in Singapore might be in the lower payscale compared to SAP SD (Sales and Distribution) where the general demand for SAP SD is higher. This is pretty much driven by the demand and supply.
• Whether one is from a consulting or end-user environment
• Amount (frequency and duration) of travel that one is required to do
• Which countries is one working from

Based on the above information, you might be looking at an annual package of between HK$600,000 (US$76,712) and HK$800,000 (US$102,283). This is just a generic guideline. As mentioned earlier, this can change significantly according to the supply and demand at different points in time of the job market.

Source: ZDNetAsia

Related links:

• Earning potential of SAP functional consultant
• Technical background necessary in ERP consulting?

Philippines: It Pays To Get Tech Certified

The call for IT workers in the Philippines to get professional certification has not fallen on deaf ears, says one industry observer.
Roselle Reig, general manager of Global Knowledge Associates, a Philippines-based IT training provider, told ZDNet Asia that IT professionals are getting certified, and the extra credentials help to open up more career opportunities.

"Based on feedback and observations that I've been getting in the past several years, Philippines is one of the Asian countries with a high number of certified professionals," Reig said in an e-mail.

"This is the reason why most of the Filipinos were recruited outside of the Philippines--they are technically competent and they have all the certifications to back it up. We have a lot of overseas Filipino workers in the IT field."

Emphasis on professional certification, according to Reig, begins in school.
"In the universities and colleges, it is already required--or at least being implemented--that all graduating students incorporate vendor training and certification in their curriculum," the industry veteran said.

"Thus, upon graduation from a bachelor's degree, most are already CCNAs (Cisco Certified Network Associates), MCPs (Microsoft Certified Professionals), or SCJPs (Sun Certified Java Programmers)."
On whether professional certification costs are prohibitive in the Philippines, Reig said: "The cost of certification is not the main reason for not getting certified. The fact of the matter is that a lot of professionals seek certification, even when the certification market was just starting out."

In the Philippines, a Microsoft certification exam is said to cost about US$80, while Cisco certification and Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH) costs about US$150 and US$250, respectively.
"I believe these are relatively on par or even lower compared with other neighboring countries," Reig said. "However, due to the economic crisis experienced by Filipinos, these exam fees appear to be expensive, if it is to come from the examinee's pocket. In most cases, our trainees are sponsored by their employers, thus, the cost of certification is perceived as relatively cheap."

If cost is not a factor, then why are some professionals giving certification a miss? "It would most likely be that these people already lack the confidence in exam-giving bodies," Reig offered.

Highlighting the disillusionment that some might have toward certification, she explained: "They are aware that 'paper' certified professionals are a dime a dozen. [Some] pass the exam with their eyes closed, because of exam leakage on the Net. This has created disappointment for a lot of professionals who are really serious about their profession and getting certification."
Reig's company, Global Knowledge, trains about 30 students every month, and one quarter gets certified. Based on the company's enrolment figures, the three most popular IT certification courses are Cisco and Microsoft technology related, as well as Certified Ethical Hacker (CEH).
Michael Mudd, director of public policy for Comptia Asia-Pacific, agreed that cost is not a barrier to IT certification in the Philippines.

"I have spoken with one of our partners in Manila who has run an event called CertifyIT! for the last three years now, and their vendor partners dramatically reduce the cost of training and certification, to the point of giving it for free. Therefore, it is incorrect to cite cost as the obstacle," Mudd told ZDNet Asia in an e-mail reply.

"[Cost] has been used as an easy excuse to not dig deeper and appreciate the benefits of certification. Once people are made to recognize the return on investment (ROI) and given the right training or certification provider who will make sure that the candidate gets the proper guidance and professional advice, the candidate might not even need employer support to opt to get certified.

"The biggest cost is in training, and not the certification per se, which is a validator of the training program," he added.

According to ZDNet Asia's IT Salary 2006, the Philippines had the lowest proportion of respondents, who hold at least one professional certification, compared to the other six Asian countries surveyed. Twenty-five percent of the 401 respondents from the country hold at least one professional IT certification, compared to 47 percent in Hong Kong, 44 percent in Singapore, and 34 percent in Indonesia.

In the survey, no single IT vendor dominated the most popular certifications in the Philippines. The most popular were Microsoft Certified Professional, Sun Certified Programmer for Java 2 and Cisco Certified Network Associate.

Source: ZDNetAsia

Too late to start a programming career?

Q. I have been working as an accountant in a food manufacturing company for eight years now. I have an interest in programming, though I don't have any experience. Last year, I decided to take up courses in C++ and Visual Basic.

