Top 5 Market Research Certifications that are globally recognized

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates the employment of Market Research Professionals to grow by 20% from 2021 – 2025. By any yardstick, this growth rate is higher than that of any other profession including IT and ITES. The average salary for a Market Research Analyst as of January 2021 is $80,745 – $120,000 per year. Market Research Professionals are in huge demand in companies spanning across Equity Research, Investment Banking, Manufacturing, Pharmaceutical and Consulting.

“What makes Market Research Professionals to be in such high demand?”

It is quite evident that the Market Research Industry is set to outgrow every other industry but still there are very few people who are professionally trained in Market Research. This is a classic example of supply not being able to meet the Demand. In other words, although there is tremendous amount of demand for Market Research Professionals, yet there are limited number of candidates who possess the relevant research skills. Research grail analyses the reason behind this situation.

There are hardly any university across the world, that offers an all exclusive program/degree/graduation in Market Research

Certified Research Expert (CRE)

IIPMR Certified Research Expert (CRE) is the most sought after market research certification and preferred by recruiters. It is offered by International Institute for Procurement and Market Research (IIPMR). This certification is globally recognized and also serves as a benchmark to ascertain the quality of candidates for many of the recruiting companies.

There is lack of awareness among students about Market Research Industry. Not many know that Market Research is one of the highest paying industries.

Lets take a look on the popular Market Research Educational programs available today:

International Institute for Procurement and Market Research (IIPMR)

The International Institute for Procurement and Market Research (IIPMR) is based out of Texas, USA. It has members from over 75+ countries and is the only certification body to offer globally recognized market research designations. No other institute offers a course or a certification that focuses in Market Research in its entirety the way IIPMR does. Other certification providers focus either on Marketing Research or Social Research. But IIPMR includes all types of market research such as Consumer Research, Consumer Insights, Market Entry Strategy, Business Research or Industrial Research, Product Research, Trend Analysis, Supply Chain Research, Procurement  Research, Financial Risk Analysis, Price Forecasting, Survey Design, Data Analysis & Interpretation, Insights Generation, Report Creation, Market Research Databases etc.

IIPMR is also rated as the world’s largest Market Research Training Institute. IIPMR offers three levels of certifications namely

1. IIPMR Certified Research Analyst (CRA)
2. IIPMR Certified Research Expert (CRE)
3. IIPMR Certified Research Professional (CRP)

Market Research Certifications offered by IIPMR	Eligibility	Fee
	This is for anyone including college students, graduates or postgraduates interested to start a career in market research. Work experience is not required to enroll for this first level Certification.	$500 including Online Exam
	People with 1 year of relevant work experience are eligible for the second level. CRE is usually done by those working as Senior Research Analyst and Team Leaders.	$600 including Online Exam
	It is typically done by Research Managers, Senior Managers, Head of Market Research, Director of Market Research, VP-Research, CEOs etc. One needs to have a minimum of 3 years of relevant experience in order to be eligible for the third level certification.	$700 including Online Exam

All the above three Market Research Certifications offered by International Institute for Procurement and Market Research (IIPMR) are online courses that are followed by online exams.

The CRA, CRE and CRP designations are accepted world-wide and the certifications have been completed by top companies such as Ernst & Young, Accenture, Deloitte, IBM, Frost & Sullivan, Morgan Stanley, Pricewaterhousecoopers, Mckinsey, AC Nielsen, Reuters, Aranca, US Department of Homeland Security, Government of Canada,  Singapore’s Chamber of Commerce,  Guyana’s Ministry of Business, Government of Kenya, United Nations, Ministry of Finance & Economic Development of Botswana, Government of Abu Dhabi etc

For more details visit: https://www.iipmr.com/education

Certificate in Market and Social Research Practice

This certificate is offered by MRS, a leading Research Association based out of UK. This certification is supposed to be a vocational qualification for the Research Sector. Similar to IIPMR, the Certificate in Market and Social Research Practice is also an online course that is followed by an online exam. In comparison with the CRA Certification, this certificate has a narrow focus and has only 3 modules to learn. Whereas the CRA Certification offered by IIPMR has over 83 modules that needs to be completed in order to be eligible for the online exam.

Folks completing the Certificate in Market and Social Research Practice will be eligible to enroll for the next level which is Advanced Certificate in Market and Social Research Practice. The cost of the exam is £110 plus VAT

For more information, visit : https://www.mrs.org.uk

Professional Researcher Certification (PRC)

The PRC Certification is offered by Marketing Research Association based out of Washington, USA. However this certification is focused only on Marketing. It emphasizes the methods to incorporate research for marketing purposes and insights. There is no mention of what exactly are the modules that one would learn in this certification. Please note Market Research Association has now been renamed as Insights Association.

For more details visit: https://www.insightsassociation.org/advance-career/prc

Graduate Certificate in Marketing Analytics and Market Research

This program is offered by the University of Texas, Dallas. It is quite a comprehensive program as it involves four semesters. The focus is mainly on

Marketing Research,

Interactive and Digital Marketing,

Database Marketing and

Marketing Analytics using SAS.

For more details visit: https://jindal.utdallas.edu

Post Graduate Certificate Program in Market Research And Data Analytics

Mudra Institute for Communications (MICA) is a popular school based out of India to offer this unique program. While the course cannot be taken online, it offers a on-campus program for selected local students and International Students. Total cost for the program is $3500

For more details visit: https://www.mica.ac.in