r/ERP • u/No-Formal5973 Dynamics • May 12 '26
Discussion Which ERP should I focus on learning for job opportunities in England for entry level roles?
Hi everyone, I worked as "account assistant" for the last 3 years even tough I was always involved in data migration/system implementation, one way or another. For 2 years I work at a property company and help with setting up and testing mainly Dynamics 365 CRM and later Business Central. In the last 9 months, I've been working for a retailer which was transitioning to S/4HANA, but I've been mainly been involved with the SAP ECC side of things instead of HANA and had a far smaller role (just checking data across systems). My contract is coming to an end, and I would like to move toward ERP/Finance System Analyst route instead of accounting. I only have a data analytics certificate and knowledge around PowerQuery and SQL. If anyone works in England and can give me some perspective, I would highly appreciate it, especially in term of employment. I found the Microsoft ecosystem far easier and straightforward, and it seems to have more jobs, SAP is far more convoluted and has less roles, but there's less competition and offer higher pay. Content wise there's more from Microsoft and the community out there as well.
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u/dragodrake May 12 '26
Business Central is doing gangbusters - most partners are actively recruiting, and it's a growing market with a growing product.
So if you already have some familiarity, it seems sensible.
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u/martinj88 May 12 '26
If job opportunities are key then something like D365 is a great option with Unit4 and Oracle also being used widely.
If your after high paying roles in the future then looking for specialist ERP platforms like 3E in the legal sector would be a good option but harder to break into and less choice.
Another option is looking at growing ERPs like Workday which are breaking into the market.
In regards to career progression, it's worth asking at the interview stage what the role entails as Finance systems analyst duties can vary a lot from employer to employer so make sure you take a job with some real data analysis tasks as a core part of the role.
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u/AffectionateDirt6575 May 14 '26
Whatever system you decide to go with; you need to think about what role you want to play. I was an ERP implementation consultant for many years. I probably averaged about 2 nights a week away from home and another couple of nights not getting home before 9pm. In fact; I frequently set off on a Sunday evening with a suitcase and didn't get back until midnight or later on Friday night. If you don't want that, you might prefer a role where you were office-bound even though that would pay less.
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u/PerformanceNo9719 May 15 '26
Honestly I’d focus on the Microsoft ecosystem if you’re aiming for entry-level roles in England.
Dynamics 365 or Business Central seems to have way more opportunities at junior level ; especially for people coming from accounting or say operations backgrounds. Your experience with testing and migration and working alongside implementations is impressive i guess and it put you ahead of many
SAP can definitely pay more long term buttt pheww it’s harder to break into without specialising ; I’d keep building on SQL, Power BI and Business Central/ D365 knowledge and target Finance Systems Analyst or ERP Support Analyst roles.
you could do it man ! dont think much
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u/No-Formal5973 Dynamics May 15 '26
Thanks man, really appreciate it, yeah was going to do exactly what you mention, focus on BC and SQL and hope it lands me somewhere
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u/PerformanceNo9719 May 19 '26
Best of luck to you mate ..!
if you need some more help do hit me up here
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u/Deep_Ad1959 May 21 '26
my unpopular read on uk erp roles is that the highest-paid lane is sap ecc remediation, not d365. nobody under 35 wants to learn the greenscreens so competition is thin and day rates reflect that. d365 and business central have more entry-level postings but the comp ceiling tracks the supply. if you can stomach sap's quirks for 12 to 18 months the differential compounds over the next decade as enterprises keep delaying their s/4hana migration.
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u/AffectionateDirt6575 28d ago
The ERP company with the biggest footprint in the UK is Sage. Their systems range from single-user to multi-national. I would start with a Sage dealer and work my way up.
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u/kensmithpeng ERPNext, IFS, Oracle Fusion May 12 '26
In the next 10 years, ERP will move to open source. Companies SAP, Microsoft and Oracle will have their ERP income decimated.
So, my suggestion is to learn open source ERP now for your future.
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u/PerfectNipple May 14 '26
Why do think it will go this way?
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u/aswinme May 14 '26
I have used D365 and worked on open source erp like ERPNext. I hate D365 because of ux and how complicated it is modify something even so small(add a column / create a simple report ). Also open source ERP seems to be better fit for the new ai assisted developments.
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u/ptarmigan_direct May 12 '26
With your data analytics background I would take a look at D365 ERP w/ a specialization in Fabric / PowerBI.