SAS® is the most valuable career skill, per Money and PayScale study

Free SAS learning options can jumpstart careers

A massive study confirms what thousands of employers already know: SAS® Analytics skills are the most valuable skills a candidate can bring to the job market. Money and PayScale “analyzed 54 million employee profiles, across 350 industries, with 15,000 job titles – from entry-level workers to top execs. The result: an authoritative list of the skills with the best payoff in the workforce today.”

Of all skills considered by employers, the report found SAS to be worth the most in terms of salary. A likely cause: the rise of big data. “…(C)ompanies can use this information to do things like target new customers, improve service, and offer more personalized products – as long as they employ folks who understand how to organize, analyze, and apply it,” states the report.

SAS has customers at more than 80,000 sites around the world, including 91 of the top 100 companies on the 2015 Fortune Global 500®. Career opportunities abound as demand for SAS talent soars.

SAS training programs expand to address demand

“As analytics has become part of the fabric of business, government and academia, we’ve launched a range of programs to meet growing talent deficits,” said SAS CEO Jim Goodnight. “At the same time, these programs are opening rewarding career opportunities to people around the world.”

The Money/PayScale study isolated “the specific skills (from a universe of about 2,300) correlated with higher pay, advancement, and career opportunity.” Correlating with an average pay boost of 6.1 percent, SAS was most valuable. Data mining and data modeling were also highly valuable skills, both of which are accomplished using SAS.

The good news? People can learn SAS for free.

Free SAS software. For anyone. Anywhere.

SAS University Edition provides free access to SAS software quickly and easily for anyone to learn quantitative analysis. SAS University Edition makes writing and submitting code easy, with a powerful graphical interface to SAS advanced statistical analysis software.

In addition, free e-learning resources and online tutorials are available to help users get started or to get help with specific tasks in SAS.

SAS is free to professors, students and researchers

More than 44,000 professors, students and researchers are now wielding powerful, advanced analytics through free, cloud-based SAS OnDemand for Academics. Professors can include the latest versions of SAS technologies in their curriculum, helping students hone the skills in high demand by employers. University researchers can quickly apply powerful SAS Analytics to projects. All for free.

SAS OnDemand for Academics and the company’s flagship data visualization product, SAS Visual Analytics, are also available via Teradata University Network.

Enroll in SAS Analytics degree and certificate programs around the world

SAS partners with traditional and nontraditional graduate and undergraduate programs around the world to create degree and certificate programs that generate the analytical talent organizations need to make the most of big data. SAS has helped launch nearly 50 master’s and undergraduate degrees and 100 certificate programs in analytics and related disciplines.

Supercharge SAS and big data skills

Launched in January, the SAS Academy for Data Science imparts skills in big data management, advanced analytics, machine learning and data visualization, along with the essential communication skills needed by data scientists today.

This immersive program consists of two levels and three industry-recognized credentials. Each level combines classroom instruction, a hands-on case study or team project, access to the related SAS software and a coach to help guide learners. Upon successfully passing certification exams, students can become a SAS Certified Big Data Professional, SAS Certified Advanced Analytics Professional or SAS Certified Data Scientist.

Want to get SAS certified?

The SAS Global Certification program has long been the standard for industries like banking and pharma. Launched in 1999 to validate the skills and knowledge of SAS users and partners, the program has awarded more than 95,000 SAS credentials to individuals in 77 countries. A wide variety of SAS training options are available to help people reach career goals. All the options above can help you become SAS certified.

More information about the study can be found in the Money article, “The 21 Most Valuable Career Skills Now.

About SAS

SAS is a global leader in data and AI. With SAS software and industry-specific solutions, organizations transform data into trusted decisions. SAS gives you THE POWER TO KNOW®.

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SAS® is the most valuable career skill, per Money and PayScale study

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