Last month I commented that many job adverts for statisticians seemed to
demand SAS knowledge, and wondered if this was to the detriment of
demanding statistical skills in analysing data. Several people wrote to
agree, and cited difficulty in finding jobs because of the apparent
barrier (no job with experience, can't get experience without job). On the
other hand, three insiders suggest the barrier is by no means absolute.
The infamous "male2000" (see comments on list) put forward the view that
this is just the action of commercial forces in the real world; I can
agree with this, taking it as reinforcing the view that the role of HE is
to challenge and resist commercial forces.
However, in making this summary I made a quick survey of job ads on
allstat. This is not definitive or accurate, because the only conclusions
I draw are that the jobs advertised vary considerably in scope and
requirements, and that there were more offers than I expected. I ignored
studentships and looked only at "proper" jobs. Obvious re-mailings were
ignored, and adverts for multiple posts were counted as one job, so the
counts in the table are probably underestimates. As the tabular layout has
got muddled when pasted as text, the spreadsheet is attached. (If you
don't trust me, don't open the attachment.)
In the table, jobs are crudely classified as pharmaceutical (for a drug
company), medical (which might involve clinical trials), academic
(research fellow to prof), "public service" (national or local government
or NGO), financial, or industrial. If specific software was noted as
essential or desirable, this determines the column; if the emphasis is on
statistical skills, the "not specific" column is used. Phrases such as
"experience in sector essential" or "familiar with standard software" may
be interpreted as permissive or restrictive. Having looked at jobs
advertised in June/July, a separate table is presented for February in
case a flurry of adverts in June had given the impression of SAS
dominance.
I thank those who wrote to me, but, as several people indicated they were
providing personal (not corporate) views, I will not tabulate the names.
In making the summary, I will recant the sugestion that SAS is dominating
or distorting the recruitment market, even in the pharmaceuticals sector.
It was encouraging to see adverts specifically for statisticians and
offering SAS training. Those seeking jobs might be consoled by the
thought that there are jobs to match all types of experience, and that
many adverts do include the "or equivalent" clause to allow in someone
who is willing to learn.
R. Allan Reese Email: [log in to unmask]
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