EXHIBIT 31.1

                                    PDI, INC.

                     CERTIFICATIONS PURSUANT TO SECTION 302
                        OF THE SARBANES-OXLEY ACT OF 2002

       CERTIFICATION
       -------------

       I, Charles T. Saldarini, certify that:

       1.     I have reviewed this Annual Report on Form 10-K of PDI, Inc.;

       2.     Based on my  knowledge,  this  report  does not contain any untrue
statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact  necessary to make
the statements made, in light of the  circumstances  under which such statements
were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

       3.     Based  on  my  knowledge,  the  financial  statements,  and  other
financial  information  included in this report,  fairly present in all material
respects the financial  condition,  results of operations  and cash flows of the
registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

       4.     The registrant's  other  certifying  officer and I are responsible
for establishing and maintaining  disclosure controls and procedures (as defined
in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15e and 15d-15e) and internal  control over  financial
reporting  (as defined in Exchange Act Rules  13a-15(f) and  15d-15(f))  for the
registrant and have:

              (a)    Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused
       such  disclosure  controls  and  procedures  to  be  designed  under  our
       supervision,   to  ensure  that  material  information  relating  to  the
       registrant,  including its consolidated subsidiaries, is made known to us
       by others within those entities,  particularly during the period in which
       this report is being prepared;

              (b)    Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or
       caused such  internal  control  over  financial  reporting to be designed
       under our  supervision,  to provide  reasonable  assurance  regarding the
       reliability  of  financial  reporting  and the  preparation  of financial
       statements for external  purposes in accordance  with generally  accepted
       accounting principles;

              (c)    Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's  disclosure
       controls and  procedures  and  presented  in this report our  conclusions
       about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures,  as of
       the end of the period  covered by this report  based on such  evaluation;
       and

              (d)    Disclosed  in this  report any  change in the  registrant's
       internal  control  over  financial  reporting  that  occurred  during the
       registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the  registrant's  fourth fiscal
       quarter in the case of annual report) that has materially affected, or is
       reasonably likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control
       over financial reporting; and

       5.     The registrant's  other  certifying  officer and I have disclosed,
based  on  our  most  recent  evaluation  of  internal  control  over  financial
reporting,  to  the  registrant's  auditors  and  the  audit  committee  of  the
registrant's   board  of  directors  (or  persons   performing   the  equivalent
functions):

              (a)    All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the
       design or operation of internal  control over financial  reporting  which
       are reasonably  likely to adversely  affect the  registrant's  ability to
       record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

              (b)    Any  fraud,   whether  or  not   material,   that  involves
       management  or  other  employees  who  have  a  significant  role  in the
       registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

                                         /s/ Charles T. Saldarini
                                       -----------------------------------------
                                               Charles T. Saldarini
                                       Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Date:    March 14, 2005