Hi Tracie,
I'll try to give you a bit more background info than Steven, for you to evaluate the strength of my opinion on the value of RAC Certification and an RA Master's Degree. My opinion on this matter is evidence-based and developed over the 6 years I have been working in Regulatory Affairs in the San Francisco Bay Area, but, as all opinions, it's relative to my particular career path and the US region where I work.
My RA Certificate from San Diego State Univ. (four 11-week online courses) coupled with my periodic follow-up for one year of an RA Director @ a start-up company landed my first RA job in pharmaceuticals. I have an additional 8 years experience in the biomedical industry in R&D, QA-Validation and Sales. At first, the RA job was a temporary P/T contract, but it turned into a F/T position after 6 months because the company was expanding its pipeline. While working there as a Senior RA Rep, I got the RAPS RAC Certification in 2007.
When I sensed that my company was about to lay-off the employees they no longer needed, due to a recent merger, I started applying fo rthe RA Masters with SDSU, since I could transfer my RA Certificate towards the MS Degree.
When I was "in-transition" and getting unemployment for almost a year, the RA Masters Program served as a time-filler to keep me connected to the industry, besides the many local conferences I attended. I interviewed for both device and drug companies only in the SF Bay Area for a period of 2 years with an average of one interview (phone or face-to-face) per month with small, medium and large companies. From these interviews, it became crystal clear to me that my involvement in an RA Masters Program had absolutely no bearing on how the employeer evaluated me!
It was eye-opening to realize that hiring in RA is ALL about How much Specific Work Experience you have on a Specific product in a Specific therapeutic area with a Specific FDA Center!! Employers prefer not to have to do much training (there's no time and it's too much work!!), and they'll will always choose Experience OVER Academics. Eventually, I got a temporary contract position with an IVD-Device company, which led me to obtain my current F/T direct hire position with Celera, another IVD company.
At all my RA jobs, I discovered that I was better at writing than most RA Reps, and that I learned product-specific RA Strategy/Regulations very fast because of the RA Master's courses I had been taking. Although I felt some SDSU courses were a waste of my time & money because the teachers were not very responsive, the materials were not updated and the course content was not challenging enough, I still got some value out of every class. I have 2 more courses to take and will get the RA Masters Degree by end of 2012.
I probably would have chosen the RA Masters at either John's Hopkins or Northeastern Univ., after comparing courses that some workmates were taking, even if they were a little more expensive. Those universities' RA Masters Programs are much more well-organized, updated and demand more of their instructors to deliver high learning-value in every course. But I had already invested in SDSU, and at the end of the day, the value of an RA Masters ends-up translating into higher credibility for the MS credentials after your name.
In the long-term, once you accumulate that valuable & irreplaceable RA Work Experience, the MS and RAC after your name do signal that you are an RA Professional to employers. Getting that first RA experience is as unpredictable and varied as there are people, employers and regional economies. There's absolutely NO Formula and NO prescribed pathway to advance one's RA career!
Another Career Rule I observed directly from 10 RA/QA professionals and indirectly through many people is that - to get promoted in RA/QA in the Biomedical Industry, you have to leave your company. Corporate policy is rigged against individual promotion because that's how they save money on salaries! I know of 5 people who finally returned to their original company with a higher RA title (Sr. Manager or Director), only after first leaving for another company for a higher title, and then applying back, when the higher title became availbale at their original company.
Career Advancement is like a Chess-Game - you have to predict the opponent's next 3 moves, and be a step ahead. It's not for people who like to sit comfortably and wait for a nice job to fall from the sky!
Best of Luck to you and keep applying to RA jobs, as I do; you need to work the numbers and be willing to do a few lateral moves, if needed. Also, the more you learn how to Critical Think in RA, the more valuable you become to companies, and this will transpire in job interviews.
Regards,
Ana
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Ana Moura, RAC
Sr. Specialist, RA
Celera Corporation (a Division of Quest Diagnostics)
Alameda, CA, United States
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Original Message:
Sent: 12-29-2011 17:19
From: Steven Ziemba
Subject: RAC Certification and Master's program
Tracie,
I would recommend both. A Master's degree indicates a great deal, but having the certification also indicates meeting certain recognized standards.
Hope this helps,
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Steven Ziemba
Albany GA, United States
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Original Message:
Sent: 12-28-2011 13:10
From: Tracie Waters
Subject: RAC Certification and Master's program
Hello to all,
I have been doing research on RAC certification and getting a Masters in Regulatory and I need a little advice. Is it better to be RAC certified, obtain a Masters in Regulatory, or get both? I have been in the field of Regulatory about 4 years and I wanted to know what would be the best route to take to advance in my career. Thanks for all feedback.
Kind regards,
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Tracie Waters
Regulatory Document Specialist
TX, United States
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