The Global market research industry is growing at a significant pace and there is a large demand for trained analysts to work in the market research companies. As per the latest report published by Consultancy here, the market research industry is worth $76 billion and the size of the industry has grown by 6% to $81 billion this year. While the US remains the globe’s largest sector for market research services, followed by the UK, the Middle East and Asia Pacific are the fastest growing regions.
It is important for graduates to be equipped with sufficient skills in order to be able to find jobs in the market research industry and these certifications elaborated below do come in handy to learn the latest techniques to grow as a Market Research Professional.
1. IIPMR CERTIFIED RESEARCH EXPERT (CRE)
International Institute for Procurement and Market Research (IIPMR) is a global leader in offering market research education. According to the United States International Market Research Consortium (USIMRC), IIPMR offers Market Research training to Government employees across the world such as US Department of Home Land Security, US Army, US Chamber of Commerce, Government of Canada, UK’s Economic Analysis Wing, Government of Singapore, Government of Guyana’s Ministry of Business, United Nations, Ministry of Finance & Economic Development of Botswana and Government of Kenya.
IIPMR offers three levels of Certification. The first level is Certified Research Analyst (CRA) for beginners, Certified Research Expert (CRE) for mid-level executives and Certified Research Professional (CRP) for Senior Research Managers.
Out of the three certifications, the Certified Research Expert (CRE) designation is the most preferred by recruiters and in high demand across the globe.
IIPMR has Senior Market Research Professionals from 75+ Countries that has completed the CRE Exam and from some of the best brands such as Louis Vuitton, Zara, Procter & Gamble, Walmart, IBM, Accenture, Frost & Sullivan, AC Nielsen, Citibank, Bank of America, Reuters, JP Morgan Chase Bank, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Capgemini, Honeywell, Siemens, LVMH Moet Hennessy, Haix USA, Metrixlab USA, PricewaterHouse Coopers, Bridgestone Americas, Honda etc
Certified Research Expert (CRE)
The salary survey conducted by Payscale.com, shows that Certified Market Research Analysts with CRE designation earn around $85,000 to $100,000 per year whereas non-certified executives earn around $65,000 to $75,000 per year.
The average salary of a Research Manager with CRP designation and 5 – 8 years experience is $108,000 to $122,000 per year.
In order to be eligible to apply for CRE Certification, Bachelor’s degree with minimum 1 year of work experience as a Research Analyst is required.
The fee for CRE is $600 inclusive of Online Exam and two free attempts are allowed for the exam. There is a Re-Exam fee of $50 from the third attempt onward.
The CRE designation is valid for life time and re-certification or renewal in future is not required as IIPMR offers industry updates, webinars and case studies free of cost. This is one of the prime reasons why organizations allow their employees to sign up for CRE Certification as it is a one time training investment for its staff.
2. University of Georgia
The University of Georgia offers an online market research course called Principles of Market Research. It is rated as the second best market research training available in the market today.
A lot of Government Departments across different states in the US get their staff to be trained in Market Research through this program. If your objective is to work in public sector organizations in policy making, non-governmental organizations, community development organizations and economic departments, then this certification offered by the University of Georgia is the most suitable.
Anybody with Bachelor’s degree is eligible to apply for this Certification. It costs around $1800 including Online Exam and the Certificate is valid for life time.
The duration of this program is 12 months.
Market Research Professionals from more than 50+ Countries have completed this Certification.
3. Market Research Certification by UCDavis, University of California
The Market Research Certification offered by UCDavis is rated the third best by the Global Research Syndicate, an Association of Market Research Companies.
In this Certification, you will learn how to understand the client requirements, scope of the deliverables and create a formal research proposal. Quantitative and Qualitative research methods, survey design, usage of statistical tools, list of paid & free data sources, data analysis, creating dashboards and how to write a market research report are all included in this certification.
The course is conducted 4 hours per week and takes 5 months to complete. The fee for this Certification is $4500 inclusive of Exam.
The market research certificate issued by UCDavis is valid for life time.
