Is going the SAP way the best option?

Q. I currently work as an administration manager with a business process outsourcer. I have eight-plus years of experience in general administration and facilities.

My qualifications are B.Sc (PCM), Post Graduate Diploma in Computer Applications (PGDCA) and an MBA.

I plan to change my career to IT as I am not happy with my current career growth. I have heard that SAP is a good option.

With my admin profile as it is, people have suggested different options to me, like human resources (HR), sales and distribution (SD) or materials management (MM).

Others suggested that I cannot do SAP as my profile does not suit any of the available modules.

Therefore, I am little confused and unable to make a final decision. As the money and time involved will be huge, I want to make the right decision.

SAP is one option, but I request you to suggest other options too. Also, please suggest some short courses.

I am also fine with settling outside India.

I am desperate to come out of admin.


Career advice from K Srini, human resources head-strategy of global consulting and IT services provider

Every career change is always a painful process-–and there is never any guarantee of success in such an endeavor.

What you should be mindful of is that you have enough finances to tide you through the entire phase--in this case for the costs of education and thereafter job hunting--assuming you continue to serve in your current organization.

But the tougher part is managing the emotional turmoil which you are going through now until you achieve and succeed in you goal.

I urge you to be pragmatic-–the distaste of the current work you do is more palatable than being out of a job. So no knee jerk reactions, unless of course you have a huge inheritance!

As for where to go from here, you could become a functional consultant in SAP(HR)--a certified training module should not be too much of a trouble for you given your experience and educational background.

If SAP positions are available within your current organization, I urge you to go for it-–you would be better off with the experience before re-entering the "real world", plus you have the chance to get educated on company money.

Alternatively, you could transition into a complete HR professional-–starting off with a role in the HR team-–with C&B (compensation and benefit), recruitment, et cetera-–possibly branching of into training if the area excites you.

You could always revert back to the SAP track, given your rounded experience in HR and admin.

Another interesting field is in the area of facility management. With international accreditation, multinational corporations like CB Richard Ellis, JLL, et cetera, are top recruiters for such people. You could research about this.

I suggest you also read the book What Color is Your Parachute by Richard Bolles, for a little soul searching on what you want to do in life.

More links:

• SAP Consultant Asks Pay Question
• Is a short course on SAP good enough?
• An ABAP-trained MBA holder eyes an SAP-based job
• Move to SAP field not a bad idea
• Worth leaving accounting for a career in SAP?
• Can a Computing graduate go into SAP?

Source: ZDNetasia