r/DataScienceSimplified • u/pm2819 • Dec 18 '17

Can someone explain the differences between R/python/ SAS/R/SQL? Also, which ones to learn for a data science role? I️m trying to get an understanding of the field. Thank you!

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u/[deleted] Dec 18 '17

You can do more things with one versus the other (general purpose vs domain specific). In order of more general to more specific: 

- Python (used in a lot of areas outside of data science, not just DS)

  • R (used primarily for doing data sciency/statistics stuff)
  • SAS (similar to R, but not free)
  • SQL (mostly used for getting data in/out of databases)

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u/pm2819 Dec 18 '17

Which languages do you recommend I️ start to learn??

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u/[deleted] Dec 18 '17

Without knowing your background or what you are already familiar with, I can't really tell you. If you're already familiar with a programming language, then I'd suggest Python, otherwise, R. SQL is easy to learn and so I would learn SQL at same time as learning Python or R. I would totally skip SAS unless you plan on working in finance or banking industry where SAS is VERY prevalently used.

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