Bad SAS base prep book

[ijijijijijjiij]

Hi,

Why does the latest SAS base prep book contain so much useless extra information? If you compare it to the exam content guide, lots of stuff in it isn't even tested.

Why is this the case - the book was supposedly created specifically as an exam preparation document?

Makes reading through it irritating, as you never know if you're just wasting time reading extra material not required. The chapter quizzes often ask questions on this content which isn't in the exam, implying you should learn it.

Anyone else feel the same?

[ijijijijijjiij]

For example, there's literally a whole chapter (7) describing the PDV, there's stuff about catalogs, validvarname/validvmemname....all not tested. These are just a few example I can think of right now off the top of my head. WHY is this in the book?

[shelby62b]

Without being too explicit, your test experience differed from mine. I found the mentioned topics relevant on my exam version.

[ijijijijijjiij]

Hi, thanks for you reply, I've not taken the exam yet. Just noticed there is a lot of stuff in the book which isn't in the exam content guide, so wondering why it's in the book

[shelby62b]

Good luck! I agree the book is boring, cumbersome, and plodding. Heavy as well. The Coursera class with lots of research in the prep book and some limited googling is what I did. Not sure how I would enhance the book were that task handed to me. I do know that at least like some books we aren’t doing lots of what I consider archaic - data lines. Some folks may use those, but not where I’m at.

[Reeza]

Because it's trying to teach you how SAS actually works not to just pass an exam. I'd prefer to hire a person who understood the PDV than one who didn't, regardless of whether or not they pass the exam. Personally, I don't find the certifications super useful except maybe for your first job and at that point I expect to train you anyways. 

Beyond that, you'll get tested on your skills in the interview by any decent company, this could include simple questions such as when is a variable initialized in the PDV or how does RETAIN work, to a full out take-home exam that asks you to analyze a data set. 

All that being said, I did the certification exam myself a decade ago and agree on the datalines statement issue mentioned by @shelby62b, but beyond that the guide definitely helped me pass the exam. 

Good Luck on your exam.