3 things you didn’t know about the SAS Academy for Data Science

The SAS Academy for Data Science launched in January 2016. Six years later, the Academy is still going strong with over 36,000 activations and has helped many learners gain the professional credentials they need to take their careers to the next level. When it originally launched, the Academy was in-person, but now it is totally virtual with self-paced, online classes that prepare you to take certification exams in three different specializations.

The SAS Academy for Data Science is one of many paths to becoming a data scientist. It is designed for those who have a background in programming and mathematics, who want to upskill as part of a career change or those who want to gain the hands-on practical skills that can advance your professional growth and experience with SAS and data science.

Did you know that between 2020 and 2021 SAS data scientist postings increased by 18% (Lightcast, 2021)? Here are three more things you probably didn’t know about the SAS Academy for Data Science.

1. The SAS Academy for Data Science is customizable

 
As mentioned previously, the SAS Academy for Data Science has three different specializations. You can pick the program that you want based on what role in the data science process you want to have. The three specializations are:

• Data Curation Professional – for those who want to learn more about big data preparation and data management tools like Hadoop.
• Advanced Analytics Professional – for those who want to expand their analytical skill set by learning predictive modeling, text analytics, experimentation, and optimization techniques.
• AI & Machine Learning Professional – for those who want to apply AI and machine learning to business problems and understand each step of the analytical life cycle

2. You get access to SAS Software

 
Getting hands-on experience is invaluable to both learning how to be a data scientist and getting a job as a data scientist. The SAS Academy for Data Science gives you the chance to practice with real-world case studies and hundreds of hours of cloud software access for the Data Curation, Advanced Analytics and AI & Machine Learning programs.

Because data scientists need a complete toolset to tackle problems, you will also utilize other open-source programming languages like Python, R, Pig, and Hive.

3. You will gain a community

 
No matter where you are in your learning journey, the SAS Academy for Data Science offers you the chance to join a community of others with the same goals. You’ll have access to SAS experts in the SAS Communities forums. The Resource Hub gives you access to webinars, tutorials, e-books, and tons of other learning materials to support you. No more googling for answers and hoping you’ll stumble on a trustworthy solution. The experts at SAS will be here to work through the problem with you.

But the best thing about the SAS Academy for Data Science that you might not know? You can try it for free for 30 days to see if it’s the right program for you. When you sign up for a free trial, you’ll get immediate, full access to all the courses in the Academy. We hope to see you there!