I'm investing on SAP ECC education/certification. Will I be outdated for SAP HANA?

[Former Member]

Hi experts,

Recently I'm investing on education on SAP ECC and getting the associate certification for modules PP, MM and PM.

But I've been a little worried about SAP HANA. I couldn't find much more information about the impact, the changes and detailed differences against the ECC knowledge. Will my investments will be worthy? Will I be outdated for SAP HANA?

Please if someone could give me some insights about whats going on with people like me, and how it's going to be for professionals, users or consultants who are learning SAP ECC and investing in the certifications.

Thank you very much.

[Colleen · Accepted solution]

Hi Jorge

S4HANA is the future road map. Remember, existing SAP ERP is support until 2025. Clients will take a while to transition across.

Module experience is still important but as far as certification goes, it only compliments your existing experience. Certification on lasts a few years before you need to upgrade as well

What is your background and experience?

Regards

Colleen

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Thanks Colleen,

Right now I work as a Planner. I have about 6 years of experience using the modules PP, MM, and PM. I've been involved in different projects inside the companies I've been working for and giving support to different areas inside the companies.

Most of my experiencie is oriented as a user, but I have some knowledge on the configuration/customizing side. I'm taking the academies to expand and complement that knowledge. Also I'm taking the certification as an option to become a consultant.

SAP education it's not a cheap investment, that's why I wanted to reach some opinions and maybe experiences of professionals who already started to make a transition to S/4.

[VeselinaPeykova · Accepted solution]

Hello Jorge,

one of the projects, I am currently working on, is a S/4 HANA one.

Speaking from personal experience, a good prior ERP knowledge helps a lot to understand the changes in some of the concepts.

What is more, at some later point in time, the big companies will start to switch to S/4. You will need a good knowledge of both the old and new ways advise the clients if/how/when to make this transition and which option to choose - on-premise or cloud for example.

After you finish with your academy education, you will have a good basis to start reading on S/4 simplification topics and keep your knowledge and skills up-to-date.

I expect to see in the near future a lot of changes in S/4, especially in the logistics area, while the conventional systems are more mature.

Even if I had the option to get certified as a functional consultant in S/4 specifics, I would postpone that for a couple of years and instead invest in GTS/EWM/TM or any other official SAP training I can afford and want to learn.

Certification does not get you a job, knowledge and practice does that.

[Former Member · Accepted solution]

Thank you very much. I appreciate your shared experience.

[Former Member]

Thank you all for the helpful answers. I have a new focus on this matter now.

[kaus19d]

Hi ,

I would recommend the below link & after that you can be the better judge yourself on this matter.

https://cdn3.training.sap.com/cdn/static-pdf/Valid_Cert_Exams_23_08_16.pdf/IN/EN

In addition, I would also request you to please close this discussion thread, in case you feel your query is answered. Closing Discussion Thread helps everyone save some time.

Thanks,

Kaushik

[kaus19d]

Hi Jorge,

     Being certified means, you are getting recommended that you are fit for the relevant SAP job. But when it comes to job interviews in SAP, it always depends on the recruiter requirement. So it always depends from what prospective the recruiter will try to recruit candidates to fulfill his/her company positions. Any ways like any software or products get upgraded, you will have to upgrade your knowledge & experience based(like going into the nerves of any SAP issue) from time to time. Certifications can give you a boost obviously, but really if you have faced any issues & struggled to get the solution for that answer, then you would pretty much remember that solution for long time & that can only boost you. SAP HANA is a booming & also the companies are recommended to migrate to SAP HANA as because SAP recommends the customers to use their own product only, I guess that is what every company try to do for their customers. As you have mentioned that you are integrated with the functional modules, so, in my opinion, it better to take the small leap first & take certification in ERP & then after you get experience regarding the certifications & which certification can lead you to which job area, I think you can surely at that time figure it out which one would be the best options available for you.

[VeselinaPeykova]

Actually, being certified means that you managed somehow to answer correctly a certain percentage of questions at some point in time, it does not translate directly in understanding the technical or business concepts, it is not even a good indication of critical thinking, problem-solving or a creative mindset.

A certification might get you a first call with a recruiter, but if you cannot ace a technical/functional interview with a person, who understands the topic, it is next to useless.

Not every company rushes to HANA for various reasons - especially the bigger ones with complex landscapes need a lot of time to evaluate custom code, make plans for migrations, decide how to proceed with functionalities, which are not supported anymore and so on.

I got certified less than a year ago, and from what I can see, nobody really cares about a piece of paper- it is not the certificate that makes you better or fit for the job, it is the journey to get to that point and then continue building on top of this knowledge.

[former_member186576]

google and read various certified consultants past experience and then make a decision.