Becoming Base SAS Certified Tip #1 - Repetition is Key

Hi everyone,

I'm working on a series of posts that are based on a previous blog post of mine below.
http://sascert3.blogspot.com/2013/03/how-to-become-base-sas-certified.html


My goal in this series is to expand on 5 main points that I believe are absolutely critical to passing the Base SAS Certification Exam for SAS 9. The first tip is that repetition is critical to learn and retain all the information on the Base SAS exam.


Tip #1 - Repetition is the Key

I'm sure by now you already know that the amount of information covered on the Base SAS exam is huge. The SAS Certification Prep Guide book has a total of 21 chapters and 794 pages.




Unless you have a photographic memory (I certainly don't), you won't be able to read this book though once and retain all the information. Even if you do have an awesome memory, the Base SAS exam asks some really tricky questions, and they make sure that you paid close attention to even the smallest details buried in the prep guide to get the 70% needed to pass.


Action Items:

To make sure you're able to learn and retain the information, I recommend buying and reading this prep guide through at least 2 times and completing the following action items:

The first time, read through the information in each chapter and complete the 10 questions at the end of these chapters. Don't feel like you have to get caught on every small detail at this point because you'll be reviewing and fine-tuning later on.

Next, check your answers with the key in the back of the book and review questions and areas that you missed or were unsure of. This will help you identify your weak spots and hopefully correct them early on in your studying.

The second time, re-read each chapter and create a cheat sheet of important topics and sample code for each of the 21 chapters. I included definitions, important functions, and any tips that the prep guide specifically called out. As you read through the material this time around, pay close attention to smaller details that you could picture being on the exam (Example: the length of resulting strings when using the SCAN function). Include this information in your cheat sheet so you can review it closer to exam time.


Summary:

This level of repetition will definitely get you ready for the Base SAS Certification for SAS 9 exam, and you'll walk into the testing center confident that you've read and reviewed every topic they could possibly throw at you.

Let me know if this was helpful to you by leaving a comment below. For those of you who have already passed the exam did you do anything differently while studying? I'd be curious to hear other effective studying methods.

Good luck studying!
SAS Cert

Base SAS Example Question 5.1

Fill in the blank to output the first 5 observations from the filename col_inp.


data work.column_file;
     infile col_inp _____;
     input id 1 Name $ 3-16 Address $ 18-35;
     where Name contains 'Ziggy';
run;


a) maxobs=5
b) obs=5
c) datalines=5
d) lines=5


Leave your answer as a comment below...good luck!

SAS Cert

Base SAS Example Question 4.1

Leave your answer in the comments below...good luck!

-SAS Cert

_________________________

Assume the variable 'Unit_Cost_Price' (numeric) contains both missing and non missing values. What would the below output contain?

proc sort data=ecsql1.price_list;
 by Unit_Cost_Price;
run;

a) A new dataset work.price_list is created with Unit_Cost_Price sorted in ascending order with missing values at the bottom of the dataset
b) The dataset ecsql1.price_list is sorted with Unit_Cost_Price sorted in descending order with missing values at the bottom of the dataset
c) A new dataset work.price_list is created with Unit_Cost_Price sorted in descending order with missing values at the top of the dataset
d) The dataset ecsql1.price_list is sorted with Unit_Cost_Price sorted in ascending order with missing values at the top of the dataset

Base SAS Example Question 3.1

Anyone know the answer to the below question? Leave your answer as a comment, and I'll post the solution once we get at least 3 responses.

Remember, all these example questions I post are similar to questions that would appear on the Base SAS Certification exam. If you can answer these correctly, you can crack the questions on test day!

Good luck!
SAS Cert

-------------------------------------------------

Which of the below lines opens an external SAS file?

a) include 'd:\programs\sas\newprog.sas'
b) include 'd:\programs\sas\newprog.sas';
c) file 'd:\programs\sas\newprog.sas'
d) file 'd:\programs\sas\newprog.sas';

Base SAS Example Question 2.1

Be sure to leave a comment to the free Base SAS exam question listed below. I'll post the solution in a week or two. Good luck!

-SAS Cert

---------------------------------------------

What keyword should be used in the blank below to list the dataset's variables in logical, not alphabetical order?

proc contents data=air.organics ___;
run;

a) log
b) logical
c) varnum
d) var

Base SAS Example Question 1.1

Hi everyone,

I'm going to start posting example questions for the Base SAS exam about once a week. The questions will test information covered in the SAS Certification Prep Guide, and I'll provide the answers to these questions about a week or two after they're originally posted.

Please leave a comment below this post with your answer - hopefully this will start a good discussion from fellow SAS programmers who are studying for the Base SAS Certification.

