SAP stands for Systems Applications and Products. The original idea was to give customers the ability to interact with one company database for a wide range of applications. Over time the applications were assembled and today most big corporations in the world that include Microsoft, use SAP to run their businesses. SAP can best be described as being the backbone to big businesses the world over.
Large corporations employ SAP technology personnel. They are not in the IT departments, but rather in a department all their own and it is their duty to run, maintain and support the SAP functions within the corporation. Due to the complexity of this work, the positions are full-time, high paying and prestigious.
Many IT professionals have greatly improved their careers by switching over to a career within SAP. SAP skills are in high demand the world over and the positions are not easy to come by. This demand for SAP personnel comes with the great benefit of a higher salary for both full time permanent and short term contractual workers.
SAP has a reputation for being rather difficult to learn. The reason for this is that SAP is a very large piece of software that simply cannot be downloaded and installed on just a home computer. If it was something that could be downloaded, then more people would teach themselves the system in their free time at home.
SAP training is expensive. There are SAP training courses that cost around three hundred dollars for a five-day course and a three-day course can cost just under two hundred dollars. Many employers do not want to put the money into sending their employees to long SAP training courses, so they often send them to just a few short classes. With luck, your employer will send you to all of the courses so that you can become certified in SAP.
If you are interested in working with SAP your best bet is to work for a company that runs the SAP system. Use your spare time to read up on SAP and then apply for a position. Be sure to train yourself in the areas of monitoring, system checking and introductions to SAP Basis on the Internet. There are numerous websites you can utilize to understand the workings of SAP and what it involves. Getting certified as a SAP specialist opens a great number of doors for you. The SAP salaries are impressive and you will be able to move to the corporate level with ease if you are a SAP expert.