SAS (not Hereford!)

[hajaba123]

What is it?
Can I learn it easily?
If a job spec asks for it does that mean the day is spent moving numbers around on a screen?

20 years in banking and commercial finance so I thought maybe a web search for credit analyst might throw up some interesting opportunities. Most skills I've got covered but I fall down on these three little letters. Has anyone got any experience they could share with me please?

Thanks

[Ultraviolet]

Do you mean SAS software which is often used in large companies for statistical modelling? I have managed projects which deploy SAS for credit scoring, for example. Relatively easy to use SAS enterprise guide, at least if you have some background in programming..

UV

[hajaba123]

Yes, that's the one. I guess if I need to ask then maybe I shouldn't be chasing the job.....

[nammynake]

It's used extensively in Credit Risk and pretty much all analyst roles will require SAS (or SQL) except for graduate entry roles.

It's pretty simple as programming languages go. SAS run frequent training courses and also certifications so in theory you could learn before applying for role, but ideally you need to use it on a daily basis to really get familiar rather than learning in a classroom.

Really SAS is just a tool which credit risk analysts use to build models, interrogate data and generate insights/MI.

I've been using SAS for 8 years but not so much the last 2 years as I moved up to a manager position.

[oldbanger]

I have the same issue

The best book I've found is SAS for Dummies. SAS Certification itself costs a couple of k so quite a big investment, really.

For SQL, Microsoft Virtual Academy offers training online for free, though you need to pay for the certification exams. I am very slowly working towards MS SQL certification via this route, but I have found that you do need to top up their training as they don't seem to cover everything that comes up in the exams. I've so far done the MTA certification which is for beginners.

[FunkyNige]

I've been a SAS programmer for 8 years now (statistics side of medical research) and the book I keep seeing banded about is 'The Little SAS Book', some at work have it on their desks but there's loads of papers written about the stuff we do so it's not essential.
We've had a lot of issues with people being certified but not knowing the basics so we don't really look for people being certified any more but go on experience instead.