I am a Java freelancer with vast experience in many Java Enterprise technologies (EJB, Spring, Databases, JSP, Struts & more).
I am looking to widening my professional horizons and have been thinking in learning about SAP. There is a local SAP partners that delivers a wide array of SAP courses, and I have the money, time and inclination, to take one course.
Where should I start from? I think as a programmer I could be program SAP customizations or something like that.
Not to sound pessimistic, but I know stories (in Germany) with people who took courses in SAP and could never get any job in the field.
The best bet is to affiliate with a SAP shop, maybe a local consultancy to get some experience on the field. After that you can try to fly on your own.
As a general rule of a thumb, it is almost never wise to take programming courses / certifications and pay yourself. You should be able to get those from the places you work for.
Also to consider that the SAP market is not at its best right now. In the beginning of the year many experienced SAP people (independent) could hardly find any orders.
Or I may be mistaken and the situation is different where you live.
Hello
SAP "customisation" (parametrization) is a very domain-specific field. in SAP-HCM (Human Ressources), most of the consultant are able to master one or two domain (personnel administration and payroll for example). I wouldn't go this way if you are not ready to take a long road, or already an expert in the target domain, as it takes time to understand the structure and functionnalities to be adapted.
With your java experience, i would think that external system connecting to SAP are a best bet. For exemple there is a need for people able do develop java and/or flex application in conjonction with a SAP back-end. Of course in this case, you have to work with someone to code the access to the backend's structure. Learning ABAP (SAP proprietary language) will allow you to code those access, and will at least ease your work.
there are some demo system available on SDN thatyou can install on your machine for a lmited time (ABAP and Java "stack")
regards Guillaume
Since you say that you do have the time and inclination, I suggest downloading and installing the SAP Netweaver 7 ABAP Trial. And teach yourself the basics.
I would not spend money on SAP courses. They are expensive and usually disappointingly light in content. Since you are an experienced programmer the "beginner" courses like BC400 will drive you nuts.
There are many good blogs on SAP SDN. Look particularly for blogs by Thomas Jung. If you still want to spend money, invest in a good SAP ABAP or Java book.
As a Java developer with some integration experience you may be interested in SAP PI (Process Integration). Or SAP Web Dynpro for Java, but knowing the basics about ABAP will help a lot if you find yourself in a SAP environment.