If you hate it at SAS so much, why do you stay? This is an honest question. There are plenty of available jobs. I'm sure many of you are capable enough to be able to land something at least as good as what you have now. So why stay somewhere you are so unhappy if you don't have to?
21 replies (most recent on top)
The cliques and gossip made me feel like I was still in high school!
agree with the people who say we don't hate SAS. yes there were / are countless stupid decisions and dynamics that are well written about in these pages. but it's more sad than anything else. there just wasn't much fun and upside any more, and betting on dead languages, dead platforms and dead-on-arrival new platforms didn't make sense. new technology happens. as joy said, most of the smartest people work for somebody else. already left, luckily before age 50. probably should've left sooner, but SAS was fun, the work was fun, pay was ok, the WLB and benefits were great.
"...If you only code in SAS and know no other modern languages, your chances of getting employment elsewhere is low..."
WakeTech has an "Analytics" program, which includes several successive courses in SAS programming. Completing the series of courses takes about 2 years, at a cost of around $2k. Numerous folks, generally unsophisticated and from economically disadvantaged backgrounds, enter the program with dreams of landing an "Analytics" job someday.
With SAS customers decreasing over time, the probability of a payoff from that course of study is incredibly low. Hopefully they are studying other languages, but it seems like a waste of time and money to me to learn that syntax, which probably won't be used. Learning the same procedures in Python and R would be a better use of time and money. It's frustrating, but its not my place to break the news to them.
List of trigger words that upsetting readers here on the SAS layoff hive:
- Elon
- HARDCORE
- Woke, wokeness
- Viya
- Big German
Please add your favorites.
If you only code in SAS and know no other modern languages, your chances of getting employment elsewhere is low. You need to learn newer (more current ) languages other than SAS if you want to continue to be a developer in the long term. You need to learn new computer technologies and tools too. Yes, you have to study and practice on your own. You need to carve out personal time (after workday and weekends) to study on your own time if you're too busy during the day doing your job at SAS. It can be overwhelming for sure, especially if you have a family and kids. Those closer to 60 can ride it out and retire, be offered VRBP, or get layoff but if you're younger than 50 you'd better be proactive and learn new skills.
New drinking game. Take a shot every time a commenter mentions Elon, being HARDCORE, or wokeness. It may help your sanity while reading these posts. It is an interesting (if not bizarre) obsession.
Regardless if someone agrees or disagrees with the continuum of wokeness present in Basically all corporate workplaces, the requirement to keep up one’s skill set is basically universal. Having deep, rare skills (e.g. leading edge ML, or the ability to debug an entire complex stack from Web clients all the way down to the OS kernel) does make it easier to you get noticed on LinkedIn and get interviews. This was a necessity 2-3 years ago when the tech job market was white hot and even more so today.
The gamble is simple: for every day you stay at SAS working on something for which there is little-to-no external demand, you have to do even more homework developing relevant alternative skills if you plan to remain in tech. This can easily become exhausting/confusing within just a few weeks of attempting it.
It really is the “golden handcuffs” problem writ large. JG has paid most of his veteran employees more money than they could make elsewhere without making major sacrifices to upskill and then going through the stress and uncertainty of a potentially long interview process. All of this will eat into your vacation days, personal time with your family, etc..
We live in a modern society, yet the fundamental tenets of economic survival of the fittest still exist.
Lol old white dudes who can't code are salty!
"It's hard being a white dude" people are probably the same people complaining about 'wokeness'.
You stayed here, your skills, such that they are, got stagnant. You have only yourself to blame. You just want to keep riding the wave until you retire while blaming everyone but yourself for the situation you got yourself into.
Signed, one of many older white dudes who didn't have a problem finding a new job
Anyone 50 and older (no matter the gender or race), good luck finding a new job that pays the same or better than SAS in a similar field, unless you have the latest computer skills that the new employers want and if you can compete with the younger ones for those positions.
Most people do not hate SAS. We feel sad for SAS!!! It is not what it used to be.
It should be better than it is but the reality is this ship cannot be righted in this current environment. Too many mistakes made in the the last 15-18 years. It will be extremely painful for all SAS employees, past and current, to see SAS goes down!!! Unbearable for those that love SAS !!!
I worked on a small team that was also badly managed. Maybe it was the same team as another poster, as it was decimated over time. Nothing changed on it during my time at SAS. The same risk-averse manager probably still maintains it.
The whole experience left such a bad taste in my mouth that I left the industry. Where I go from here is anyone's guess. I'll probably start over in a new industry.
I think it's more a pandemic-stimulus-versus-impending-recession thing. The job market is not what it was two years ago.
As someone over 50 and in IT, I haven't seen any jobs with big salary boosts like everyone claims. Maybe it's an IT vs. R&D thing.
I left without a package also. My small team was so badly managed that eventually we all left.
The manager who achieved that 100% turnover is still in their position. This exemplifies the core problem of SAS. There are many good employees and good managers there, but more who aren't.
Age discrimination is real. I'm a white male over 50, and it took me months to find a job. I believe I found one only due to the pandemic stimulus bo-m. If I were still at SAS now, I'd stay put.
I’ve been posting on many threads here over the past year or so. I left SAS (sans package — with an overture to stay) on my own and certainly don’t hate the company. SAS has a venerable history and IMO, the company still has potential, but like Elon discovered when he acquired Twitter there are too many “entitled and lazy people”.
At SAS, This is largely the product of a culture that got soft. Until about 10 years ago, consistent growth and “riding the wave” of earlier innovation kept the coffers full. The last decade has seen a slow decline precipitated by poor management decisions and a culture were only a relatively small number of employees are “hard-core”. JG had become less effective as an organizational/technical leader due to the natural consequences of his advancing age. The fact that his ownership share controls the company and that he is multibillionaire just exacerbates this.
Here's a good explanation - https://sphericalcowconsulting.com/2022/11/13/why-dont-they-just-quit/
I for one do not hate it - SAS is still a great place to work - on campus, or remote. Even though I could retire, there is no incentive to do so. I plan to stay until there is a retirement buyout offer. It would be great to have one in early 2024, but I am in no hurry and can keep going for years...
I am waiting, dreaming, hoping for some IPO candy, or a package. If not that, maybe a package when Broadcom buys SAS, albeit a smaller one. Thirdly, I am burned out on this field and career, and no way do I wanna start over someplace else. I am just keeping my head down until it rains money on me or I just finally decide to leave.
Because unless you're a brown female and/or you're 25 years old and wear bowties, a manic grin or very large eyeglasses on your Teams meetings, no one will hire you.
Likely that at least one of the following is true:
- The OP is pot stirring or taking pleasure at throwing salt in someone else's wound
- The OP is unaware of the lack of job market demand for older than 50 white males.
- OP is not in above demographic.
OP, the answer to your question is here:
https://thegcpgurus.com/it-worker-white-male-and-age-50-your-f-ng-screwed-you-just-dont-know-it-yet/
Same question.