You may be asking yourself, “What is SAS?” First and foremost, SAS is an acronym for Statistical Analysis System. This system is essentially software that includes integrated products provided by SAS Institute Inc. These products assist programmers in many aspects of business including retrieval, management and mining, report writing, statistical analysis, business planning and decision support, project management, quality improvement, applications development, data warehousing, and remote computing. SAS software also includes many business solutions which enable large-scale software solutions for different areas, such as IT, human resources, financials, and customer relationship management.

To further understand SAS, we will delve into a brief historical overview. The conception of SAS was in 1966, and is credited to Anthony J Barr. Drawing on his experience with structured data files and creating a modeling language titled the analysis of variance, he originated the SAS system. A couple of years after Barr’s initial venture, a man by the name of James Goodnight joined Barr in his efforts, and together they increased the efficiency and size of the SAS formatted file program. SAS Institute Inc. became officially established in 1972 with Barr, Goodnight, Sall, and Helwig overseeing its operation.

SAS is driven by programs performed on tables which store data and pertinent information. There are three major components to the SAS program:

The DATA step Procedure steps, and Macro language

The DATA step component is an automated process that is designed to work with the data of each record individually. The process of the DATA step is uncomplicated. It is essentially a program loop for each individual file, a process that is repeated for each.

Identify files to the operating system Open the input file Read the next record Open the output file Write the next record Close the files

Everything that is not included in the DATA step is in the procedure steps. In this component of SAS, tasks are accomplished entirely on the table, also known as the data set. Users are not restricted and because of this, individual customization of the files is readily available.

The third component of SAS is macro language. In this step, macro code undergoes preprocessing. After preprocessing, the DATA steps are gathered and interpreted at run time (the time during which the program is running). They then run in the order they appear in the SAS program. SAS has one major advantage over other file and data storing programs (general-purpose programming languages). SAS allows the user to focus on the information within the data as opposed to the technical details, which allows for maximum efficiency and a structured, centralized approach.

Once you understand how SAS operates, you can choose to become an SAS consultant. According to Charles Shipp and Kirk Lafler of SAS Institute Inc., to become a successful consultant, your SAS skill is paramount, followed by your skills in creating and running a small business. Critical success factors include training and business preparation, the business plan, marketing material, positioning and image, choosing your areas of services, and lastly, setting a billing rate or project price. When you become an SAS consultant, you will find projects and render services such as:

Programming SAS instruction Market services to companies

The SAS Institute gives some basic guidelines on how to be a successful SAS consultant. You must be able to take inventory of your skills, obtain leads (often referred to as “prospecting”), becoming fluent in proposal writing, and most importantly, take the SAS certified professional exams which are in depth and challenging, but rewarding when completed successfully.

Charles Shipp and Kirk Lafler of SAS Institute Inc. explain the challenges and rewards of becoming an SAS consultant in their paper SAS Consulting: New Beginnings. “Education and experience in the main areas of SAS programming are very important. Being able to work with people is a key success factor. Being able to run a small business, whether as a corporation or as a sole-proprietor small business, determines your success.

Becoming a consultant requires hard work. The value of preparation and on-going training cannot be overemphasized. There is a lot more to being a successful SAS consultant than just knowing how to code. Being a consultant requires wearing many hats equally well, especially one- and two-person companies.

Most consultants do what they do, not because of the money, but because of the enjoyment they receive when their knowledge is used to help someone else. There is no better feeling.”