I agree. The free SAS OnDemand platform is a good way to learn the SAS programming language. Format You're right when you mention books. Most books to learn a programming language are not user friendly. 1/ Each time you use them, you need both hands as they keep closing themselves ;). That's not really convenient when typing at the same time. 2/ They are print in black and white. There is no color use to highlight the main point in the code. 3/ The examples tend to cover too many points at once. The programs tend to be very long. They are then difficult to reproduce. But to learn a programming language, one has to be able to type in and submit the code. 4/ The authors also have to deal with editors requirements. They end up putting far too many details on a single page. 5/ It is nice to have access to multiple supports for a specific topic. We learn by repetition (books + videos + live classes...) The topics covered in training material should to be checked carefully. But it is challenging for a beginning to figure out what is important from the rest 1/ Many published books or courses only cover a specific area e.g. graphics, reporting, ds2... while a beginning first need to have an overview before getting into such level of details. 2/ But at the same time, introductions can be too light. I've seen so many introductions which are just a list of functions and statistical procedure. 3/ Many university SAS courses referenced by Google are written by statistics teachers. They are focusing on statistical procedures leaving students with limited SAS programming skills. 4/ Many RU-vid videos on the SAS programming language are very long. They are recording of university courses. I've never been able to watch them until the end. I prefer a series of short videos when it comes to learn a programming language. 5/ The SAS Online Documentation and SAS papers (SUGI...) are also useful information to solve a specific issues but don't provide the needed structure for trainees. 6/ The language changes over time. It's so sad to see people learning the old way of doing things rather that the most recent and efficient way. 7/ Developing a program requires methodology. This is usually not covered in most programming courses. Most resources are only covering the syntax. 8/ They are many ways to program a solution but they are not equally valuable. A good training should reinforce the benefits of the most valuable solutions for the programmer to pick up the right one wisely. I could talk about SAS programming trainings for ages. I'm someone who have had so much fun and rewarding solving companies problems using this programming language. Companies still have a high demand for SAS skills. We are in a world where programmers have to be able to use multiple languages. SAS is one of them. University tend to teach open-source languages leaving more job opportunities for those who know what the mass don't know. I've been a SAS programmer for 10 years in the pharmaceutical industry. I first wrote a blog about SAS. I was writing in the evening what I had learned during the day. It was a good way to get better at it. In the last five years, I've developed my own SAS online courses based on my experience. I just want people to be proud of themselves when programming SAS. Feel free to follow my SAS related posts on Linkedin: www.linkedin.com/in/veronique-bourcier/
Thank you very much for sharing detail information about SAS . I have finished master degree in Economics and Finance and right now I am thinking to learn SAS program to step ahead for my career and change the path of my academic backgrounds. I am 35 years old and I am wondering Is It possible to learn SAS progrm at this stage? and how long does It normally take to learn SAS program ( to be a right candidate for a job as a SAS Programmer ) ? I would truly appreciate your suggestions of my interest. Best wishes!! 🙂
Is SAS still relevant today? It is certainly niche but it has been declining in popularity. Using a statistical software like R allows the public to use since it's open source, and increases the potential Quality Talent Pool they have.
is it niche? I worked with the state Department of Natural Resource and its all they used. Im familiar with both SAS and R, and i have to say that R has really proved itself.
Can you please tell me what math exactly should I study before starting the field I am thinking of finishig all the khan academy math before I get started Is it gonna be too much or do I need more then that
Statistics, lineal algebra, algorithms and logic will be needed, I don´t know how well khan academy cover these topics though, maybe you should consider reading some textbooks online.
The best way to learn SAS is forgetting any sound programming practices you ever learned, go to a museum where they have these old punch-card computers from the late 1960s and ask if you can use it for practise.
