Noting that “analytical talent is in short supply and high demand in today’s business world,” SAS is adding Clemson to a growing global university network focusing on creating a larger talent pool of potential data experts.

In fact, SAS has posting for more than 300 jobs, including 50-plus at its global headquarters in Cary. And as a survey showed last year, learning SAS can mean a great deal of money.

A sample of openings:

  • ETL Developer / Data Integration Specialist Consulting
  • Implementation Project Manager – Healthcare Analytics Consulting
  • Information Systems Engineer, Hosting Ops Information Technology
  • Management, IT, Server Infrastructure for SAS Hosted Solutions Information Technology
  • Sr. Business Operations Specialist, SAS Global Hosting & Cloud Services Information Technology
  • Sr. Information Systems Engineer, SAS Global Information Security Information Technology
  • Information Security Engineer, SAS Global Information Security

The collaboration also is designed to boost Clemson’s own big data and cybersecurity programs.

SAS, which employs more than 14,000 people worldwide and posted $3.2 billion in revenues last year, will provide Clemson’s Watts Innovation Center software, services and research assistance as part of the agreement. The investment is valued at some $3.4 million, according to a SAS spokesperson.

“The Clemson Watt Center’s innovative, cross-discipline approach will give Clemson students, professors and researchers from many areas experience with the latest and greatest SAS software,” the spokesman explains. “This will help generate more of the analytics talent in high demand today.”

In addition to North Carolina State, where co-founder and CEO Jim Goodnight graduated as well as taught, SAS continues to reach out to universities through two programs:

  • A masters degree initiative
  • A joint certificate program

Global talent hunt

SAS hopes that its efforts lead to more graduates interested in analytics careers. SAS and other companies say the talent pool is slim even though careers in those fields are very well paying.

“The Watt Center brings together students, faculty and industry in a hothouse for learning and research,” Goodnight said in the announcement. “With data and analytics at the heart of innovation today, that means Clemson can generate more of the talent in high demand worldwide.”

Driving talent growth was also stressed by the spokesman.

“Professors will be able to easily integrate SAS software into coursework, giving students hands-on experience with this highly marketable skill,” he noted.

“In fact, a study of 54 million employee profiles on PayScale.com identified knowledge of SAS as the No. 1 career skill that translates into salary bumps.”

Emily Baranello, vice president of Education, and Jerry Oglesby, senior director of Education, are driving the program, with support from Goodnight, the SAS spokesman notes.

Clemson is certainly no stranger to SAS since Oglesby is a member of the Clemson Watt Center Advisory Board.

Clemson gains access to SAS Visual Analytics, the company’s top data visualization offering, as well as SAS Cybersecurity, which is designed to help clients detect “suspicious” network activity and “thwart” malware.

The full SAS masters, degree and certificate programs list can be found at:

https://www.sas.com/content/dam/SAS/en_us/doc/other1/masters-program.pdf

The complete certificate program partner list can be found at:

https://www.sas.com/content/dam/SAS/en_us/doc/other1/joint-certificate-program.pdf