What are my chances of having a career in IT? Does age matter to recruiters nowadays? What type of programming should I pursue in order to use both my accounting and IT skills?
Career advice from Roger Olofsson, associate director of executive recruitment agency Robert Walters: A. I would say it is definitely not impossible to shift to an IT career after eight years in accounting, however, it is important that you realize that it will require hard work, a lot of commitment and potentially sacrifice in terms of career and salary regression in the short term. I wish I could say age doesn't matter but unfortunately often it does. Nevertheless, skills, capabilities and attitude accounts for a lot and can definitely swing the pendulum in your favor. I am not so sure about your choice being C++ as that is a very technical form of programming with very little relevance to your field of expertise, accounting. I would strongly recommend you to have a look at gaining technical expertise in financial modules of Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) software such as SAP and Oracle as you then could combine your technical interest in programming with your functional expertise in accounting.

John Brand, director of IT analyst house Hydrasight: A. Hydrasight observes that there are some regional differences when it comes to workers' ages in IT. In Australia, for example, age tends to go against people quite significantly in the more technical side of IT. Recruiters of more business-centric IT roles (project managers, business analysts, IT executive management) have a fairly ambivalent view. They certainly don't seem to disadvantage the older workers but don't seem to favor them either. In Malaysia and Singapore, and in other parts of the Asia-Pacific region, age tends to be associated more with wisdom and experience, and is quite often highly valued. It doesn't seem to matter quite as much in these regions whether you're an IT executive or technical specialist, it's your skills that matter foremost.

However, the biggest impact to programmer roles generally is the affect cheaper labor is having on the market. China and India are now having a much greater impact at all levels of the IT industry--not just the "top end of town" with major outsourcing or help-desk deals. You now regularly hear of stories of small and medium-sized businesses using online sites where you can source very cheap programming skills from overseas simply by uploading your specifications to them to bid on. The total cost of ownership, however, still isn't clear as the life-cycle management of applications over the longer term is likely to less favor this very tactical approach.

Regardless, programming skills are still desired in the domestic market but more often for maintenance and integration tasks rather than full application development as in days gone by. The real hot jobs though are in the business of running IT, such as executive management, project management, architects (though becoming less so) and business analysts. As far as the type of programming you should be going for, it's not really the type so much as the field. Without having seem your resume, my guess is a supply chain focus is most likely to make the best use of your skills.

Source: ZDNetAsia

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Strong demand for SAP skills in Asia

Regional job prospects are looking good for SAP consultants, with hiring companies willing to offer attractive compensation packages just to get the best talent.
According to Kelly Chua, consultant for the IT and telecommunications practice with Hudson Singapore, demand is "strong" in Singapore, Malaysia, China, Thailand and Australia for SAP functional skills such as financial accounting and controlling (FICO), materials management (MM), and production planning (PP).

"Overall, the demand for such expertise is higher in discrete and process manufacturing industries, where the companies usually utilize a wider spectrum of SAP modules for different business areas," Chua said in an e-mail.
Although there is little difference between entry-level positions across the different technology areas, experienced SAP consultants generally command higher paychecks than the average IT professional, she said.

"SAP consultants are paid a premium for their specific SAP project experience," said Chua. "Career prospects and development are good since there is a demand for these skill sets and companies are willing to pay good money for the best consultants."

How much one earns depends on several factors including the specific modules of specialization, as well as market demand and supply.
"In Singapore, for example, an SAP HR (human resources) consultant may be in the lower payscale compared to SAP SD (Sales and Distribution) where the general demand for SAP SD is higher," said Chua.

There is also a difference between working for an IT consulting company and in an end-user environment, and compensation also depends on the amount of travel required and the country of work.

Chua said a consultant can choose to continue to specialize and hone his skills as a SAP subject matter expert, take up managerial responsibilities, or even lead a team and work his way up to senior business or application management.

"If you are already in an organization that implements SAP software, you can explore opportunities for internal transfers to get the relevant experience. Once you have clocked one to two full-cycle implementation projects, you can be considered as an experienced SAP consultant," she noted.

Manvinder Malik, assistant sales director for IT consultancy Genovate Solutions, said SAP consultants can hail from different walks of life; one can have functional skills or domain expertise.

"A HR manager can take up a course, and find a job as a SAP HR consultant either in an end-user environment or a consulting company," said Malik. "As you gain project experience, say, six months to a year, you can expand into other areas."

Career advancement opportunities are also not limited to the SAP field. "A consultant can take on a project lead role and later move on to become an IT head or CTO," said Malik.
And how important is obtaining professional certification? Chua said: "SAP certification is definitely nice to have, but it does not guarantee a smooth transition to a SAP career.
"Ultimately, companies are still looking at specific and related work experience in SAP," she explained. "Strong communication skills and industry background will serve as a good foundation for an SAP consultant."

