Is SAP ABAP Still a Good Career in 2026? My Thoughts

If you are learning SAP ABAP or planning to start your career in SAP, one question that comes up often is: “Is ABAP still a good career?” I have seen many people asking whether traditional ABAP is still useful when SAP is moving towards S/4HANA, Fiori, RAP and ABAP Cloud. In my opinion, ABAP is still very much relevant, but the way we develop in ABAP is changing. Earlier, an ABAP developer mainly worked with reports, ALV, BAPIs, user exits, enhancements, forms and other traditional ABAP concepts. These are still important, especially when working with existing SAP systems. But today, if you want to grow as an ABAP developer, it is important to learn the newer S/4HANA technologies as well. For example: ABAP Objects ABAP on HANA CDS Views OData SAP Fiori RAP S/4HANA ABAP Cloud I believe the best approach is not to forget traditional ABAP, but to build on it and gradually learn the newer technologies. For someone starting today, I would recommend learning ABAP fundamentals first, understanding how SAP business processes work, and then moving towards S/4HANA, CDS, OData and RAP. SAP is changing, and ABAP is changing along with it. So instead of asking “Is ABAP dead?”, I think the better question is: “How can I upgrade my ABAP skills for the new SAP world?” That's the direction I would recommend to anyone planning a career in SAP ABAP.