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Just graduated and looking for a career in data analytics? Learning SAS can give you a strong edge, especially if you’re applying to roles in pharma, finance, or government. SAS is often used in industries that require accuracy and compliance, making it a valuable skill. Many entry-level interviews for SAS roles focus on your understanding of data manipulation, basic statistical procedures, and simple coding techniques.
To help you prepare, we’ve listed the most frequently asked SAS interview questions along with clear, straightforward answers. These questions will give you a feel for the interview format and boost your confidence. Whether it’s explaining the difference between a DATA step and a PROC step or writing your first macro, you’ll be able to tackle each question with ease. Start your career with the right preparation and show employers that you’re ready to work with real-world data from day one.
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border_sizes_right=”10px” border_sizes_bottom=”10px” border_sizes_left=”10px” border_color=”#007dc6″ border_style=”solid” box_shadow=”yes” box_shadow_vertical=”4″ box_shadow_horizontal=”4″ box_shadow_blur=”30″ box_shadow_spread=”0″ box_shadow_color=”rgba(0,0,0,0.32)” box_shadow_style=”” z_index=”” overflow=”” gradient_start_color=”” gradient_end_color=”” gradient_start_position=”0″ gradient_end_position=”100″ gradient_type=”linear” radial_direction=”center center” linear_angle=”180″ background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”center center” background_repeat=”no-repeat” fade=”no” background_parallax=”none” enable_mobile=”no” parallax_speed=”0.3″ background_blend_mode=”none” video_mp4=”” video_webm=”” video_ogv=”” video_url=”” video_aspect_ratio=”16:9″ video_loop=”yes” video_mute=”yes” video_preview_image=”” render_logics=”” absolute=”off” absolute_devices=”small,medium,large” sticky=”off” sticky_devices=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_background_color=”” sticky_height=”” sticky_offset=”” sticky_transition_offset=”0″ scroll_offset=”0″ animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” filter_hue=”0″ filter_saturation=”100″ filter_brightness=”100″ filter_contrast=”100″ filter_invert=”0″ filter_sepia=”0″ filter_opacity=”100″ filter_blur=”0″ filter_hue_hover=”0″ filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ layout=”1_1″ align_self=”auto” content_layout=”column” align_content=”flex-start” valign_content=”flex-start” content_wrap=”wrap” spacing=”” center_content=”no” link=”” target=”_self” min_height=”” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” sticky_display=”normal,sticky” class=”” id=”” background_image_id=”” type_medium=”” type_small=”” order_medium=”0″ order_small=”0″ spacing_left_medium=”” spacing_right_medium=”” spacing_left_small=”” spacing_right_small=”” spacing_left=”” spacing_right=”” margin_top_medium=”” margin_bottom_medium=”” margin_top_small=”” margin_bottom_small=”” margin_top=”” margin_bottom=”” padding_top_medium=”” padding_right_medium=”” padding_bottom_medium=”” padding_left_medium=”” padding_top_small=”” padding_right_small=”” padding_bottom_small=”” padding_left_small=”” padding_top=”20px” padding_right=”20px” padding_bottom=”20px” padding_left=”20px” hover_type=”none” border_sizes_top=”” border_sizes_right=”” border_sizes_bottom=”” border_sizes_left=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” border_radius_top_left=”” border_radius_top_right=”” border_radius_bottom_right=”” border_radius_bottom_left=”” box_shadow=”no” box_shadow_vertical=”” box_shadow_horizontal=”” box_shadow_blur=”0″ box_shadow_spread=”0″ box_shadow_color=”” box_shadow_style=”” background_type=”single” gradient_start_color=”” gradient_end_color=”” gradient_start_position=”0″ gradient_end_position=”100″ gradient_type=”linear” radial_direction=”center center” linear_angle=”180″ background_color=”” background_image=”” background_position=”left top” background_repeat=”no-repeat” background_blend_mode=”none” render_logics=”” filter_type=”regular” filter_hue=”0″ filter_saturation=”100″ filter_brightness=”100″ filter_contrast=”100″ filter_invert=”0″ filter_sepia=”0″ filter_opacity=”100″ filter_blur=”0″ filter_hue_hover=”0″ filter_saturation_hover=”100″ filter_brightness_hover=”100″ filter_contrast_hover=”100″ filter_invert_hover=”0″ filter_sepia_hover=”0″ filter_opacity_hover=”100″ filter_blur_hover=”0″ animation_type=”” animation_direction=”left” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_offset=”” last=”true” border_position=”all” first=”true”][fusion_accordion type=”accordions” boxed_mode=”no” border_size=”1″ border_color=”” background_color=”” hover_color=”” divider_line=”” title_font_size=”” icon_size=”” icon_color=”” icon_boxed_mode=”” icon_box_color=”#4f4f4f” icon_alignment=”right” toggle_hover_accent_color=”#3ed9df” hide_on_mobile=”small-visibility,medium-visibility,large-visibility” class=”interview_list” id=””][fusion_toggle title=”Question 61: What is the difference between ‘+’ operator and SUM function?” open=”no” class=”” id=””]
Answer:
The ‘+’ operator returns a missing value if any arguments are missing, while the SUM function returns the sum of all non-missing arguments.
[/fusion_toggle][fusion_toggle title=”Question 62: How can you convert a numeric variable to a character variable?” open=”no” class=”” id=””]
Answer:
You can utilize the put() function within SAS to transform a numeric variable into a character variable.
[/fusion_toggle][fusion_toggle title=”Question 63: How can you convert a character variable to a numeric variable?” open=”no” class=”” id=””]
Answer:
You can utilize the input() function within SAS to convert a character variable into a numeric variable.
