The best options to study for SAS Certified Base Programmer for SAS 9 Credential

article
datascience
sas
Published

February 21, 2014

Modified

August 16, 2015

Created on Friday, February 21st, 2014 at 6:59 am

If SAS software will be a part of your career then get certified by passing the SAS Base Programming Exam from SAS Institute. It is designed to test your knowledge in writing SAS programs to access & manage data to perform queries and analyses. It also creates a good impression to your client / company.

http://support.sas.com/certify/creds/bp.html

Option 1: If you can afford it or have your company/institution sponsor/subsidize you, then the two courses offered by the SAS Institute is the best way to learn the Base SAS system & programming.

SAS Programming 1: Essentials http://support.sas.com/edu/schedules.html?id=277&ctry=US

SAS Programming 2: Data Manipulation Techniques http://support.sas.com/edu/schedules.html?id=278&ctry=US

It is a highly structured course with code examples, exercises & practice questions that will thoroughly teach you the basic concepts of SAS software & Base SAS programming.

Option 2: The next best option is to purchase the following book

Base SAS Programmer Certification 3rd edition

http://www.amazon.com/SAS-Certification-Prep-Guide-Programming/dp/1607649241/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8

It is a condensed version of the full course & hence is the best option for those that cannot afford the full course. Use it with the Base SAS software available at your academic institution or company & practice all the example code. You can also buy access to SAS OnDemand to use SAS software through the Internet to practice for the exam.

Option 3: Join an institute that offer training in SAS & statistical analysis. They usually frame their SAS course syllabus & material from the official courses & have computer labs with access to Base SAS software. The advantage here is having an instructor who can give you feedback on your progress & clear your doubts & queries regarding the exam.

Preparation: You can be ready with 4-5 months of preparation if you follow any of the above options. Modifying existing code & using different procedures / keywords to achieve the same result is best way to understand how SAS works. It requires time & practice as SAS software is vast & comprehensive.

SAS Institute also offers a practice exam that you can purchase to test yourself before attempting the actual exam.

It should be understood that in addition to all this, there is an abundant amount of material on the Web to help you learn Base SAS programming & prepare for the certification credential exam. All the best!