4 Amazing Career facts about Clinical SAS Analytics
With all the hype around data science, data analytics and big data dominating the industry-trends in coming years, technology chops are becoming critical for success in any career. For job seekers who are just entering the job market, one skill important to get on your resume is SAS.
SAS (previously ‘Statistical Analysis System’) is the most widely used platform for statistical analysis across multiple industries and most notably in pharmaceuticals and finance. Ninety percent of the Fortune 500 use the SAS suite of software, so there’s an inherent opportunity for careers in big companies. In fact, a wide majority of corporate IT departments rely heavily on SAS for data mining, and data analysis. SAS programmers design and test software to make it function properly. In the biopharmaceutical industry, biostatistics and Clinical SAS analytics play an essential role in development of drugs, diagnostics and medical devices.
If you’re considering a training in Clinical SAS Analytics, here are four amazing (anything that talks about a promising future got to be amazing, right?) – facts you need to know about the career prospects:
1. It is one of the most-needed skill today in the job market
SAS Analytics tops the list of 21 Most Valuable Career Skills Now , published by MONEY and Payscale.com, with an average pay boost of 6.1%. Indeed, given the vast amounts of data generated today, and massive improvements in softwares, the ability to organise, analyse and apply data is one of the most valuable skills required by employers. The study mentions “the specific skills (from a universe of about 2,300) correlated with higher pay, advancement, and career opportunity.” Data mining and data modelling were also highly valuable skills, both of which are done with SAS.
Image Credit: MONEY, 2016
SAS programmer is also ranked #81 in the Best Jobs in America survey by CNN/Money/Payscale.com in 2012, with a 10-year job growth projected to be 24.6%
2. SAS professionals typically earn six figure salaries
The average base pay of SAS analysts in the US is $76,410, according to Glassdoor (as on Mar 2018). According to Payscale, the median salary of SAS analyst is $69,746. Indeed.com states the average SAS programmer salary is $85,951. Needless to say, the average salaries of SAS analysts/programmers is typically in six figures, and these are just entry level roles. With more experience and depending on various other factors, these numbers go up substantially. Just starting out? Here’s how you can get Clinical SAS experience.
3. Career Growth is tremendous
SAS programmers or analysts are entry level roles which require working on raw data and undertaking some statistical analysis. The next step-up is a senior analyst, principal analyst, after which you may take on senior people management roles such as senior manager, associate director, director and even vice-president if you have some management qualifications/experience. These would naturally vary from organisation to industries, but serve as good indicator of the kind of growth you can expect.
Image Credit: Career Path in SAS Programming, Medium.com
4. It is high in demand today, with many open jobs to fill
A quick search on job portals show around 10,000 open SAS Analyst positions easily. And this is only going to increase. With more and more studies showing the tremendous growth and increase in demand for professionals with technology skills, and with SAS still being the number one software solutions-provider, we will see demand of SAS analytics continue to grow.
It’s about time you capitalise on this boom. Attend our upcoming information session on Jobs in Clinical Data Science and SAS Analytics on November 8, or contact us at [email protected] or 908-416-1230 to discuss career options.
