You will definitely need a good knowledge of BASE and STAT SAS. I would highly recommend that you at least take an introductory class in statistics. I would also recommend taking a SAS macro class.

It is very hard to get into the pharmaceutical/biotech industry without experience. Therefore, I would very *strongly* recommend that you first work for a principal investigor (e.g., at a medical school) or a CRO (contract research organization). Two years of experience should be enough.

I would also recommend taking some clinical trials courses. Many medical schools and universities offer such courses. Also check out the DIA ( Drug Information Association) website (www.diahome.org) and the "Applied Clinical Trials" journal (www.actmagazine) for information on relevant courses.

Being a good programmer in the pharmaceutical/biotech industry requires more than good programming skills. The more you know about statistics and medicine the better equipped you will be for a job in the pharmaceutical/biotech industry. If you are not willing to get the necessary training to be a programmer in the pharmaceutical/biotech industry then I would suggest that you possibly consider another career path. There are many good careers for a SAS programmer - the biotech/pharmaceutical areas is just one of them.

ishirapundit@yahoo.com (Ishira) wrote in message news:<c0c1cf13.0303241315.26006fbb@posting.google.com>... > Hello all, > > I am new to SAS. I was wondering if you could help me answer some of > my questions. > > 1. Is learning SAS through e-tutorial online at SAS.com sufficient to > be able to confidently apply for a SAS programmer job in a > pharmaceutical company? > > 2. I saw that SAS has numerous components like > SAS/ACCESS,SAS/CONNECT,BASE SAS,SAS/Datawarehousing etc. I would like > to know which of these componets should I learn about to be able to > handle databases in a pharmaceutical company? > > 3. What do the main entry level SAS jobs in pharmaceutical companies > involve? > > I am a computer science Master's student and wish to extend my skill > set so that I can i ncrease my chances of getting a job. My > programming skills are really good and I do have expertise in > databases. > > Do you think it is wise to buy this online tutorial? What should I do > and what software should I mainly concentrate on. > > Thank you all for your answers. > > Ishira