Any SAS Programmers or Analytics People Here?

[BunsGettingFirm]

I have been surfing the job boards lately, and I notice that the SAS analyst jobs for pharmaceutical and credit card companies seem very interesting. The jobs seem to require programming and analytical skills that are typical of engineering work but combined with some understanding of business decisions in the framework of the overall business. Is anyone here actually doing such jobs? If so, how do you like the job, and what are the pros and cons? I know that every job has its BS because people are stupid, but does the job exercise both your analytical ability and your managerial ability?

[ScooterGuy]

Back a couple of decades, I was given a job I really didn't qualify for, as a junior SAS programmer, on the basis of my ability as a statistical data analyst, drawing from my PhD. Dissertation work. So I had to learn SAS pretty much on my own. At that time (1989), there were only two books available: the 3" thick SAS manual, and a barely-there introduction. The system 'ran' on a Data General mini-computer, and had only dumb-terminals and line printers.

What a blast! I never got training at the SAS Institute -- trial-and-error, on-the-job training from the get-go! Towards the end, there was a beginning effort at Micro-SAS and a SAS-MAP program.

I had to leave when the program was de-funded, and never was able to get the needed training to get a certificate. Sigh!

[BunsGettingFirm]

Quote:

Originally Posted by ScooterGuy Back a couple of decades, I was given a job I really didn't qualify for, as a junior SAS programmer, on the basis of my ability as a statistical data analyst, drawing from my PhD. Dissertation work. So I had to learn SAS pretty much on my own. At that time (1989), there were only two books available: the 3" thick SAS manual, and a barely-there introduction. The system 'ran' on a Data General mini-computer, and had only dumb-terminals and line printers. What a blast! I never got training at the SAS Institute -- trial-and-error, on-the-job training from the get-go! Towards the end, there was a beginning effort at Micro-SAS and a SAS-MAP program. I had to leave when the program was de-funded, and never was able to get the needed training to get a certificate. Sigh!

Thanks for answering! So I take that learning a new programming language was very fascinating, but was the statistical stuff too basic give your Ph.D.-level stat skills?