With over 5 years’ experience with NetSuite and being a certified NetSuite Administrator, I thought it would be a good idea to write a post about getting ahead with a career in NetSuite! To this end, I interviewed Kevin Ovalle, Vice President at NetSuite recruiters Anderson Frank, to get his views on Oracle NetSuite and beginning a career with NetSuite.

When Oracle announced their $9.3bn acquisition of NetSuite in 2016, there was a fear that it would be swallowed up into Oracle’s own products, as many previous companies have been. However, almost three years on, NetSuite is still very much a standalone business, and having Oracle behind it has allowed NetSuite to move into new territories and facilitated continued growth; its future looks very healthy.

As a result, professionals experienced with NetSuite are in great demand, and there appears to be a rise in those who are cross-training in order to move into the ecosystem. Anderson Frank’s NetSuite market trends and salary survey revealed that almost a third of respondents had less than two years of experience using it, yet 84% had been working in technology for longer than that, with over half having been in the industry over a decade.

If you’re considering a move into NetSuite, then it’s worth downloading Anderson Frank’s report, as it’ll give you a comprehensive breakdown of the salary you can expect in a variety of NetSuite roles around the world from junior to mid-level and senior roles. Of equal importance is a look at the skills you will be expected to have as well.

Where to begin

Certifications are a desirable trait for anybody who wants a career working with NetSuite, but you can’t just jump straight into them. Look at employers who’ll be willing to train you, or even invest in your own future by attending industry events such as SuiteWorld and taking classes. A couple of years experience working with it will give you the basics needed to look at the SuiteFoundation course, but even then it’s worth knowing that it can still be a big step for some.

Experience with any CRM or ERP platform is beneficial and will make the transition much easier. If you’re wondering which platforms users are switching to NetSuite from, then QuickBooks (39%) leads the way for ERP and accounting customers, followed by Sage (10%) and Dynamics GP (6%). Salesforce (25%), Dynamics CRM (12%), and SAP CRM (4%) are the most popular CRMs used before migrating to NetSuite, and Magento (27%) is in front for e-commerce.

Once you’ve passed the SuiteFoundation certification (if you need to re-sit, retakes are reduced by $100), you’ll be able to take courses specific to the role you’re considering, before then going on to specific products. The three most popular job-specific certifications among our survey respondents were Administrator, then ERP Consultant, followed by Financial User.

NetSuite’s certifications are gathering momentum compared to even the recent past. Of those surveyed in our report, 68% held at least one certification, which is a 66% increase on the previous year and 107% up on 2017. With half of respondents also reporting a rise in salary immediately after gaining accreditation, it’s definitely an important part of your journey if renumeration is your main motivating factor.

What you’ll need to know

Next, you’ll most likely be wondering which products you’ll need to get to grips with to be a proficient NetSuite user, and thankfully Anderson Frank’s report also provides an insight from the community on the make-up of their core skill set.

Respondents were asked what products they have worked with in the last five years. NetSuite ERP is a comfortable frontrunner (85%), followed by NetSuite OneWorld (66%) and NetSuite CRM (66%). Rounding out the top five are NetSuite SuiteFlow (51%) and NetSuite SuiteScript (40%).

With Oracle CEO Mark Hurd reiterating their commitment to NetSuite at the recent user conference in Las Vegas, it’s certainly a career path that’s worthy of some consideration. The company itself is still developing along with its product offerings, meaning there’ll be enough changes to challenge you and keep you motivated.

Perhaps even more promising is that the overwhelming majority of survey respondents expect their workload with NetSuite to increase in the next 12 months (79%), with a similar figure having already seen huge growth in the last year (76%).

A career working with NetSuite can be incredibly rewarding, especially as qualified talent is in such demand. A little bit of homework can make sure you have a head-start on your peers that may be considering a similar move.