According to SAP, there are more than 8,000 SAP customer installations in the Asia-Pacific region, including Japan, and the German software giant has about 1,600 SAP consultants based in this region.
Senta Ritter, who oversees SAP's global HR field services, said the company continues to ensure it has a strong pool of consultants who can serve the market. Training is also provided at boot camps where participants pick up tips on strategy, consulting and change management, Ritter said.
"Every region has a training budget that ensures re-skilling and training," she said, adding that new roles and career paths are continuously defined and mapped out for SAP staff.

source: ZDNetAsia

Related links:

Philippine faces IT Skills Shortage

SAP Consultant Asks Pay Questions


I'm an Accenture employee, if you're interested to pursue your career in SAP or in IT, you can leave your email addresses in comments, I'll try my best to refer you.

Move to SAP field not a bad idea

Q. I have completed my Bachelor of Commerce degree and will be through with my Executive MBA in December 2007.

Prior to my current job, I spent eight years in various sales roles with highly reputed organizations and my last held position was assistant manager of sales in one of the leading telecom companies in Bangalore, India. My last drawn salary was Rs 520,000 (US$13,198) per annum, which got revised after appraisal to Rs 800,000 (US$20,304) per annum.
Due to an interest in the SAP field, and to gain global exposure and to earn more money, I took on a role with one of the major Indian software companies two months back, taking a pay cut as a Junior SAP CRM functional consultant with an annual salary of Rs 300,000 (US$7,614). Of course, I did my own analysis of the new career prospects before taking up the offer, but after joining, I am now confused and wondering if I made the right decision.
Some unanswered questions are: How long will it take, or how many years of experience do I need to have before I can hope to command the previous annual salary package of about Rs 800,000? When will I get an on-site opportunity, or when will I be eligible for applying jobs in Singapore or the United States? Will my eight years of domain (sales) experience be considered during my next career move and will it help improve my earnings? Or should I shift back to sales for better career prospects? Since I am new to this industry, things look vague, at least at this point.

Career advice from Stella Thevarakam, regional HR director of ISS Consulting, a technology consulting company with operations in Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Indonesia:A. You would need at least five full cycles of complete SAP implementation experience before you can command a salary of Rs 800,000. Your sales experience maybe taken into account in the SAP line when, and if, you are required to do presales for SAP implementations. Otherwise, the answer is no.

To be able to work in Singapore or the United States in the SAP line, you need to have the above-mentioned experience before an employer would consider it a viable proposition to bring in foreign expertise into these two countries. If you are keenly interested to pursue SAP, then you should stay and be patient to get to that salary level. I would recommend staying in the SAP line, as this is a much sought-after skill and, therefore, very valuable.

Career advice from Shashi Bhushan Rai, managing director of Brahmrishi Technologies, a Singapore based IT services company. He specializes in IT consulting, enterprise system architecture, as well as software product development in various application areas.A. The reader's choice of a career switch seems okay considering industry trends. Therefore, I won't recommend a rollback since the future is more promising with solid sales experience in the telecom sector, SAP training backed by an Executive MBA. You can develop expertise in Business Support Systems or Operations Support Systems to be able to secure a good position. Gaining skills is totally different from making money. As for working abroad, it depends on the needs of the specific country and industrial sector. Companies like Bristlecone specialize in SAP implementation in Singapore and other countries. I believe salaries for SAP functional consultants in Singapore fall within your set goals.

Source: ZDNetAsia

Related Links:
- SAP Consultant Asks Pay Questions
- Too Late To Start a Programming Career?
- Can a Computing graduate go into SAP?



I'm an Accenture employee, if you're interested to pursue your career in SAP or in IT, you can leave your email addresses in comments, I'll try my best to refer you.

100 Best Companies to Work For 2007

Here are the top 10 from the top 100 Best Companies to work for 2007.
1.Google
What makes it so great?Our new No. 1 sets the standard for Silicon Valley: free meals, swimming spa, and free doctors onsite. Engineers can spend 20% of time on independent projects. No wonder Google gets 1,300 resumés a day.Headquarters: Mountain View, Calif.Top 3 (of 16) U.S. locations: Mountain View, CA, New York, NY, Kirkland, WA2005 revenue ($ millions): $6,138 Website: http://www.google.com/


2.Genentech (DNA)
What makes it so great?Biotech leader has uncommonly loyal staffers. “Wild horses could not drag me away,” says one employee. Last year 537 employees took a six-week paid sabbatical, which is available for every six years of service.
Headquarters: South San Francisco
Top 3 (of 9) U.S. locations: South San Francisco, Vacaville , Oceanside

2005 revenue ($ millions): 6,633



3. Wegmans Food Markets
What makes it so great?Private grocery chain gets thousands of letters every year from shoppers coveting a Wegmans in their neighborhood. The chain, founded in 1916, now operates in 71 stores in five states.
Headquarters: Rochester, N.Y.
Top 3 (of 93) U.S. locations: Rochester, Buffalo Grove , Syracuse

