Peter Toth – SAP ABAP Senior Developer

P

Freelancer from the beginning – Peter Toth graduated from college and directly became an independent SAP Consultant, working in different European locations. He describes himself as a passionate dad, remote SAP consultant, US “lover” and… well… NOT as a Marketing guy. Let’s find out how the likable and committed Hungarian acquires SAP remote projects without big marketing efforts. And interview with Peter Toth…

1) First off, can you tell us bit about yourself?

I like to think that I am the best daddy and husband ever. This important aspect is what defines and motivates me.

Professionally speaking, I finished Kando Kalman Polytechnic in 1997 and started working in Austria. It was the longest two months of my life, adjusting to the new environment was not without difficulties. My next assignments were in Germany and they came and went quickly. After meeting my wife, I moved back to Hungary and continued to work remotely. Later, a colleague called me to join him at the first IS-U project with SAP Hungary. Ever since, I get continuous contracts from SAP Hungary as well as from other consulting companies. After my son was born my wife and I decided to try to permanently relocate to the United States in order to be able to provide him with as many opportunities as possible. This has been my biggest and hardest ongoing project yet.

2) If you would search for your profile on Google, which are the three keywords you  would type in the search bar?
ABAP, IS-U, BI-IN. Although these are very common abbreviations, they are not what head -hunters search by when they are looking for new faces in my field. The more specific descriptions like schema, tariffs (which are the same) or PWB are their usual lead, however, these do not necessarily come up with the sole key phrase of BI-IN typed in.

3) What was your inspiration and when did you actually decide to become a  freelancer?
I just happened upon freelancing while reading an advertisement in an economics magazine after graduating from college. A company was looking for freshers. I applied, they assessed me, and the next day I was hired. This job was not meant to be permanent, but it became a long -term contractor position. So I was practically freelancer from the beginning of my career.

4) freelancermap: What kind of services have your clients asked you to provide?
It is always ABAP development when we discuss the position with the client in the first round, however later I find myself in BI-IN consulting, print workbench consulting, or wherever I am needed. Recently, I found myself in the PM team as the only PM developer ironically, as I had been solving upcoming tickets for past three months, and my coworkers just assumed that I was a PM developer. Similar story with CRM in another case, this was despite the fact that I voiced that I had never done CRM before.

5) Do you use other freelancers or companies to provide skills that you don’t possess?
No. Customers and consulting companies usually already know what areas I am the best in. Of course there is always something new in the box. If I do not possess the necessary knowledge or skill, I learn it or debug the code to understand how it works. Some may disagree, but I believe that due to SAP being such a good collection of programs and tables, its basics are extremely transferable and applicable.

6) Now tell us, how do you find new clients that are interested in your services?
I had to think about this one awhile. I was never forced to search for new clients since I had always been working on a project. Usually by the time the project ends a new contract already turns up.

With our immigration plans however, I recently started looking for potential clients. Although, I am relatively well known in Europe, particularly in Hungary, it is not without difficulties to market myself in a completely different geographic area, where I am not yet familiar with the ins and outs of the system.

7) What about freelancermap.com? Can you tell us a little bit about your experience  with our IT-network?
I have current ongoing contracts, so I have not had the chance to really start using freelancermap.com. Nevertheless, I received a call last week with an interesting offer, and three written queries since I joined. Quite exciting! I also read the newsletter where I had already found 2-3 potentially interesting positions so far.

8) How do you set yourself apart from your competitors? What makes you special?
I do not. Unfortunately, I am not good in self-marketing. I just do my job, the best I can. Up until now this approach has worked well for me. I am currently running at a 200% level in order to meet all my deadlines. In the meantime, I am considering hiring a PR company to polish my image for the US market.

9) What are the top three books, blogs or magazines you read to stay up to date in  the IT-market?
I read the news only electronically. The only SAP specific site is SCN. I also read a lot of blogs popping up when searching solution for specific problems with Google. My IT-specific news comes from friends and colleagues, but as a geek I read techblogs like Gizmondo or Engadget. I also follow interesting publishers on G+ like The Verge or a Hungarian blog: bestandroid.blog.hu. Or just for fun: Lifehacker.

10) Freestyle! Is there anything you would like to tell our readers? 
Living in Hungary I work 99% remotely, which comes with its associated pros and cons. On one hand,  I have a chair and a desk with three notebooks in my office, allowing me to work at up to a 300% production level. While it sounds efficient, it translates to 12-17 hour work days and no boss to send you home the end of the day. It is strenuous to keep up this routine and would be impossible to do it permanently, however changes in laws and being an expert in a specific field often require such desperate measures. I often find myself involved in multiple additional projects with tight deadlines when they need me, on top of my regular work schedule. On the other hand, I am lucky to be always around when my son or wife need me and I really enjoy this aspect. Working from home also allows me to allocate study time for self-improvement. For example, I am striving to learn more about CRM, because I have been quite curious since my first encounter. Another interesting field is HANA. While I only have superficial knowledge now, it seems to have a lot of potential and a lot to offer, so I definitely am planning on spending more time with it.

I guess I am still the kid who takes apart and dismounts daddy’s electronic stuff to see how it works. I just need to find the time and maybe a sandbox for it.

You can find my freelancer profile here:
freelancer profile: Peter Toth at freelancermap.com
Link to website: http://hu.linkedin.com/pub/peter-toth/18/ba/181/
Skype: tpeterke

The interview was conducted by Doreen Schollmeier, freelancermap.com team.

Pic: © Peter Toth

You would also like to be introduced as a freelancer in our “freelancer insides”?  
Send us an email to info@freelancermap.com with the subject “freelancer insides” and shortly describe your services, experiences and status!

Doreen Schollmeier

Doreen Schollmeier is dealing with the international freelancing and outsourcing market for more than 5 years and knows both sides of the coin. After working as a project manager for an India based company until 2012, supporting the company to find clients worldwide, she nowadays helps freelancers to find jobs and clients.

By Doreen Schollmeier

Recent Posts