S-user ID for certification: freelancer

[VeselinaPeykova]

Hello,

let me first introduce myself - I am Veselina and I am a freelance SAP consultant from Bulgaria.

Recently I decided to enroll for certification: P_SD_65.

I have not attended previously an academy and this will be my first attempt for a certification exam.

In my country of residence there is an option to be certified via Pearson Vue.

I have read numerous of threads and blogs on the subject and my understanding is that in order to register at their site I need to purchase a voucher from the SAP site and use my S-user during the registration process.

Here is the problem - I have no S-user and cannot apply for one as a SAP customer or partner - my company is too small to be considered as a partner and it is not a SAP customer.

I contacted a SAP education partner requesting information on the procedure to apply for S-user and received a response that S-user for attending certification exams can be issued only to a company which is a SAP customer or a SAP partner.

Is this really the case - my understanding so far was that anybody could apply for SAP training or certification in Europe and that there are even no prerequisites to attend an academy to go to an exam.

I have not encountered such regulations described when browsing the official SAP site.

If this is not exactly the situation in other EU-member countries, could you please help me find a SAP partner who will be willing to assist me in getting the required S-user - I need it to process the payment and ensure that the certificate (if I pass) is assigned to me. I do not mind taking the exam in any EU or even in a non-EU member country (as long as I do not need to apply for a visa to enter). It would be nice if I can also obtain an invoice for the bank transfer and make my accountant happy.

I really do not wish to get a position in a big consulting company for the sole reason to get certified (I have my reasons to choose the freelancer path and in addition - it would be unfair to the employer to get me hired for the wrong reasons).

Taking a certification exam is very important to me in personal aspect.

I would appreciate your advice.

[VeselinaPeykova]

Problem resolved.

I sent another e-mail to SAP and after bouncing through several recipients in different countries it turned out that there are no restrictions for getting S-userID for Pearson Vue training and certification in Bulgaria.

I received the response along with the correct procedure from SAP West Balkans - you need to fill a form in a MSWord document with bank data, atendee name and course info, send it by e-mail together with the printed and stamped version by fax. Then they would generate the S-user after checking the correctness of the submitted form.

I actually decided to take the easier and faster path - contacted SAP UK and booked directly P_SD_65 online in London.

This is part of the response I received from UK education (very fast, professional and helpful service):

Actually, there are no such restrictions placed on exam/course bookings with us. Whether you are an independent participant or you wish to book through a company, feel free to go directly to our web shop and book the desired exam/course online (via credit card only):

https://training.sap.com/gb/en/

If you do not have any S-user ID yet, this is no problem, you can still book the course/exam as you provide your details etc. and once you have finalized the online part, we will receive your booking request, review it, and if it contains all the information we need, we will book the exam in our system at which point we will generate an S-user ID for you.

UK education also have an option for Pearson Vue exam (they use a different MSWord form where you need to enter a special token for encryption, generated in a separate website).

The purchased voucher is valid for 12 months.

I hope the information would be useful for other people having problems with trainings/exam booking.

I passed the exam today.

[egenoves]

Congrats

And thank you for sharing the info, sure it will help a lot of people ...

[Former Member]

Congratulations!.

Are you now able to log into SAP Service Market Place with your S User ID as a certified consultant? I am unable to do so.. Trying to understand the missing part.

Thanks

[Former Member]

Further research revealed, SAP doesn't allow it anymore. Thanks

[VeselinaPeykova]

I forgot to mention: I can take the exam in English. If I try, I can manage it also in Russian (going to Russia requires applying for a visa), unfortunately my German skills are insufficient to pass it (but I can order a beer in a restaurant).

[egenoves]

Hi Veselina,

I was once in your same situation. I'm from Spain, so maybe there are some differences in this aspect. Also my experience was early in 2011, so the situation has maybe changed.

I obtained my S-User, personal, sitting up for my certifcation directly with SAP. After I submmited a form to take the exam and payed the fees, SAP Spain send my a letter with my S-User and instructions to take the exam.

I don't know if nowadays you could request a S-User directly from training.sap.com. Maybe it differs in each country. My advice is that you should contact directly SAP Education Bulgaria and indicate that you are willing to sit an examn as a private person .

Keep in mind that my S-User is not associated to any SAP partner, it shows i'm INDEPENDENT, but maybe SAP Bulgaria doesn't allow this to it's partners, i don't know...

My advice, try to contact SAP Bulgaria directly, not a partner, and have a look in training.sap.com, if i remember correctly, there was an option when registering for an exam saying "I doensn't have an S-User" or something like that...

Hope this helps

[VeselinaPeykova]

Thank you, Enrique.

This was actually the first thing that I did - I contacted SAP Bulgaria for an advice and their response was: 'Please contact our education partners.'

They seem to have removed the option to create an S-user directly form their site after 2011 - I can only assign an existing one.

[former_member182378]

Veselina,

Many years back, in the Netherlands, I paid the exam fee online and then went to the center and appeared for SD Associate level exam. I was not employed in a company that was a SAP customer nor did I need to do any SAP training.

TW

[egenoves]

Just one thing Veselina,

i've checked how it's now in training.sap.com the process of booking an examn, and now i can see an option that says "Self-Employed" , like you , when i go for checkout. Have you tried to book an examn here?

Maybe you can't book an exam via Pearson Vue, without S_user is impossible create an account, but maybe doing it directly in SAp offices ...

Keep trying , i'm afraid that education stuff changes a lot accross different countries...

[VeselinaPeykova]

In the SAP site I saw this in the FAQ:

Do I need to enter my SAP user ID when registering for a certification exam?

• Certification ,
• General

Yes. To ensure that your certification results count and are tracked, you must enter your SAP user ID in the appropriate registration field. If you do not have a user ID, please contact your local SAP Education organization to obtain one.

So it is like Catch-22.

[egenoves]

Yes, it seems like a circular problem, a bit absurd.

But i don't understand why sap can't give you an s-user like me. Costs nothing, maybe country policies or something like that.

Sorry if i could not help more

[VeselinaPeykova]

Thank you for trying .

It is a surreal experience.