SAS^® Education and Certification is opening doors for SAS^® professionals

SAS^® Education and the SAS^® Professionals network recognise expert skills and are driving new opportunities for independent SAS practitioners in a challenging marketplace, says SAS Consultant Paul Dutton.

Paul Dutton, Director of NLD Consultants, describes himself as "a professional SAS® developer who's also very good at design and architecture. I can take a business requirement and build upwards from there, including hardware, software, data structures, implementation… end-to-end stuff." His latest role, which uses only a fraction of that skills set, involves using SAS and Microsoft technologies to enable "world-class credit risk model development" at Lloyds Banking Group, utilising Base SAS®, SAS® Integration Technologies and SAS® Metadata Server. Recently, Paul updated his SAS Certification - and is clear on the reasons why: "SAS Certification is opening doors for me and can do the same for others. At technical interviews, you have the answers you need on the tip of your tongue - which impresses any employer."

SAS^® Certification: ‘standing out from the crowd’

Formerly a SAS BI Consultant for HM Revenue & Customs, Paul spent nine years as a Data Warehouse and BI Solutions Architect at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK), first experiencing SAS in 2004. At that time, he attended four SAS Education courses: Base SAS Fast Track and the certification exam (scoring 92%), SAS® ETL Studio, SAS® Enterprise Guide® and a rapid warehousing methodology course delivered onsite. “In the evenings I worked on redesigning our system on paper, and spent the next few months redeveloping in SAS.” After GSK stopped funding training, and prior to leaving the business, Paul's certification lapsed. “At that time I didn't really need certification, even though I used SAS every day.” Once independent and looking for contracts, however, the value of certification soon became apparent

“There are so many SAS consultants out there, and I needed something to help me stand out from the crowd. I haven't got a degree, leaving school after A-Levels, but have an enormous SAS knowledge plus workplace experience. I knew SAS Certification could be a ‘stepping stone’ into a company.” Paul refreshed his certification at the SAS Professionals Convention 2010 and completed advanced certification shortly after; he says questions at his Lloyds Banking Group technical interview directly related to content featured in the advanced SAS exam. He received the contract.

Preparing for his exam, Paul used the SAS Professionals website (sasprofessionals.net) and “followed the forum comments and discussions every day. I was on a full-time contract so couldn't join the pre-convention online sessions, but I made sure I completed the trial questions, to give me an idea of where the exam might go and to make me think about different parts of SAS; you can get caught up in the bits of SAS you know or use regularly.” The trial questions prompted him to buy the SAS Certification prep guide, especially since he couldn't join the web sessions. “I did attend the first-day revision course at the convention, which helped clarify a few more things. I knew where I needed to brush-up my skills.”

He adds, “If you're a SAS contractor and thinking about certification, I'd really recommend it. Without it, for example, I'd have 'ummed and ahhed' at my Lloyds interview. Yes, I knew the answers, but without having revised and sat the exams 12 weeks before, I wouldn't have been able to fire the answers out straight away. Even if you can't attend the training you should still buy the prep guides, pay exam fees and sit them. Then you'll be far more aware of the questions that employers are asking.”

Paul has since completed SAS® Data Integration Studio training, and plans to attend a SAS credit risk course and the five-day Platform Administrator training. “I pay for the courses myself so they have to deliver value to me professionally. And they do, every time. I could pick up a book, or get course notes from the US, but I wouldn't be able to ask questions, to 'dig deeper', test the boundaries of the software I'm being taught, and pick the brains of tutors. I relish when I visit SAS and expand my knowledge. I always come away with something else to think about, not just the course, but ideas about what I want to do next. I'd like to teach SAS myself, eventually, passing on some of the knowledge I've gained through my experiences.”

Join the professionals

Paul continues, “The benefits of SAS Professionals and the convention, for me, are mainly around the SAS Certification and free training. I'm self-employed, so that's worth a fortune to me. And it was a surprise - I hadn't been expecting it.” He says the convention is a great opportunity to see which companies are using SAS and in what areas: "That gives me ideas about where I need to focus my aim when I'm looking for my next contract; I'd like to work in insurance, for instance. So I can open up my portfolio, and try to develop my knowledge of as many sectors as possible - because then I'm more employable.

“Trying out new software, looking behind the scenes, is always fun, and always beneficial. And networking with SAS people gives me the confidence that this is what I should be doing for a living. The SAS people remember me, so I get a sense that it's not just me working alone: I feel part of something bigger, a SAS community." Has he genuinely benefited? "In terms of a return on my investment in SAS training, yes: it's probably ten-fold,” Paul says. “The money I've put into SAS Education is nothing compared to what I've got out of it, financially, in terms of the people I've met and worked with, new experiences, and the knowledge I've gained. I'm very excited to see where this will all end up for me. After seven years, I feel I'm still fairly new to SAS - but I've also come a very long way.”