how to plan for a career shift?

[ramesh arvind]

Dear all,

I have been working in core java for the past 3 years. I am planning to learn new technologies and then for a job change as growth opportunities in my current company are very less. The options that I am considering right now are J2EE or SAP.

J2EE: I am an SCJP. I can do SCWCD and SCBCD certifications but I am not sure whether they are going to help me. All the job posts that I read regarding J2EE want experience in J2EE technologies including work experience on an application server. Of course, I can install a server in my computer and practice but I cannot show that as an experience in my resume.

SAP: Learning SAP needs a considerable investment (2, 00,000-3, 00,000 INR). But the problem is the same as above. Unless I have any real implementation experience, I will not be considered for these jobs.

So, what are the benefits in learning new technologies if I am not going to get opportunities to work on them ? Unless my current company decides to use these technologies in one of its products, I don't see any chances.

Even after 3 years from now, if I stay in my current company, I will know only core java and XML . How can I move out of this current situation? Please let me know your views on this.

Thanks,
Ramesh Arvind.

[Darya Akbari]

Originally posted by ramesh arvind:

J2EE: I am an SCJP. I can do SCWCD and SCBCD certifications but I am not sure whether they are going to help me.

...

SAP: Learning SAP needs a considerable investment (2, 00,000-3, 00,000 INR). But the problem is the same as above. Unless I have any real implementation experience, I will not be considered for these jobs.

Certifications will definitely help you better said they are your entry keys for the positions you seek. For J2EE, SCBCD and SCWCD are the ones you should go for. With SAP it's a different story. Check out what exact SAP module you want to learn and check out whether SAP offers a certification exam for it. I am a strong believer in certificates. There are too much freak programmers out there and less developers who take the time to learn things from the inventors of new technologies the way these inventors intended their technologies to be used.

Certification is your entry key, however not a guarantee for everything. If your work result is not satisfying it doesn't matter whether you have a certificate or not, you'll get kicked out sooner or later. But this can also easily happen to s.o. without a certificate. The real benefit doing certificates is to know the way a technology is intended to be used.

So that is a quite good precondition for the long term .