I get the whole argument for being certified. However, what are the real work benefits YOU have received from being SAS certified?
Additionally, how has it helped you market yourself (as an employee or independent contractor)?
What benefits have you gotten from SAS once you were certified?
Etc...
SAS Certification is a 'check the box' phenomenon. It allows companies to tout that they are 'certified', and is required by some companies before they'll do business with you.
As far as its 'common sense' value, it only says that you have a process in place and that you follow that process. It doesn't say that the process actually makes sense.
It helped get a contract once, especially as my score was higher than that of the recruiting manager, and now looks nice on my CV, that's about it. TBH the questions I didn't find so relevant to everyday programming but it does demonstrate you know what's going on behind the scenes (data vector etc), but I did mine back in 2002 and it's probs changed loads since then.
I did the Advanced Certification and I found it well worth the effort. I can't say that it helped me find a job, but it did give me a pretty comprehensive understanding of the capabilities of the language - enabling me to write slicker, more efficient code in response to problems of increased complexity. In short - it made me a better, more rounded SAS programmer. I would look favourably on job applicants who are certified. After all - "Number of years using SAS" does NOT equal a high level of proficiency with SAS!!
whilst it is true that the syllabus is broad and you may not use most of the features in your every day job (eg importing flat files), just knowing the functionality exists can get you out of the sh*t on the day that it does become necessary!
Simply speaking , getting a Base SAS certification helped me to score better on my peers during the appraisal period , eventhough I`m the junior most member of my team
it did not help me much and i have been certified five times. as a long time sas user, the certification exams were easy, even advanced ones. just took them without preparation and passed with high scores. passing exams, though, didn't get me a raise; didn't help me get a new and better job. didn't impress my boss, either. many other long time sas users just seem to think the certifications are irrelevant, if not totally silly. just my experience so far. if you are an employer who values certification. i would like to have your phone number. :-)
The Base SAS Certification is not helping at all. I lost job due to recession. I am trying to get job in SAS and I am not getting at all. I have little live project experience in SAS but I have very good knowledge about it as a tool. I have scored very high in the certification. I also have a relevant masters degree from one of the most reputed schools in uk. Still I am not getting job. Nothing can replace experience. This certificate is just a way for SAS to make some additional money I guess. If I had job I would even get an advanced SAS Certificate. But I lost motivation now.