Also, having some kind of certification like Sun's Certified Java Programmer/Developer thing can be useful IMO, you should write something cool and then apply

Also, having some kind of certification like Sun's Certified Java Programmer/Developer thing can be useful IMO, you should write something cool and then apply for some jobs and if nothing works out then just wait a while, write something else, then apply again Ow, and you are definitely not in a hole, SAP is an awesome company. If you're bored with what you do now ask for a transfer to a different department.