I am just trying to send out a message about how Kriger institute and/or Espoir bridge consultants are a big bogus... They have material ( I am not even sure which is up to date)on line and by making you pay $1600, they grant you access to that material.They promise resume writing , job placement, towards that they send you couple of generally advertised positions..You must be wondering why this is bogus... B'caz at the end of each chapter there will be a question, you do research and send in the answer, immediately followed by your answer they send you another answer (auto reply mode) and they never correct your answer not they give you feed back..It gets better listen to this, there are topics like CRF (Clinical report forms) and absolutely what they have what in reality they look like are completely different...I am so desperate for my money that  I even want to go to court and get my money back..But at least if you are in the market for a good  CRA certification program, all I can advise you is not to go with Kriger and don't get cheated by their website as i did

SUSAN, what can we do to get our money back? did u pay through credit card?

hithanku every one .i also got same mail frm espior actually i was abt to join this but after reading ur comments i dropped it

D. Clements, were you refered to them by EspoirBridge?

Why would y'all mention these concerns on an obscure blog?  Why not with BBB or a state or fed attorny general? I checked Kriger out with Better Business Bureau and found no unresolved problems.  And the 3 resolved problems were all billing not content or ethics.  I'm not defending Kriger aka EspoirBridge aka IBPA aka Clinqua aka whatever (although the training they give is true if out-of-date) but if you have proof (I don't) then take it to the authorities so that fplks like me don't fall for this.By the way "Someone with a brain", you DO have to pay for a job - college or training (like KRC offers).

Anute, if you curently work at a university, I would suggest the following: contact professors at the Department of medicine, health professions, Psychology/Neuroscience & Nursing to see if they have any research going on for which they need research assistants. You have better odds since you already work there.

About training, I would recommend you volunteer a lot. You need practical experience. Just helping out in a clincial study for 1 month goes a long way. Check if your university has a centre for clinical research - they would have training programs each month on different aspects of clinical research b/c the professionals need to stay up to speed too. The programs are free, though registration is generally required since seats are limited.

You only become a certified CRA after 2 yrs work experience. At this point, mentioning "CCRP or CCRA" on your resume will set you apart. Otherwise, you basically begin at an entry level position and work your way up.

Lastly, be proactive! Tell everyone you know that you are looking for work in this field. Search job banks, use google, set up career alerts, send out resumes even when not sollicited. Make sure you target your search and apply for positions for which you qualify.