Top SAS Courses Online
High quality SAS training for beginners is out there and I’ll help you find it.
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By Ermin Dedic, mydatacareer.com
I’ve scoured the internet to find the best online SAS courses. The way a course approaches the learning of the content,the cost, course ratings (where applicable), and comprehensiveness, have all been considered.
Different educational platforms (Udemy, Coursera, Lynda.com) have different business models, so as a student, one model might make sense for you than another. For example, on Udemy, you can go at your own pace and buy individual courses at highly discounted rates. Coursera courses can be bought individually or you can pay monthly. Courses are taught by well-regarded Colleges/Universities, and specializations are available that include multiple courses that are meant to be taken in order.
There is no doubt that courses related to data science are quite popular on these platforms, including courses on the SAS statistical programming language. SAS is the language of choice for many Western corporations that work with Big Data or data analytics. Banks such as TD, Scotiabank, Wells Fargo, and Bank of America, all use SAS software. In the manufacturing sector, Nestle, American Honda, Maruti Suzuki, and Briggs & Stratton are among some of the other customers. (https://www.sas.com/en_us/customers.html). SAS remains popular today because it is relatively easy to learn, has many different components depending on business need, and SAS customer service is first rate. Because of these benefits, many businesses do not mind paying for this expensive software. Thankfully, as a learner, you can get the software for free. SAS OnDemand (from SAS Institute.) and SAS Academic or SAS Express (from World Programming System).
I want to go over my list of the top SAS for beginner courses based on cost, course ratings, comprehensiveness, and approach to learning.
Complete and Practical SAS, Statistics and Data Analysis Course (Udemy)
Instructor: Doctor Shenggang Li
My first course suggestion, ‘Complete and Practical SAS, Statistics and Data Analysis Course’, is based on the comprehensiveness of the course. There is 16.5hrs of content covering knowledge on Base SAS, SQL, Macros, and some statistical knowledge thrown in. Every topic of importance is covered.
Learn SAS And Become a Data Ninja (Udemy)
Instructor: Ermin Dedic
This is my personal SAS course. It almost exclusively focuses on Base SAS, as I have other courses geared towards SQL for SAS Programmers and an Advanced Course on Indices/Macros. It is always the best rated or tied for best rated among courses that have over 200 ratings/reviews. Recently, a couple of large integration assignments (practical activities) have been added to help with retention of material.
SAS Programming for Beginners
Instructor: Sharon Cheng
Sharon is a SAS certified programmer and worked as a SAS programmer/statistician for 7 years. She teaches at a slower pace that is useful for some students. Arguably, she covers less topics of Base SAS but she has other courses that get into the other details of Base SAS and has more Advanced SAS courses.
SAS Training by Reviewing and Solving Certificate Questions
Instructor: Datagist INC
This is another comprehensive course on Base SAS as it is 10.5hrs in total. I like the course as it is a different approach to learning SAS than the other courses available on Udemy, and is rated highly. This course is very focused on answering questions that may be asked during Base SAS certification, and this has its benefits and disadvantages.
Data Analysis and Interpretation Specialization (Coursera)
This is a course created by Wesleyan University, and is available on Coursera. The specialization focuses on data management and visualization, modeling, and machine learning, using your choice of either SAS or Python. You could also take the courses individually, if you prefer to not take the whole specialization.
SAS Programming for R Users (Lynda.com)
https://www.lynda.com/SAS-tutorials/SAS-Programming-R-Users-Part-1/693103-2.html
This course is created by Jordan Bakerman and is hosted on lynda.com. The course is especially useful for those that have experience with R, and are now looking to get proficient in SAS Base programming.
Certified SAS Base Programmer Certification Training (ed2go.com)
This course is a self-paced online course with a 6-month deadline to finish. While more expensive than the other options, it is certified by SAS. Check with the website about how this certification may be helpful (if at all).
Overview
I hope my review of the top SAS courses online have been valuable. All the courses discussed have been selected because they have one or more of the following components. (comprehensive in nature, have high course ratings, a unique approach to learning, and/or cost).
Bio: Ermin Dedic is the founder of mydatacareer.com, a site that provides free data science resources, along with quality online discounted courses.