Certifications are becoming a lot less reliable these days. There's too many test banks out there and too many people who study for the test but don't know how to program really devaluing the certificates. Skill sets and the ability to pass a certification exam are not correlated as highly as employers would like 🙂
Instead, these days, a portfolio is what most people are looking for. I usually see a URL on most of the data science/analytical positions I hire these days, either to a GitHub or a blog and that will include projects that a person has done and/or things they're learning. It's actually a great way to gauge someone's skill set. However, people can still cheat here as well - by copying code from others without fully understanding so I'll pick a project and have them walk me through it in the interview and I usually have them do a take home exercise to gauge technical skills. If I was applying to work at a specific location, the library for example, I'd find some data sets related to books and mock up quick EDA and/or visualization for them and show that to them. Obviously you can't do that for every job, but you have an interest in medical field so getting bio data and examples of working with that will help you out. You can find data on Kaggle for doing most types of analyses so data isn't an issue either.
Good Luck.
@Bin2325 wrote:
Hello Everyone!
I am new to SAS and I have so many questions. I thought this is the best platform to ask all my questions. Please don’t mind me if you feel my questions are stupid. I am a pharmD graduate and also I have masters in information assurance. I don’t have any working experience. Recently I have started to learn SAS programming and I am planning to get Base and advanced certification. My question is it worth to give a test? And how long it will take to become proficient in SAS (I am a quick learner). Also I am confused with different types of certifications. Which certification will gives us more job opportunities?
Thank you in advance. 😊
Certificates are nice, but i would not hire anybody who has certificates but hardly any real-life experience in using the things that are part of the certification. Me thinks that experience is always of higher value than some sheet of paper confirming that somebody was able to pass a test.
Hello @Bin2325,
@andreas_lds wrote:
Me thinks that experience is always of higher value than some sheet of paper confirming that somebody was able to pass a test.
I couldn't agree more with Andreas.
Ideally, you would get a first employment based on your other qualifications and the opportunity to learn and use SAS heavily on that job (plus take an introductory course). Then, after a few months you should feel quite comfortable with SAS programming. After one year your SAS skills and job experience could be interesting enough for other potential employers.
Quoting a highly esteemed expert in this forum, I can say: "I've been using SAS for over" 20 "years, but never bothered to take any of the certification exams."
Good luck and happy learning!
Certifications are becoming a lot less reliable these days. There's too many test banks out there and too many people who study for the test but don't know how to program really devaluing the certificates. Skill sets and the ability to pass a certification exam are not correlated as highly as employers would like 🙂
Instead, these days, a portfolio is what most people are looking for. I usually see a URL on most of the data science/analytical positions I hire these days, either to a GitHub or a blog and that will include projects that a person has done and/or things they're learning. It's actually a great way to gauge someone's skill set. However, people can still cheat here as well - by copying code from others without fully understanding so I'll pick a project and have them walk me through it in the interview and I usually have them do a take home exercise to gauge technical skills. If I was applying to work at a specific location, the library for example, I'd find some data sets related to books and mock up quick EDA and/or visualization for them and show that to them. Obviously you can't do that for every job, but you have an interest in medical field so getting bio data and examples of working with that will help you out. You can find data on Kaggle for doing most types of analyses so data isn't an issue either.
Good Luck.
@Bin2325 wrote:
Hello Everyone!
I am new to SAS and I have so many questions. I thought this is the best platform to ask all my questions. Please don’t mind me if you feel my questions are stupid. I am a pharmD graduate and also I have masters in information assurance. I don’t have any working experience. Recently I have started to learn SAS programming and I am planning to get Base and advanced certification. My question is it worth to give a test? And how long it will take to become proficient in SAS (I am a quick learner). Also I am confused with different types of certifications. Which certification will gives us more job opportunities?
Thank you in advance. 😊
Hi @Bin2325, when I saw your post, I recalled a pretty robust discussion about this on our Certification Community earlier this year. After a little digging, I found the thread: https://communities.sas.com/t5/SAS-Certification/Certification-A-ticket-to-employment-vis-%C3%A0-vis... Lots of perspectives shared there, including someone from SAS. Hope that helps. Best of luck as you map your next steps!
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