SAP ABAP Developer Career Q&A with Mason

Mason, SAP ABAP developer at Clarkston, started with Clarkston through the ABAP bootcamp program and is continually expanding his expertise. Read his career story below.

How long have you been with Clarkston?

I have been with Clarkston for a little over 7 months.

What is your role at Clarkston?

I am an SAP ABAP developer here at Clarkston. I started with the Clarkston ABAP Bootcamp back in July.

Tell us about a new skill you’ve developed recently.

Recently, I have learned more about the basics of SQL, through my own self training and while working on my first project with Pacific Seafood where I primarily developed ABAP reports.

If you had to choose, which of Clarkston’s core values do you feel resonates with you the most?

“Flexibility” and “Adaptability” resonates with me the most because there can be times where you must embrace change. I have already encountered unexpected challenges and changes to my work itself and to the roles that I have played on my initial projects. I have tackled different roles on different assignments where I had to roll up my sleeves, learn, and ultimately make mistakes, which is usually a place I would call out of my comfort zone. However, this is also where I have learned and succeeded the most.

What advice would you give to someone starting at Clarkston?

My advice to someone starting at Clarkston would be to expect the unexpected. At times, it will feel like you are drinking out of a firehose with the amount of new information and skills you will learn, but there is always help! And often, you will be worrying more than you ever need to. Just do the best you can each day and ask questions! You will come to realize that with each question comes not only new knowledge, but relief.

Tell us about a memorable experience you’ve had while working with a client. 

I had a memorable experience working for my first client in that the person I worked directly with was more than extremely helpful. As you can imagine, my first project in my first business job after finishing school was quite the daunting experience. I had very little knowledge of what to expect or what exactly I was going to be doing, it was just one of those things you have to throw yourself into and hope you come out the other side unscathed. Luckily, I had more than enough help from John Eller, a senior developer at Clarkston who had no problem answering every question I had. He taught me the most about ABAP and how we all work together on a project, which really helped me in the beginning.

In your experience, what qualities make someone a good consultant? 

I would say transparency and responsiveness is what makes someone a good consultant. At least in my experience, a vast majority of my collaboration and work with others has been done remotely. I have had the best experience working with people that are the most transparent and responsive when I have questions or concerns. A result of these qualities is more work being done which means progress achieved not only on the assignment at hand, but my own skills and development as well.

Learn how you can develop your career at Clarkston here.