Good luck!
SAS Cert

-----------------------------------------
 
How many of the below variable names will not produce errors in an assignment statement?


variable
var
1variable
var1
#var
_variable#


a) 0
b) 1
c) 3
d) 6

SAS Certified Advanced Programmer Questions for You

Hi everyone,

I just purchased the study book for the SAS Certified Advanced Programmer for SAS 9 certification and am really excited to dive into the information when it comes to my apartment. My reasoning for diving back into the world of SAS certifications is that I learned so much studying for the base exam, and I wanted to keep learning and using these tips and tricks that you pick up along the way. Ultimately, I think that the material covered in the advanced certification will help me write slicker, more efficient code at my job which will make me look like a rock star at work.


I have a few questions for any of you who may have taken (and hopefully passed) this exam. I'm just trying to get a baseline of what studying for the exam will be like...


Is the advanced exam more difficult than the base exam?
Did you study longer for the advanced exam compared with the base exam?
Did you find the information more interesting?
Was it worth it to take the advanced certificate in the first place? Is the base certificate sufficient?


Thanks a lot for your help, and I'll be sure to let you all know how my studying is coming along.

SAS Cert

How to Become Base SAS Certified

Studying and passing the Base SAS Certification can seem extremely daunting at the beginning. There's a ton of information to memorize, the preparation materials are expensive, and it costs $180 to take (and possibly retake) the exam.

I managed to pass the Base SAS Certification after 3 months of studying, and I'll let you in on a few tips that helped me crack the test on my first try.

1) Repetition is the key
The SAS Certification Prep Guide for the Base exam is a total of 794 pages (21 chapters of information), and I managed to read this book two times completely through. The first time, I read the book straight through to get a gauge on what I really needed to focus on. The second time, I read the material but zeroed in on the difficult parts and tricky details that might be on the Base SAS Certification exam.

For more detailed examples of how to effectively read and study for the Base SAS exam, feel free to check out my latest blog post that carefully lays out how you should prepare. Hope it helps!

http://sascert3.blogspot.com/2013/03/becoming-base-sas-certified-tip-1.html


2) Buy the SAS practice test
SAS offers a practice test that is 50 questions as opposed to the 70 questions on the real test. This test is a great barometer of where you are in your studying and what you should focus on. I took this test about halfway through my studying (once I had read the book completely through) and looked up each problem that I missed. Later on, I re-took the test (even though I remembered the answers), which gave me a better sense of the types of problems and tricks that would be on the certification exam.

The link for the practice exam is below:
https://support.sas.com/edu/schedules.html?ctry=us&id=851


3) Create your own cliffnotes
I studied with the SAS Certification Prep Guide, Base Programming for SAS 9, Third Edition book, which has a total of 21 chapters. For each chapter, I made my own cliffnotes summarizing the key points. These are a great reference to have the closer you get to exam day.

***Leave me a message if you'd like me to scan and email you some of my notes. Having these could save you a lot of precious study time...


4) Make a schedule and stick to it
The Base SAS Certification tests a ton of information and a lot of the questions on the exam cover really small details that are buried in the book. The only way to get through everything is to lay out a schedule before you start studying and make sure that you stick to it. This way you won't run out of time a week before the exam and have to scramble to get through all the information.


5) Focus on learning, not memorizing
Remember...even though it's nice to have an extra certification listed on your resume, the skills you learn while studying for the Base SAS exam will help you all throughout your career. You may be able to memorize your way to the certification, but ultimately this won't help you if you can't remember any of the information the next day.


I hope this was helpful to everyone. For those of you who have passed any of the SAS certifications, did you find these rules to be true? Let me know in a comment below or feel free to post any other questions or comments that you have.

Take care,
SAS Cert

Number of SAS Certified Professionals Puzzle

Hi everyone,

I'm not sure if you all had heard this, but SAS recently received its 50,000th professional certification credential. According to the link below, the program launched 14 years ago and has averaged double digit growth since it began in 1998.

http://support.sas.com/certify/success.html

As a Certified Base Programmer for SAS 9, I can say for certain that I'm not just one in a million, I'm 1 in 50,000!

Let's turn this into a math problem...

***Use SAS to determine the average program growth rate assuming that SAS had a total of 1,000 professional certifications at the end of 1998. What would the average growth rate have to be each year to reach 50,000 professional certifications by the end of 2012?

Please post your code and answers below! I'm really interested to see the different ways people will use SAS to solve the problem. I'll post my solution in about a week...

Until next time,
SAS Cert

SAS Cert Mission

The mission of my blog, SAS Cert, is to help readers become great at SAS and pass its certification exams.

I have been programming in SAS for a relatively short period of time, but I was completely blown away by its capabilities when I first started using it for work a few years back. I completed the SAS Certified Base Programmer for SAS 9 program, and the skills I attained through studying have certainly been helpful. In my day job as a data analyst, I can now pull, analyze, and report on data much faster than using SQL, Excel, or Access alone (or even combined). SAS is definitely a powerful tool if you know how to use it.

I plan on posting hints and tips about SAS, SAS sample questions and answers asked on the certification exams, and other SAS related topics. I hope you find it helpful.

Thanks,
SAS Cert