Does the Certification Really Help You get the job

I have come across this question a lot in my work, and it is my feeling that it realy does not matter if you have these certifications. What companies want to find is the kind of experience you have, and once you have that, it always looks good to have those credentials. I am both certified as a coordiantor and a monitor, but I would not say that it either helped me or hindered me in the market. Some of my friends who are contractors refuse to take the exam and feel it is extortion as both the review session and the cost of the exam is expensive. ALso, the questions do not reflect 'real life work' at the sites nor the SOPs you have to follow at a company, so why take or keep the certifications?

I keep mine, I guess, to complement my experience. But I can tell you that I am going on 10 years in this industry, and companies are really more interested in therapeutic experience rather than the titles.

Any thoughts or opinions, both positive and negative, are welcome.

Yes it really does help after I complete my certification I actually start getting calls back and had to offers in the same week. However, the online courses are not real certifications. The companies like to see that you attended a program and that you have actual working experience. Being a CRA is about experience. I am currently working at a CRO in Piscataway, NJ. Attached to the CRO is an Institute where I began as a student 3 months ago. The school is called American Scitech Institute. Its a very thorough educational program. The classroom training is 6 months in duration upon completion you will be CRA certified and have the option to participate in a paid internship. Once you have completed the internship you can either be hired directly by American Sci Tech International or we can place you. If you work hard, communicate well and pick up the information quickly you can be hired quicker. I was in the same position many science majors are in 3 months ago and the school has provided me with numerous opportunites. I hope this helps. If you would like to talk to me directly please feel free to call me at 201-709-7077 or email me at msantoro@americanscitech.com. I am holding a seminar there this Saturday if you would like to attend please email me.

Good Luck

hi there,
i am biologist and i really want to be CRa but in Turkey it is really diffucult so first of all i would like to ask if i get CRA online courses will it help me or not?
thanks