From spending 9+ months self-studying
to becoming confident & independent
on her ABAP projects within 2-months
.. and even more - just read further ;) ..
.. "The quality of the training is unique, ... I'm apreciating it from
the profesional point of view but I also feel like I have a new friend." ..
- Marnie
Read the Whole Story
or
Watch Full Story Video Below
Meet Marnie Stutts and her mentor Ladislav Rydzyk
.. let's start from the beginning ..
What is your background?
I have a computer science degree and have 30 years of experience in corporate America.
I had about 10 years of actual programming and then about 20 years in management.
I worked for Cisco systems which was a great experience and I recently retired.
As I retired I've gone to work for my husband who's a consultant with ABAP. He's sort of on the business side that has some technical.
I am now his dedicated programmer for the clients that he works with.
I haven't done programming in a while but I did spend most of my 10 years doing COBOL which you may or may not have heard of but it's very similar to sort of the structures from ABAP.
I have started my job in January. Now I have to put in my full time and I'm still doing my training but it's all been very helpful.
Was there any scepticism before you join program?
"The only thing that I wanted to validate after doing three different online self found trainings.
I was not really finding something that gave me the beginning to end.
I took 80 hours of great program but it was more the syntactical then I did another program and I learned about some high-level stuff but it wasn't executable.
I got bits and pieces but when I took a look at the exam the certification exam. I failed.
Then I've had a great training class that I loved. And I had a question on something and then we had a chat with trainer and he pointed me to this program."
.
"Anyway, I don't know that I would say there was skepticism.
I was actually quite excited because it came as a referral.
So I did have a couple conversations with Lad (ABAP Academy mentor) just making sure I understood what it was about.
Because I didn't want to just sort of jump off the cliff again. I needed to make sure that I was going to get some really good.
So it wasn't scepticism. It was just trying to learn from what I had done before to have a different outcome."
How your perception changed?
I was anxious about starting because I was working for my husband. I got a job, right?
But I told my husband: "You know, you're telling everybody you're hiring your wife, I have to execute right."
There has to be value otherwise his reputation and I don't have a reputation with these folks but I do have a great reputation from my career.
I wanted to still present as high delivery quality person...
... And so I was very concerned where I was in October starting in January.
I thought, I can fumble my way through. I'm resourceful or whatever but the more I was trying to get in and do stuff on my own .. ABAP and SAP, it's 30 years in the making it's huge.
So the confidence started in january.
Because of the way it was structured and sort of how to get around and and just some real tangible things.
I mean, I have fixed four, five, six problems that the client's been waiting on. And I've done some new stuff. My husband was like: "I need this!" I was able to do it in a day.
I think the confidence and my sense is like:
- While I'm still learning
- I can actually get something done
- If I had a problem, whenever I get stuck, my husband's like
- "Okay, well that'll be on your weekly discussion with Lad - your 1 on 1."
- Lad just help me to get there faster if I need to.
- I felt like I could do it but I didn't want anybody to question it - why is it taking her so long.
That is the the big difference that this program has had for in short period of time for me to get ready.
One thing that you've taken
from ABAP Academy?
"First of all it's very organized but there's also one-on-one time which nothing else had. It was all me just listening to someone.
Because again I was trained to be a computer science programmer and I've come across people because the way that programming is today.
Anybody can program:
- it doesn't mean you're doing a good job
- it doesn't mean it's going to be efficient,
- it doesn't mean it's going to perform,
- but you could get data
- and slap it in a database
- and get it out.
So I'm a little bit of I have an opinion about people that haven't been trained but.."
Anyway he's explained what you might see and why you might want to do it in certain way.
Proper Documenting
In general, it's allowed me to be able to understand the code maybe not the way that I would do it but the way that other people do it as well as just being able to debug.
And the other thing my husband doesn't like is that developers don't properly document which I've always liked documenting.
There's some logic that Lad has shared that I didn't think about that I'm using and I was like nobody's done XYZ in the documentation.
"Should I go in there while I'm in there? Since I'm changing the code should i go and add that." He said "Please, do it"
Certain best practices around that I think again for myself but for others.
What will happen in next 12 months?
I'm going to be doing
- their new features
- as well as bugs fixes
- and the one thing I've recently learned which scares me but..
They have purchased a cloud version of the product that I support and it's so new that I don't think anybody's done it successfully.
And so I will be the developer to help them figure out how to do that successfully.
I think that'll be a great opportunity and I'm having fun.
In terms of my previous job, loved working where I did. Big company, high drama, politics, don't have any of that I just get to do the fun stuff.
You have already experienced our approach.
What would you say about methodology?
The quality of the training, the personalization for me and I'm assuming anyone else is unique from what I have seen.
I am appreciating it from professional point of view but I also feel like I have a new friend and you can't beat that combination.
.
I do have a big mouth if i'm not happy. I have a big mouth. If I'm happy, I have a big mouth.
And a lot of people are like oh my gosh if Marnie likes it's got to be great.
Anyway if there's anything beyond that I can help. Try to get the word out I'm happy to do that and I have told Lad that.
There's a very unique model that you have, especially somebody that's making it a bit of change for me I have that core development but this is ... I thought, oh I've got this and I do but it's like
"How big is the ocean and he's really sort of organized it in a great way."
I just think this is a great model that I don't think anybody can compete.
it's just great.
Your Message to People Who Are Considering To Join?
I thought that I'm smart enough that I can do it on my own by watching other people and testing it out myself and I spent nine months doing that and then I got a copy of the test and I utterly failed.
Which told me that someone with experience that
- you can talk to
- ask questions from where you are
- as well as giving you some basic things that you can practice
- and get feedback
I'm going to ultimately spend about 4 months.
It's a good chunk of change but my time is worth a lot and so by the time I get through it, I will have spent more than a year but then the last 4 months was the most impactful.
If you want to the one-on-one coaching and the way the examples are done (which are really pretty straightforward but it gives you that tangible).
It's the better use of your time and it'll get you out the door and ready to go faster.
The fact that you have some background is helpful so you can ask intelligent questions but connecting your knowledge with this huge environment to me it's money well spent and there's nothing out there that I have found that is like.
Which is why I told Lad, I think I'm pretty resourceful, I found different places but no one's offering their one-on-one time.
To me that is the differentiator.
For Lad, he said, anything you're working on with the program or your work I'll help you. Nobody's even meeting with you much less customizing it.
So that's why I said you - how do we get more people to know about it because if you're trying to get ready, 4 months you're done. It's really 3 months but I asked for 4 :)
" It's the better use of your time and it'll get you out the door and ready to go faster. "
- Marnie
Want to Ask Question?
Do you have specific question that came to your mind? Feel free to ask either to Marnie Stutts or our ABAP Academy Team.
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