Sas certification

[Vaz28]

Hi.
I need to know is it mandatory to get sas certification( from pearson vue exam centres) in order to get a job in sas ? Or is it possible to get a good book on sas or join any good online sas training courses just to learn about sas and work as a volunteer just to gain hands on experience and then apply for a sas job? Which way is possible?
Thanks

[PeterClemmensen]

I am not sure whether you are talking about a job at SAS Institute, or simply a job working with SAS programming.

Either way, I usually recommend the 'Programming1 - Essentials' e-learning course available for free at SAS' website to get started

[RW9]

There are many ways to get a job in SAS, much as there are many roles within the SAS environment.  Without any information its impossible to say.  To start, are you going Clinical, Finance, Healthcare, or Research?  The requirements on each are different. 

Me I started off as data entry decades ago and gradually learnt SAS and moved in that way, had a look at the SAS certification and wasn't greatly impressed by it.  For other jobs however it may be a base requirement to have that.  You need to asses what you want/can do, and look at the roles and what they are asking for, not much point doing SAS if you want to go into Research and they all use R is it? 

[ChrisBrooks]

It's the old chicken and egg situation - it's very, very hard to get a job in IT without the appropriate experience but it's impossible to get the appropriate experience without getting a job! I started long before the SAS certification programme existed and like @RW9 never really needed to do the exam to get a job because I had so much experience. You sometimes see adverts which list certification as a requirement but I always suspect they'd waive that for someone with 20 or 30 years hands-on experience so who knows...

To be honest I wouldn't put all my eggs in one basket and think getting the certificate will automatically get you a job because I don't think it will. You're probably going to need to look for an entry-level opening with an organisation which commits to giving you extra training first.

[Vaz28]

Hi. Thanks for your reply.

Well i have been working as a manager in finance and accounts domain in a
BPO company and have not been much amused with the way things are going on
in that field so i was figuring a career move into data analytics much in
SAS as its hugh in demand these days so i was like new into data analytics
so was curious to understand the nature of the SAS environment .

[Kurt_Bremser · Accepted solution]

"move into data analytics"

and that's what you should do. Move, not jump. Add SAS knowledge by working through the basic SAS courses, and then look for a job where your analytical skills combined with "can do it in SAS" are requested. Follow Maxim 1 every time you run into something new.

Me, I only have done some SAS courses, but never a certification. I came from a past working in all aspects of computing (even soldering PCB's), and learned most of my skills working on the job.

[Vaz28]

Thanks everyone for your time.

And yes @Kurt_Bremser i would definitely enroll myself into sas online
courses and would pick a SAS book. Would you recommend any good sas book
for a newcommer like me? Thanks

[Kurt_Bremser]

The Little SAS Book, hands down.

There's also a SAS for Dummies, available on amazon.

[AlanC]

My take is that the SAS certification is not necessary but is something you probably should do. Most of the old-timers, like me, had a lot of SAS experience before certs came along. Hence, we didn't get certs because it was was not necessary.

SAS, IMO, is very easy to learn but hard to master. Ignore macros as long as you can and focus on the data side of it (not stat piece). Get data step and proc sql down and you are a long way there. Focus specifically on the PDV. Understanding it is key to the data step..

[AllanBowe]

I took certification (ended up taking 5 in fact) and found them very valuable.

Specifically, working through the entire Base SAS Certification Prep Guide (which took about a month) was, in retrospect, the best thing I could have done at the start of my career.  Followed up by the advanced base course, which gives you essential knowledge on macro, SQL and programming efficiencies.

The first book gives you a solid understanding of the fundamentals (data step, pdv, input statements etc) which as a 'pick it up as you go' type learner you will likely never come across or have time for.   And taking the exam gives you a reason to study / goal to aim for.

As a recruiter, if I see that a candidate has taken certification, I think "this person cares about SAS and is motivated to further their career".  This is just as important as the actual SAS knowledge itself!