Hi Guys I am a complete noob to navision having only heared of it 2 weeks ago. I recently graduated and have been made a job offer as a navition developer. The only prerequisite was a good cs degree and I will be given full training. I have accepted it and am due to start next week. I also have upcoming interviews for software development roles in java. To be honest I don’t have a preference for either roles as I have broad interests. The only issue I have is since I don’t know so much about navision I am unaware of the career issues involved, hence should i pursue it or not. Is this navision something in its early ages that could die out in a few years? How does the career progression and salary compare with someone pursuing a career as a java developer?. When I search for java jobs for example I see thousands of results whereas searching for navision shows a hundred. If I decided to leave my company after a year how easy would it be for me to get a navision job elsewhere? Basically I want to know about career prospects and job stability. Would i be the dog balls if i stuck with navition or should I aim for a project management post in java. Again I don’t mind whichever job I do so long as I see the money and can do the job. Would it be wiser to follow a sofware development career as opposed to a navision developer career. I would decide myself but don’t know anything about navision. Please advise. Thanking you in advance. Alex
HI, I think you should look at this slightly differently: 1. Navision is a Business Solution vs. Java is a technology solution It means that by working with Navision you will need (and mean you will get) experience in business process flow and business management… If you are Java programmer most likely you will not have this king of exposure… 2. Navision is the Microsoft Technology vs. Java is IBM/SUN and more open source… It means that even so Navision is going to be replaced with Next generation system you will get exposure to latest/future Microsoft technology when new system will be introduced. Now you still will have a lot of tasks based on .NET programming… 3. Salary I believe is the same. Maybe starting salaries are higher in Navision than Java but this depends on the region. If you select Navision you will became more consultant than programmer and this means much higher salaries. I hope it will help you make the decision.
Totaly agree with Val, but, in your case Omega, I would take 12 months working vacation somewhere (maybe everywhere) and decide what you want to do. At the moment you can’t see that there is a differnec between an Auto Mechanic, and a racing car driver. These differences you will learn by taking a break for acedemia, relaxing and looking at life first. Once you get back from the vacation, you will see life clearer, and be able to concentrate, knowing what you want. From the way you are taliking here, I think the best career path for you would be as a Dynamics Freelancer. By the time you are at that level, Dynamis will have a userbase of around 500,000 so you should not have problems finding work.
Although I didn’t make it very clear, I did actually know the fundemental difference between navision and java. My question was more like: i’m quite happy to be either an auto mechanic or a racer driver, however I will choose my career based on career prospects and salary figures! When I know racers get payed loads and may become famous, I don’t know the prospects for auto mechanics, however since you are an auto mechanic please tell me. Thanks to Valentine for answering my question, as for david please stick your advice up where the sun doesn’t shine. Thanks in advance.
As moderator, I suppose I should just delete this post, and be done with it, but that would be a bit un democratic. I will say though Alfa, that you are totally free to express your opinions. But please find a decent way of doing so, there is no room for your language on this forum. In terms of a Navision career, I still stand my ground, that if some one looks at comparing a Java developer career to a Navision career, then they need to take a long step back, and re think it through. Java is a programming language, it is NOT a career path. If you are good, then in a few years you will be an advanced Java programmer, but that really is about it. Luck may chance it that you are on a contract, and get a completely different job offer, (eg. Your employer sees that you have team leader ability, and you move from being a developer to a project manager), but either way, you will always be a Java programmer. In Navision, you have multiple entry paths, and even more forward directions as you grow. Most people that begin a Navision career do not stay in the one role fro 10 years, they grow, and do many different jobs. It is never boring, that’s for sure. You will eventually learn all areas of Navision, training, implementation, accounting, project management etc. And in many many cases, people specialize in Verticals, which means from a base as a “programmer” you can work your way to become an industry specialist. And as we are seeing more and more, the best Navision Consultants are now starting major careers with end users, and managing very large industry specific projects. To then bottle all this up into a box marked $$$ is definitely NOT the way to go. Take a step back (I still think a working vacation away from computers is the best way to do this), and have a look at what you want to do. I have seen too many people that just look at short term dollars, and in years to come regret it. To go back to the analogy, so long as there are cars, there will be a huge demand for machanics, so long as there are computers, there will be a huge demand for Java programmers. There are far less jobs for racing car drivers, but if someone is giving you the opportunity to be a trainee racing driver, then that can’t be too bad an offer.
I think the fundamental mistake here is to base your decision on career pat and salary figures. You should find something that excites you, something that you like to do a lot. It’s a crying shame that people HAVE to work as it is, you’re gonna have to find something you like to do or be a very sad little person. Not in the least because you have a college degree and will likely end up in a job that is more than 40 hrs/week, so you will be doing your work a lot. I’d take a versatile job like a Navision developer/consultant over code writer any day. With all the cool stuff coming from Denmark over the next few years there’s plenty of opportunities.
There is one small piece of advice I want to add here. It has basicly something to do with the comparison between a race driver and the mecanic. Please beware of the fact that being a navision consultant/engineer mostly means traveling a lot and working long days, especialy when the go-live date is geting closer or after going live. It is like the race driver traveling from circuit to circuit and the mechanic developing the car in the home base. I started out as a cobol programmer, working at one location in a team of 30 programmers, this gave me a great opportunity to learn. After that I got to work with Navision which meant working in smaller teams with more different sorts of people. It also meant traveling for about 2-4 hours per day, working at the customers location mostly. Today, I have combined these two working working part-time, developing Navision add-on software , in my home town which means I don’t have to travel anymore. Before you make any decision, please make sure you are willing to do all the traveling. Also there is much, much more in life than just working and money! I hope this helps you a little.
I would like to add, that if you do not care about what happens in the business (i.e. financials, warehousing), then you will not have much fun and success in the Navision world. Also there is one important thing to keep in mind. If you ask for advice, be grateful, if you get any, no matter if it is to your liking or not. If you don’t like the advice given, just say thank you and keep the rest to yourself. Else, I can’t see any career in your future. Regards, Daniel Zimmermann