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In this tutorial, we’ll be learning about how you can use your ABAP knowledge to make a career out of it. ABAP was developed in the 1980s, and still remains one of the most used languages in the world for software systems.
It continues to top usage charts, and here we will learn how wide the scope of ABAP is.
Prerequisites to learn SAP ABAP
- Pretty much the only prerequisite to using ABAP itself is having access to the SAP system.
- In order to learn ABAP, however, there is no prerequisite as such.
- Knowledge of basic programming would definitely help but is not required.
- Knowledge of object-oriented programming is also an added advantage, but again, not required.
- If you have learned about database management systems, especially Structured Query Language (SQL), this would definitely help. SAP is an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP)/Cloud company, in which databases are of utmost importance.
- Professional qualification: usually a person with a degree in technology/engineering/IT (for example- Bachelor of Technology (B. Tech), Bachelor of Computer Application (BCA), Master of Computer Application (MCA), Bachelor of Science (B. Sc) etc. in Computer Science/Information Technology) shall go for an ABAP career.
- However, it is not required and depends from company to company
- You can also get into ABAP from a non-technical background by self-learning, completing a few courses and doing a few projects based in the language.
Roles for freshers in ABAP and SAP ABAP career path
There are various roles one can pursue after you have gained knowledge and applied it in the form of projects in ABAP.
Let’s discuss a few of these career paths:
1. SAP ABAP Developer/Expert
- You can develop your technical skills in ABAP to the level that you get a job directly at SAP SE/SAP Labs, which is the parent company for all things SAP and ABAP.
- Alternatively, according to Fortune 500, around 80% of the total companies use SAP software. This means roughly 4 out of 5 companies will have positions for ABAP developers, which you can apply for.
- You may get to work on any of the several SAP systems that their clients use, depending on the company you go for.
- You can slowly develop your skills and grow as a developer, move up the ladder to senior developer and maybe eventually, an expert.
2. ABAP Consultant
- As mentioned previously, around 80% of companies worldwide use SAP.
- However, not all of them know how to use the software.
- This is where consultants come into the picture.
- Consultants are knowledgeable in configuration and setup of niche SAP software.
- They have excellent communication skills, and are not expected to do hands-on programming.
- Consultant jobs help clients to promote their business.
- They usually involve travel, meeting, negotiating with clients to use specific software and advising them on how to do the same.
- Some consultants are expected to code themselves, but that depends on specific role requirements.
- ABAP consultants is a varied job that has wide scope, and you can choose how technical you want it to be.
3. S/4HANA Developer
- SAP’s S/4HANA is its major software system, and used by majority companies all over the world.
- S/4HANA requires knowledge of SAP ABAP.
- Your job would be to design and develop features under the ERP system.
- You would be working on cloud and database management systems as a HANA developer.
- This is again a technical role, hence you can move up the ladder as a senior developer, development expert, and so on.
4. S/4HANA Consultant:
- Similar to an ABAP consultant, as a S/4HANA consultant you would be expected to work on the business side of the system.
- You would be expected to learn and practice information privacy, data security guidelines and follow procedures related to software security for the company as well.
- As a S/4HANA consultant, you would be expected to deal with clients wanting to use ERP/Cloud services provided by SAP solutions.
- Consultants may move on to business-specific roles like senior consultant, quality manager, tester etc.
5. SAP Application Engineer
- This role usually requires a technical degree in computer science/information technology, and a certain level of expertise.
- An application engineer may also require knowledge of web services, client-server applications, microservices and general service-oriented architecture.
- They must also understand the process of application creation, testing and integration end-to-end.
- This is a slightly higher level of technical role requiring a deeper understanding of cloud architecture and/or ERP systems.
6. SAP Analyst
- An analyst must understand design, requirement engineering and business requirements.
- They may be expected to design, develop and integrate cloud solutions with software.
- An analyst must have knowledge of SAP software from both technical and business perspectives.
- They must know the problems and find solutions within the architecture and apply the solution to the software.
- Analysts may move onto business analysis roles, product management and other tech-management roles.
About 80% of the world’s Fortune 500 companies use SAP. You can look for jobs in the following companies, among others –
- SAP Labs
- TCS
- Infosys
- Deloitte
- PriceWaterhouse Cooper
- KPMG
- Cognizant
- Accenture
- Amazon Web Services
- Wipro
- IBM
Salary for SAP ABAP programmers
According to various sources like Glassdoor, PayScale, etc. here are the salaries expected for ABAP programmers in India:
| ROLE | SALARY |
| SAP ABAP Developer | INR 5lakh per year (ranging from 2-10lakh per year) |
| ABAP Developer at SAP | INR 8-10lakh per year |
| SAP ABAP Consultant | INR 4-7lakh per year |
| Senior ABAP Developer | INR 10-20lakh per year |
| SAP HANA Consultant | INR 6lakh per year |
| SAP Application Engineer | INR 8lakh per year |
Future of ABAP
- A lot of people have the fear that ABAP will no longer be in use in the future due to its dependency on SAP.
- Some people also think that learning and working only in ABAP will narrow down their job opportunities.
- However, ABAP has been around for a few decades.
- It is an object-oriented programming language, a concept that many of today’s languages e.g. Java, Python, C++ are dependent on as well.
- ABAP also has frameworks for integration with these other languages, especially Java, hence learning ABAP would actually open up opportunities for you.
- While technological shifts will happen, as it is a constantly changing world, it is the skill of any developer that helps them to adjust in this world.
- Hence, if we talk about uncertainty in ABAP, it is no more than the uncertainty in anything else in the technological world.
Summary
Thus, we have learnt how one can build a career in ABAP. There are various options to choose from, and SAP ABAP is a booming career right now. You can follow Data Flair’s SAP ABAP tutorials and begin your career in this enterprising area.