SAS Certification Guide: Overview and Career Paths

What first began as an agricultural research project at North Carolina State University eventually grew into a full-fledged software and services company by 1976. SAS has gone on to develop a solid customer base in the banking and pharmaceutical industries as well as in academia and at numerous agencies at all levels of government. Today, SAS is a leader in business analytics, data warehousing and data mining.

SAS has been recognized as one of the best places to work by organizations like Fortune and the Great Place to Work Institute. Coming in at No. 37, SAS made its 21st appearance in Fortune’s list of 100 best companies to work for in 2017 and No. 23 in Fortune’s list of top 100 best workplaces for millennials in 2018. Indeed, the company’s low turnover rate (4 percent in 2016) is an indicator of its commitment to its employees and, indirectly, to its customers as well.

Of the top 100 Fortune Global 500 companies, 96 are SAS customers. SAS customers span the globe with more than 83,000 instances installed in 144 countries.

SAS has awarded more than 100,000 certifications since the program’s introduction in 1999, according to Brightcove. Today, the SAS Global Certification Program offers 23 credentials across seven categories:

SAS certifications, along with required exams and costs, are described in more detail in the following sections. Although experience levels aren’t specifically indicated for each certification, a good rule of thumb is a minimum of eight months of experience on the base SAS system for Base Programmers and two to three years of relevant, hands-on experience for all other certifications before candidates tackle their respective exams.

All exams are administered by Pearson VUE or through a SAS-sponsored certification exam session (typically in conjunction with a training course). SAS also offers online proctored exams for all certification credentials through their partnership with Pearson VUE. Note that all certifications covered below are based on SAS 9.4.

Foundation Tools credentials aim at SAS professionals whose workdays revolve around writing and managing SAS programs. The company currently offers three Foundation Tools certifications:

Must possess SAS Certified Base Programmer for SAS 9 credential

OR

Clinical Trials Programming Using SAS 9 – Accelerated Version exam (A00-281)

Requires the SAS Certified Base Programmer for SAS 9 credential

* SAS offers a 50 percent discount on the cost of all exams to instructors, students, faculty and staff at schools and higher education institutions as well as to SAS employees. See the SAS FAQs for details.

The Advanced Analytics credentials are designed for SAS professionals who gather, manipulate and analyze big data using SAS tools, run reports and make business recommendations based on complex models. The certifications in this category include:

SAS Certified Big Data Professional Using SAS 9 (2 exams, $180 each, $360 total)

SAS Certified Advanced Analytics Professional Using SAS 9 (3 exams, $610 total)

SAS Advanced Predictive Modeling (A00-225), $180

SAS Text Analytics, Time Series, Experimentation and Optimization (A00-226), $180

The Business Intelligence and Analytics credentials are designed for IT professionals who create interfaces and reports for SAS 9 or who use SAS Visual Analytics routinely. For the following certifications, there are no credential prerequisites required to take these exams, though a thorough knowledge of a number of related skills and techniques is required. The three certifications in this category are:

Professionals whose workdays (or career aspirations) revolve more around managing data and platforms rather than deep statistics, analysis and modeling will gravitate to data management credentials. For the following certifications, there are no credential prerequisites required to take these exams, though a thorough knowledge of a number of related skills and techniques is required. The three certifications in this category are:

SAS Big Data Programming and Loading exam (A00-221)

The administration category has a single credential – the SAS Certified Platform Administrator for SAS 9 – designed for professionals responsible for supporting the SAS Business Analytics platform from installation through day-to-day maintenance. Candidates must know how to set up folders, manage user accounts, monitor system performance, apply security techniques, perform backups and complete other administrative tasks. The certification exam features 70 multiple-choice questions, a 110-minute time limit, and candidates must answer at least 70 percent of the questions correctly to pass the exam.

SAS JMP is data analysis and visualization software that allows users to explore, mine and share data analyses in a graphical format. The JMP credential includes two exams:

Both of these certification exams feature 50 to 60 multiple-choice and short-answer questions, a 150-minute time limit, and candidates must achieve a score of at least 725 points from the possible point range of 200 to 1,000 points. Find out more about scaled scores via the exam FAQ.

SAS offers credential programs for certified SAS resellers, VARs, and consultants though its partner program. There are six partner credentials available to SAS partners:

Access to the Partner credentialing portal is restricted to authorized SAS partners only. As a result, some details of the partner exam process are hidden from public view. If you work for a SAS partner, ask your company SAS liaison or your SAS sales team for more details about partner certifications.

Why get SAS certified? More demonstrated knowledge typically means more earning power. A quick search for SAS programmer on major job posting sites returns hundreds, if not thousands, of open positions across the United States, most with starting salaries in a range from $52,000 to $126,000.

While salaries vary depending on industry, experience, certifications achieved and other factors, average SAS programmer earnings are almost $81,038 nationally, per SimplyHired. The average earnings in SAS statistical modeling careers are almost $110,000, topping out around $200,000.

Tip: To make the hiring process easier, employers can verify a candidate’s credentials by searching the SAS Global Certified Professional Directory.

Suffice it to say, a SAS certification can pay off quickly. Couple that with an outstanding company culture, achieving a SAS credential and working for SAS is a smart career move for anyone with programming chops and a desire for longevity with a single company.

SAS careers are plentiful and vary depending on your goals and career aspirations. Some SAS careers naturally gravitate toward one or more certification categories. Some examples of common job roles by certification category include:

Regardless of your area(s) of interest, you’ll find a plethora of SAS careers available.

SAS offers links to SAS classroom and eLearning courses, sample exam questions and full practice exams. Refer to the Exam Preparation tab for each certification on the SAS Certification website. Candidates can purchase certification packages that include training courses, preparation materials and exam vouchers with typical discounts of 35 to 40 percent.

SAS training can be pricey, depending on factors such as delivery method and class length.

Individual courses range from lows around $1,100 to highs of $4,000. Candidates should be sure to check out the SAS Discounts web page for information on current discount programs, best value deals, veteran’s discounts and more before enrolling.

The SAS Training and Books webpage provides links to certification prep books, training courses, eLearning opportunities (SAS onDemand) and the SAS Global Academic Program. SAS also offers sample exam questions and training software may be accessed through the SAS University Edition.

Many colleges and universities, such as Philadelphia University, Florida State University and the University of Missouri, to name just a few, also offer SAS certificate programs to their undergraduate and graduate students. If you’re in (or thinking of going to) getting SAS certified as part of your degree program, it pays to check out your SAS certification options before choosing an institution of higher learning.

Ed Tittel

Ed is a 30-year-plus veteran of the computing industry, who has worked as a programmer, a technical manager, a classroom instructor, a network consultant and a technical evangelist for companies that include Burroughs, Schlumberger, Novell, IBM/Tivoli and NetQoS. He has written for numerous publications, including Tom’s IT Pro, and is the author of more than 100 computing books on information security, web markup languages and development tools, and Windows operating systems.

Earl Follis

Earl is also a 30-year veteran of the computer industry, who worked in IT training, marketing, technical evangelism and market analysis in the areas of networking and systems technology and management. Ed and Earl met in the late 1980s when Ed hired Earl as a trainer at an Austin-area networking company that’s now part of HP. The two of them have written numerous books together on NetWare, Windows Server and other topics. Earl is also a regular writer for the computer trade press with many e-books, white papers and articles to his credit.

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