After attending the SAS Day at Texas A&M University on Oct. 2, I came away with a new perspective on some of the different educational offerings to help fill the analytic talent gap (which according to studies and research  continues to grow). In essence, there is a yin and yang of where to find your data scientists. While your company may need to hire new employees, you may also find that you have employees right under your nose who want to grow their careers while benefiting the company at the same time.

Universities from across the world are developing new programs and degrees to help meet this demand on both sides of the equation.  While many programs like North Carolina State University's (NC State) Master of Science in Analytics, provide graduate level education in a full-time 10-month program, Texas A&M's program offers a part-time, five semester Master of Science in Analytics open to working professionals.

Programs like NC State’s help develop new data scientists to enter the workforce, while Texas A&M's program is geared toward helping companies develop employees already within their workforce who possess a foundation of skills that can be further developed to fill these data scientist roles. And there you have it – the yin and the yang of where to find your data scientists!

Both types of programs are essential to help companies invest in the analytic talent they need to remain competitive, whether that means hiring new employees or investing in your existing workforce.  This is why SAS is actively involved in providing support for programs like these at many universities, as well as providing teachers and students with free access to SAS Analytics via our Analytics U program. With these kinds of investments across the board in analytics education, I am optimistic the skills gap will continue to narrow.