Why 2024 is the best year to learn SAP?
Introduction
Again – this year is definitely the best to start learning SAP. The world is in a turbo-mode when it comes to technologies. I am more than sure, you’ve heard about such things like Artificial Intelligence, ChatGTP, even if you are not from IT sector. These topics are hot now, but what’s even more hot from my point of view is SAP world.
Everything changes and evolves – SAP started their journey in 1972 year. Many companies use their old products/systems till now. But to be in the game, you have to be competitive, up-to-date. And the same applies to SAP systems. Their newest version – SAP S/4HANA is not a choice anymore, it’s a must. Companies, which use older versions like R3, ECC and so on will be left, without support, without fix packs from SAP. The deadline? For ECC it is 2027 year, and the time is ticking. To perform such change, such transformation, you need proper project team, consisting of experts, people with knowledge.
But it’s impossible to find such Consultants for every project. The reason is simple – there are not many available experts on the Market. If they are good at what they’re doing – they find projects in less than 24 hours. Headhunters, recruiting companies are fighting between themselves, trying to find proper candidates at linkedin and other platforms. Every week I receive at least 10 offers.
SAP Market is going to be extremely hot this year. This is, why it’s the best moment to start learning. With proper plan, roadmap and ultimate courses – it can be achieved within couple of weeks, to start from zero – to Junior ‘Hero’ Consultant.
What is SAP?
SAP is a German software company known for its enterprise software solutions. It specializes in ERP (Enterprise Resource Planning) systems, helping businesses integrate and manage various aspects like finance, HR, and supply chain. SAP also provides BI tools, database management (SAP HANA), and industry-specific solutions. It’s widely used globally to optimize business processes.
SAP encompasses various modules that cater to specific business functions. These modules include SAP Finance (FI), SAP Controlling (CO), SAP Sales and Distribution (SD), SAP Material Management (MM), SAP Human Capital Management (HCM or HR), SAP Production Planning (PP), SAP Quality Management (QM), SAP Plant Maintenance (PM), SAP Customer Relationship Management (CRM), and SAP Business Intelligence (BI).
How much we can earn?
SAP Consultant is one of the best-paid positions in IT industry. Therefore, if you start your career as a Junior SAP Consultant, at the beginning you will already earn much more than for example Junior Frontend Developer. Why?
Because there are many of them. The Market is saturated with CSS, JavaScript experts and other folks. But not in SAP. Alright – there are many Indian people in this sector, they are based for example in Mumbai, they are really good at it, but for instance in Europe – companies prefer to have someone here, on-Site
Coming back to the question How much we can earn as SAP Consultants, everything depends on your role, experience and location. Check out the below table with some examples.
SAP Role |
Location |
Experience |
Average Salary in $ |
|---|---|---|---|
| SAP Consultant | 3-5 yrs | New York, NY | 90k – 120k |
| SAP Developer | 5-8 yrs | San Francisco, CA | 110k – 140k |
| SAP Basis Administrator | 2-4 yrs | Dallas, TX | 80k – 110k |
| SAP Project Manager | 8-10 yrs | Chicago, IL | 120k – 150k |
| SAP BI/BW Analyst | 4-6 yrs | Atlanta, GA | 95k – 130k |
| SAP Security Consultant | 3-5 yrs | Seattle, WA | 95k – 120k |
| SAP Fiori Developer | 4-6 yrs | Los Angeles, CA | 100k – 130k |
| SAP Functional Analyst | 5-7 yrs | Houston, TX | 100k – 130k |
Not bad, right? The best experts earn even more, but they are hardly available on the Market. It’s them, who choose the next project, not a headhunter, a manager or anybody. If you craft your skills and build relationship with your Clients – you will be on totally different level. This takes of course time, but with a plan – it’s just a matter of time, nothing more.
What is the best module and role in SAP to learn?
In SAP World there are more roles, areas, types of work that you can ever imagine. I will describe only the main ones, so this article won’t be 10 pages long.
The main roles are as follows:
- Functional Consultant – configures SAP systems based on business requirements.
- Technical Consultant – customizes and integrate SAP systems technically.
- Developer (ABAP, UI5) – develops custom SAP applications, creates user interfaces for SAP applications.
- Project Manager – oversees and ensures successful delivery of SAP projects.
How to start learning?
So you saw the roles, the high salary even for Junior positions – and now you’re wondering how to start. Let’s make it clear – it doesn’t matter what you are doing right now, if you are from IT industry or not. Everything you can learn. What matters is, that you get a roadmap, a step by step guide, which you can follow, realize topics and gain knowledge along with practical experience. Therefore, you need such a plan. How to learn SAP in 2024 year? There are many people at linkedin, who post SAP stuff. But be careful. Most of them are not experts, they do not have practical experience. There are groups, forums – for example ASUG (American SAP Users Group) or DSAG (German Speaking Users Group). You can connect with people there. Once you google the best way to learn SAP S/4HANA you will find answers like try with SAP-Press, buy and read a 1000pages-long book about Production Planning. I am not a big fan of SAP knowledge in such a form, I prefer videos. But maybe it will be a perfect option for you.
It doesn’t matter (…) if you are from IT industry or not.
You can learn SAP directly at…. SAP – right. They have a Learning Platform, one is free as it has limited knowledge, the second one is premium, as it offers more stuff. But make sure you got a lot of money. It’s not cheap and it’s subscription-based like everything these days.
I mentioned above something about roadmap. Let me get straight to the point. If you want to start learning or developing your knowledge in SAP S/4HANA Plant Maintenance, also called EAM or Asset Management – you have an easy start. Some time ago I created a Roadmap with main steps, topics, which a Successful Consultant has to complete. It’s totally free, you can find it here.
SAP EAM Consultant Roadmap by SAPdude
Every topic you can google and find information for free on the Internet. However, if you want to save lots of time and you are looking for a complete SAP EAM/Asset Management course, you are also in a right place. I spent 2 years to create a course, which has everything you need to know to get your first job as a Junior SAP EAM Consultant or boost your current SAP career. More details you can find here. I will also post a separate article about it.
Summary
So now you know why 2024 is the best year to start SAP Career. Your next move is to decide, which role and module you like the most. Find a mentor or a learning platform and proper resources – and just do it. There is too much well-paid work on the SAP Market, it cannot be covered by a current amount of SAP experts. Your time is now, don’t waste it.
Cheers,
Dan
