1. ,
What's Not -
Skills for SAS®
Professionals
A presentation by
Kirk Paul Lafler
Charles Edwin Shipp

2. Copyright © 2007-2009 by
Kirk Paul Lafler, Charles Edwin Shipp and Software Intelligence Corporation.
All rights reserved.
SAS is the registered trademark of SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC, USA.
All other company and product names mentioned are used for
identification purposes only and may be trademarks of their respective
owners.
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Copyright 2007 - 2009 by Kirk Paul Lafler, Charles Edwin Shipp and Software Intelligence Corporation

3. Presentation Objectives
• The World of the SAS Professional
• What’s Hot
• What’s Not so Hot
• Improving Skills / Expertise
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Copyright 2007 - 2009 by Kirk Paul Lafler, Charles Edwin Shipp and Software Intelligence Corporation

4. 4
Copyright 2007 - 2009 by Kirk Paul Lafler, Charles Edwin Shipp and Software Intelligence Corporation

5. The services you intend to offer
should be geared to adding value in
an already highly competitive
marketplace.
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Copyright 2007 - 2009 by Kirk Paul Lafler, Charles Edwin Shipp and Software Intelligence Corporation

6. Taking Inventory of your Skills
• Identify the skills you currently possess
 DATA/PROC step programming
 Macro programming
 Database design
 ODS and specialized output
 Technical writing
 and so on . . .
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Copyright 2007 - 2009 by Kirk Paul Lafler, Charles Edwin Shipp and Software Intelligence Corporation

7. Taking Inventory of your Skills
• Identify the skills you currently possess
 DATA/PROC step programming
 Macro programming
 Database design
 ODS and specialized output
 Technical writing
• Rank each skill
 Expert
 Proficient
 Some working knowledge
 None
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Copyright 2007 - 2009 by Kirk Paul Lafler, Charles Edwin Shipp and Software Intelligence Corporation

8. Taking Inventory of your Skills
• Identify the skills you currently possess
 DATA/PROC step programming
 Macro programming
 Database design
 ODS and specialized output
 Technical writing
• Rank each skill
 Expert
 Proficient
 Some working knowledge
 None
• Identify level of competence
 Cutting edge
 Competitive
 Out-of-date
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Copyright 2007 - 2009 by Kirk Paul Lafler, Charles Edwin Shipp and Software Intelligence Corporation

9. Taking Inventory of your Skills
• Categorize each skill by functional discipline
 Programming
 Design
 Analysis
 Analytics
 Data Cleansing
 Teaching
 Documentation
 Marketing
 and so on . . .
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Copyright 2007 - 2009 by Kirk Paul Lafler, Charles Edwin Shipp and Software Intelligence Corporation

10. 10
Copyright 2007 - 2009 by Kirk Paul Lafler, Charles Edwin Shipp and Software Intelligence Corporation

11. What’s Hot
• Enterprise Guide – GUI point-and-click front-end application
• Hash Techniques – “Fast” table lookups
• Create RTF, PDF, HTML, XML, and Excel Spreadsheets – ODS
• Construct Queries, Tables, Views, Case Logic, Joins – PROC SQL
• Detail and Summary Reporting – PROC REPORT
• Construct Reusable Code and Tools – Macro Language
• Access SAS Environment – Dictionary Tables and SASHELP Views
• Business Intelligence
• Share Structured Data as meta-data – SAS/XML
• Technical Support, Online Documentation – http://support.sas.com
• Social Networking, Blogs, Forums, Tech Supt – sasCommunity.org
• List Serve of archived Technical Support Help – SAS-L
• SAS Certification – SAS Certified Professional Exams
• Statistical and Data Visualization – JMP software
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Copyright 2007 - 2009 by Kirk Paul Lafler, Charles Edwin Shipp and Software Intelligence Corporation

12. 12
Copyright 2007 - 2009 by Kirk Paul Lafler, Charles Edwin Shipp and Software Intelligence Corporation

13. What’s Not so Hot
• SAS/ASSIST®
• SAS/FSP®
• SAS/AF®
• Screen Component Language®
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Copyright 2007 - 2009 by Kirk Paul Lafler, Charles Edwin Shipp and Software Intelligence Corporation

14. 14
Copyright 2007 - 2009 by Kirk Paul Lafler, Charles Edwin Shipp and Software Intelligence Corporation

15. Improving Skills / Expertise
• SAS-led courses (lecture / hands-on workshops)
• Non-SAS Institute Instructor-led courses
• Self-paced computer-based training (CBT)
• http://support.sas.com
• Online SAS documentation in PDF and HTML format
• User-written books from SAS Press, Books by Users (BBU)
• “White” papers on sasCommunity.org and support.sas.com
• User Group presentations and Hands-on workshops
• Podcasts, Webinars and other content on sasCommunity.org
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Copyright 2007 - 2009 by Kirk Paul Lafler, Charles Edwin Shipp and Software Intelligence Corporation

16. SAS Certified Professional Exams
Three Key Areas of Testing:
 SAS Programming
 Predictive Modeling
 Data Warehousing
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Copyright 2007 - 2009 by Kirk Paul Lafler, Charles Edwin Shipp and Software Intelligence Corporation

17. SAS Programming Credentials
Two Credentials:
• SAS Certified Base Programmer Credential for SAS 9
- SAS Base Programming Exam for SAS 9
• SAS Certified Advanced Programmer Credential for SAS 9
- SAS Base Programming Exam for SAS 9
- SAS Advanced Programming Exam for SAS 9
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Copyright 2007 - 2009 by Kirk Paul Lafler, Charles Edwin Shipp and Software Intelligence Corporation

18. Predictive Modeling Credential
One Credential:
• SAS Predictive Modeling Using SAS Enterprise Miner 5.2
- Predictive Modeling Using SAS Enterprise Miner 5.2 Exam
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Copyright 2007 - 2009 by Kirk Paul Lafler, Charles Edwin Shipp and Software Intelligence Corporation

19. Data Warehousing Credentials
Two Credentials:
• SAS Certified Warehouse Development Specialist Credential
- SAS Advanced Programming Exam for SAS 9
- SAS Warehouse Technology Exam
- SAS Warehouse Development Specialist Concepts Exam
• SAS Certified Warehouse Architect Credential
- SAS Warehouse Technology Exam
- SAS Warehouse Architect Concepts Exam
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Copyright 2007 - 2009 by Kirk Paul Lafler, Charles Edwin Shipp and Software Intelligence Corporation

20. Conclusion
• The World of the SAS Professional
• What’s Hot
• What’s Not so Hot
• Improving Skills / Expertise
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Copyright 2007 - 2009 by Kirk Paul Lafler, Charles Edwin Shipp and Software Intelligence Corporation

21. Thank you for attending !
Kirk Paul Lafler and Charles Edwin Shipp
Senior Consultants, Trainers and Authors
Software Intelligence Corporation
For “white” paper send to KirkLafler@cs.com 21
Copyright 2007 - 2009 by Kirk Paul Lafler, Charles Edwin Shipp and Software Intelligence Corporation