When Life Gives You an Economic Crisis – Make the ...
Learner Stories
Discover inspiring stories from learners around the globe, where they share their experiences how upskilling with SAP impacted their life. Get inspired by how building SAP skills can help propel careers to new heights and how you can start your own learning journey.
“Baiba, you have a good brain – go and study something else”, was what her grandpa told her once the economic crisis hit hard in 2008. Just a few years earlier, studying European economics in a bachelor’s program seemed more than promising to the now 35-year-old. “After all, Latvia had just joined the European Union”, she explains. “But when everything collapsed in 2008, there were not many jobs for newbies like me.” So, Baiba followed the advice from her grandpa – and turned to the tech industry.
She completed another bachelor's in computer science and during her last year of the program, she had the chance to participate in a 2 week long intense bootcamp where she would learn about ABAP and SAP. “I read about it and decided to go for it, as SAP combines both of my educations – business and IT.” And she has not regretted it to this day, she says.
Baiba always stays on track with her learning
The outcome of the bootcamp was immediate: Baiba secured a paid internship position afterward, completed her master’s in IT project management, and landed her first full-time position with Accenture Latvia as ABAP developer. “And this is where I stayed. More than 10 years later I still do ABAP coding”, she says, “and I mentor juniors who come into the field, I collaborate with businesses to understand what they want to achieve and how I can make it even better for them.” But to be able to do so, Baiba knows that she must stay on track herself.
"SAP Certification gives you a broader perspective"
“ABAP is evolving and has taken many best practices from the industry”, she explains. “It’s the backbone of SAP and has become a thing where everyone can find something exciting and interesting.” With ABAP, “a-ha” moments are guaranteed, she says. To stay up to date with the latest innovations, Baiba regularly turns to various SAP’s learning offerings to prepare for an SAP Certification – be it handbooks, free online courses or the exchange with peers in the SAP Community. With all the upskilling, she has smoothly obtained a couple of recognized SAP Certifications. “After all, a certification gives you confidence and something to brag about”, she says with a grin. “It not only proves that you know stuff – it also gives you a broader perspective and shows you how things are connected.”
For Baiba, her learning story is never-ending. “We have a trick question to students after our SAP bootcamps”, she says: “How much time would it take for you to learn all SAP?” Well, usually the more you know in SAP, the more you realize that there is even more to explore, she says with a laugh. So don't be surprised if you encounter Baiba in the SAP Community or on any other SAP learning offerings.
