SAS certification

[Annie Howe]

Hi,

I am a physicist. I have passed P and FM, the next one is C. I am working part time as a software engineer. I don't think I can get an internship because I am out of school. Also I am in Canada. I have started applying to entry level positions in the United States.

I have applied for Canadian citizenship and I am waiting for the paperwork to go through. Also I have a graduate degree in the States, so I am exempt from the quota. This means an H1 is all but guaranteed if I am sponsored.

I have VBA work experience...

How much would it help me to take an SAS exam, as opposed to trying to get 4 exams? 4 exams may help in Canada but probably not that much in the US.

For example, is this one good?
SAS Certified Predictive Modeler using SAS Enterprise Miner 5 or 6 Credential
(This credential is designed for SAS Enterprise Miner users who perform predictive analytics.)

It costs about the same as an actuarial exam.

[Annie Howe]

I just applied at a position and I got a rejection email about 5 minutes later. That was sure fast!

I wonder if they took the time to read through it or just looked at the form, saw that I clicked the button for "I need sponsorship" and that was it.

I hope I get a job before then, but I wonder if I can say "I am allowed to work in the US" once I am Canadian. Technically I wouldn't be, but getting a visa must be trivial.

[Sub_Zero]

...just looked at the form, saw that I clicked the button for "I need sponsorship" and that was it.

yep, probably automated

[nin01001]

In the US I think you might come have trouble justifying 4 exam pay without actuarial experience, but I've heard 75%+ of the actuaries I work with wishing they had more SAS/VBA experience. I got my job based on my ability to learn SAS (I'd used R in the past and am decent with VBA.)

Just my 2 cents, absolutely in no way an expert

[Colonel Smoothie]

The coding for these automated systems is shoddy at best. You can write something like "Visual Basic" and get filtered out because you didn't write "VBA."

[Doc Holiday]

Originally Posted by nin01001

In the US ... have trouble justifying 4 exam pay without actuarial experience

Only at seriously cheap consulting firms/companies.
Places with great exam programs welcome 4 exam candidates.