[/fusion_toggle][fusion_toggle title=”Question 64: How does SUBSTR function work?” open=”no” class=”” id=””]
Answer:
The SUBSTR function in SAS is used to extract a portion of a string or character variable. It allows you to specify a starting position within the string and the number of characters to extract.
[/fusion_toggle][fusion_toggle title=”Question 65: What is the difference between SET and MERGE?” open=”no” class=”” id=””]
Answer:
SET combines the datasets, while MERGE aligns the observations between the datasets.
[/fusion_toggle][fusion_toggle title=”Question 66: How can you create macro variables?” open=”no” class=”” id=””]
Answer:
To create macro variables one can use any of the following ways:
- %Let
- Call Symput
- Proc SQl into clause
- Macro Parameters
- Iterative %DO statement
[/fusion_toggle][fusion_toggle title=”Question 67: Which date function can advance a datetime value, date, or time by a given interval?” open=”no” class=”” id=””]
Answer:
INTNX function can advance a date, time, or datetime value by a given interval, and returns a date, time, or datetime value.
[/fusion_toggle][fusion_toggle title=”Question 68: Highlight the difference between SCAN and SUBSTR?” open=”no” class=”” id=””]
Answer:
To summarize, the main difference between SCAN and SUBSTR in SAS is their purpose: SCAN is used to extract words or tokens from a string based on position, while SUBSTR is used to extract a portion of a string based on specified starting position and length.
[/fusion_toggle][fusion_toggle title=”Question 69: What is the purpose of ‘BY statement’ in Data Step Merge?” open=”no” class=”” id=””]
Answer:
In SAS programming, the BY statement is used within a Data Step to control the merging of datasets based on common variables. The primary purpose of the BY statement is to indicate which variables should be used as “key” variables for merging data from different datasets.
When you perform a merge operation in a SAS Data Step, you typically have two or more datasets that you want to combine based on certain variables. The BY statement is used to specify these variables. SAS then matches observations with the same values in the BY variables from different datasets and creates a single observation with data from all the matched datasets.
[/fusion_toggle][fusion_toggle title=”Question 70: What is the use of BMDP procedure.” open=”no” class=”” id=””]
Answer:
The BMPD procedure is used for data analysis, regression analysis, hypothesis testing, survival analysis, time series analysis, etc.
[/fusion_toggle][fusion_toggle title=”Question 71: What is RUN-group processing?” open=”no” class=”” id=””]
Answer:
The application of RUN-group processing involves utilizing the RUN statement to initiate a PROC step while keeping the procedure active.
[/fusion_toggle][fusion_toggle title=”Question 72: What is the use CALENDAR procedure?” open=”no” class=”” id=””]
Answer:
The CALENDAR procedure represents data in a monthly calendar format from the SAS data set.
[/fusion_toggle][fusion_toggle title=”Question 73: Which functions are used for character handling in SAS?” open=”no” class=”” id=””]
Answer:
LOWCASE and UPCASE is known as the character functions used for character handling in SAS.
[/fusion_toggle][fusion_toggle title=”Question 74: What is the use of the DIVIDE function?” open=”no” class=”” id=””]
Answer:
The DIVIDE function is utilized to return the division result.
[/fusion_toggle][fusion_toggle title=”Question 75: What is CALL PRXFREE Routine?” open=”no” class=”” id=””]
Answer:
The CALL PRXFREE routine in SAS is used to release memory that was allocated for use by the Perl-Compatible Regular Expressions (PCRE) engine. PCRE is a library that provides support for regular expressions in various programming languages, including SAS.
In SAS, the CALL PRXFREE routine is used to deallocate the memory that is allocated when you use the PRX* functions to work with regular expressions. Failing to call PRXFREE after you’re done using the regular expression functions can lead to memory leaks.
[/fusion_toggle][fusion_toggle title=”Question 76: What is the ANYDIGIT function?” open=”no” class=”” id=””]
Answer:
The ANYDIGIT function is employed to locate the initial instance of a numeral within a string. It furnishes the numeral’s position. Should no numeral be located, it furnishes a ‘0’. With the utilization of an additional parameter, the ANYDIGIT function can initiate the search from any specified position within the string.
[/fusion_toggle][fusion_toggle title=”Question 77: What is CALL MISSING Routine?” open=”no” class=”” id=””]
Answer:
In SAS, the CALL MISSING routine is a commonly used subroutine or function that sets all variables in a specified list to missing values. This routine is particularly useful in data manipulation and data cleaning tasks within the SAS programming environment. When you use the CALL MISSING routine, you provide a list of variables as arguments, and the routine assigns missing values to those variables. This can be helpful when you need to reset variables to a neutral state or initialize them for subsequent data processing steps.
[/fusion_toggle][fusion_toggle title=”Question 78: What is the VFORMATX function?” open=”no” class=”” id=””]
Answer:
The VFORMATX function is used to return the format assigned with the value of the given statement.
[/fusion_toggle][fusion_toggle title=”Question 79: What is the STD function?” open=”no” class=”” id=””]
Answer:
The STD function is used to calculate the standard deviation of a dataset or a variable. The standard deviation is a measure of the amount of variation or dispersion in a set of values. It indicates how spread out the values are from the mean (average) value. The STD function in SAS calculates the sample standard deviation by default.
[/fusion_toggle][fusion_toggle title=”Question 80: How can a SAS program be validated?” open=”no” class=”” id=””]
Answer:
Through the STD function, the standard deviation will be returned for the nonmissing statements.
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