2005 revenue ($ millions): 3,820
Website: http://www.wegmans.com/


4. Container Store
What makes it so great?Storage retailer pays sales employees 50% to 100% above industry average. Nearly one-tenth of all employees take advantage of “family friendly” shift, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., allowing for school dropoffs and pickups.
Headquarters: Coppell, Texas
Top 3 (of 38) U.S. locations: Coppell, New York , Houston
2005 revenue ($ millions): 441
Website: http://www.containerstore.com/






5. Whole Foods Market (WFMI)
What makes it so great?Whole Foods has long had a salary cap limiting pay of top execs, currently at 19 times average full-time pay. But founder and CEO John Mackey went further, reducing his salary to $1 and forgoing all future stock options.
Headquarters: Austin
Top 3 (of 223) U.S. locations: New York, Austin , Washington
2005 revenue ($ millions): 5,607
Website: http://www.wholefoods.com/




6. Network Appliance (NTAP)
What makes it so great?Data-storage company climbed 21 spots as employees cheered enhanced benefits for parents of special-needs children, widespread use of flexible schedules (95% of employees), and a soaring stock (up 50% in 2006).
Headquarters: Sunnyvale, Calif.
Top 3 (of 50) U.S. locations: Sunnyvale, Research Triangle Park , Mclean
2005 revenue ($ millions): 2,070
Website: http://www.netapp.com/



7. S.C. Johnson & Son
What makes it so great?This household-products company subsidizes hotel stays for employees who live 25 miles or more from work and offers discounts at its newly expanded child-care center for families making under $60,000 a year.
Headquarters: Racine, Wis.
Top 3 (of 15) U.S. locations: Racine, Bay City , Fresno
2005 revenue ($ millions): 7,000
Website: http://www.scjohnson.com/



8. Boston Consulting Grp.
What makes it so great?Employees working more than 60 hours a week at this management consultant are placed in a “red zone” and advised by a career mentor. A push to hire more women resulted in a 25% rise in female consultants from 2004.
Headquarters: Boston
Top 3 (of 14) U.S. locations: Boston, Chicago , New York
2005 revenue ($ millions): 1,505
Website: http://www.bcg.com/



9. Methodist Hospital Sys.
What makes it so great?As gas prices soared last year, Methodist sent employees (everyone except top execs) a $250 gift card for use at Chevron stations, prompting more than 500 staffers to e-mail thank-yous to CEO Ron Girotto.
Headquarters: Houston
Top 3 (of 9) U.S. locations: Houston, N.A., N.A.
2005 revenue ($ millions): 1,413
Website: http://www.methodisthealth.com/


10. W.L. Gore & Associates
What makes it so great?Great ideas (Gore-Tex, Glide dental floss) come from all corners at this nonhierarchical Delaware company, which prefers to promote from within. (CEO Terri L. Kelly joined Gore as a process engineer in 1983.)
Headquarters: Newark, Del.
Top 3 (of 28) U.S. locations: Elkton, Flagstaff , Newark
2005 revenue ($ millions): 1,984
Website: http://www.gore.com/







16. Starbucks Coffee (SBUX)
What makes it so great?The java king steamed ahead in 2006, adding 28,000 jobs globally. Though 85% of “partners” (Starbucks-speak for employees) are part-timers, they’re still eligible for full benefits if they work 240 hours a quarter.
Headquarters: Seattle
Top 3 (of 5,414) U.S. locations: Seattle, New York , Chicago
2005 revenue ($ millions): 6,369
Website: http://www.starbucks.com/


44. Yahoo (YHOO)
What makes it so great?Fun’s a core value for Yahoos, more than half of whom are age 34 or younger. At five years of service employees get a gumball machine, at ten years an espresso machine, and at 15 years (not possible until 2010) a foosball table.
Headquarters: Sunnyvale, Calif.
Top 3 (of 25) U.S. locations: Sunnyvale , Burbank , New York
2005 revenue ($ millions): 5,300
Website: http://www.yahoo.com/


50. Microsoft (MSFT)
What makes it so great?New perks in 2006 included free grocery delivery, dry-cleaning service, and valet parking (it’s a big campus!). Annual summer picnic drew 30,000 employees and family members to the Cascade Mountains.
Headquarters: Redmond, Wash.
Top 3 (of 169) U.S. locations: Redmond, Issaquah , Mountain View
2005 revenue ($ millions): 39,788
Website: http://www.microsoft.com/


69. Nike (NKE)
What makes it so great?The Oregon campus is a sporting paradise, with tennis courts, indoor and outdoor tracks, soccer fields, running trails, two sports centers, an 11-lane pool used for swimming, scuba, and kayaking lessons.


Where's ACCENTURE? :-)