Clinical Research

UPDATE 2023-SEP-05:
Any responses before line 3429 did not have these updates.

• Added a column for "year salary was applicable": You can put a single year or a range of years. Answer is limited to only 9 characters in hopes that there will only be numerical values and the dash, ex: 1989-2023. It is optional as it is implied that the salary added is the salary received in the year of the timestamp.
• Added data rules to salary: It is now only limited to numbers so no symbols can be added and no varying answers.
• Added "salary comments" in case anyone wanted to elaborate on their salary. It is optional.
• Column A is now unhid, but small so you still need to expand it. This is for the timestamp.

I made a Google form that we can all fill out anonymously about our role and salary. u/snoopypoo31's recent post is what initiated the creation. I based it off responses from their thread, from my colleagues’ suggestions, & from the original media spreadsheet I had previously mentioned. Please feel free to share with your colleagues in the field. I really hope this can be a resource for people. I think it's important to have transparency & it can help with wage or contract negotiations.

This is the link to the form: https://forms.gle/o1HcTmEjZfaQV4Dx7

After you submit the form, the response spreadsheet link will appear. Just in case, here it is: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/17aLpPq3XfaB3qRXmrF2rL_99RrU5d5IAC-nOOQJI_Ek/edit?usp=sharing

Thank you!

For the current CRAs, are your travel requirements still 30% or more in your role or do you see significantly less travel requirements now with more sites doing remote monitoring?

Hi All,

I live in sydney australia and am about to get into a CTA or CRC position in Med onc. I wanted to see what everyones experiences are in the clinical trial industry in australia specifically.

What was youre journey like for CTA --> CTC --> CTM/CRA

What does your current salary look like and how many hours a week do you work for those of you in higher positions?

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Hi all - I've been a oncology Clinical Research Specialist for 2.5 years at a large hospital in NYC. My role is in between a CRC and CRA so I handle both patient and data management.

I'm looking to tap into a CTA/CRA role at a CRO or sponsor. Would love to share my CV with anyone willing to look at it :)

Long-term goals: I would love to work as a CRA for Allergan Aesthetics (Abbvie) and eventually get into Research Project Management.

Short-term goals: In order to get there I need to be a CTA first or CRA 1.

So I’m a 25M looking to get into the clinical research field. My background is in Food Science but getting into the clinical research field is something I find super interesting and the career growth looks to be pretty good in terms of salary and titles etc.

I was just wondering for those who are in this field, is a masters (in Industrial Pharmaceutics) worth it or should I try and get into the field at an entry level job? But I just don’t think a degree in food science will get me in.

Any help would be greatly appreciated!

Hi all. I am a research project manager at a large hospital system in New England and manage multiple federally funded R01s. I have an MPH and about 5 years of experience in non-profit and hospital research (RA, CRC, PM). I handle all of the operations for these projects - many are international and I manage timelines, budgets, ethics, data management systems, data quality, and staff. I’ve also managed multiple study launches and conduct monitoring visits. Like many of us on the site side, I’m very underpaid and looking to move into private industry for an additional challenge and pay increase.

I’ve been applying to positions for months - mostly project management roles, but have heard nothing back. I know most people usually break in at the ground level as a CRA/CTA and move up from there and Im wondering if it’s possible to “skip” that step since I already have a good amount of monitoring and management experience. Is there anyone out there who successfully moved into a PM role in industry from academia? I’ve read a lot of CRA/CTA job descriptions and I really feel like I’m overqualified, but maybe this a naive perspective? Not sure. I’ve been trying to make my network work for me but I’m being denied from jobs that I feel completely qualified for in terms of experience and responsibilities.

Let me know what you guys think or if anyone has advice. Thanks!

I've been browsing through this subreddit for a while, and I've noticed a recurring theme of negativity and frustration in many of the posts. It got me thinking: Is the clinical research field really as bleak as it seems here?

I understand that every profession has its ups and downs, but the sheer volume of stories about burnout, unethical practices, and overall dissatisfaction is quite overwhelming. People are constantly complaining about the lack of job opportunities, being overworked and underappreciated, or even struggling to find any work at all.

I'm genuinely curious to know if this is an accurate reflection of the industry or if it's more of a space where people come to vent about their worst experiences.

For those of you who have been in the field for a while, do you think these dark perspectives are representative of the majority, or is it more of a vocal minority? Are there positive aspects of working in clinical research that are just not being highlighted as much?

I'd love to hear your thoughts and experiences, both good and bad. Any advice for someone planning to leave his job and seek a new job in few months from now ,would be greatly appreciated!

What types of trials do you enjoy working on? If given authority, which type of trials would you implement? While the benefits of decentralized trials are clear, it’s important to consider all perspectives. Are there any reservations about this approach?

I've noticed on LinkedIn that a few clinical site owners [who call themselves clinical research gurus - hahaha], are strongly opposed to decentralized trials. They are concerned that their business might be negatively impacted as site budgets for certain activities could be reduced. It's apparent that they have nothing to do with patient centricity. Let's take a vote—my vote goes to hybrid trials.

View Poll

Hey folks,

 

I'm hoping you can help me with some questions regarding my plans. I want to open a clinical research site in Africa. I believe there are several advantages for sponsors to work with a site in Africa: it would be cheaper, more diverse, and have a larger patient pool, potentially solving the bottleneck problem. I've talked to several consultants about this, and most of them have been encouraging (maybe to encouraging), telling me it's a good idea and will definitely succeed with hard work.

 

However, the last consultant I spoke with admitted that he wasn't very experienced with Africa. He had only worked with one African client a while ago, and it wasn't about opening a new site from scratch. It was about getting them a trial, which took about a year, but he was the one who sounded more realistic about the whole venture. He advised me to be aware of several issues, such as the possibility that my Principal Investigator (PI) might be research-naïve, which sponsors generally dislike. Sponsors typically prefer working with experienced sites and cannot put all their research outside their target markets (America and Europe).

 

My questions to you all are:

 

·         Am I wrong in my assumption that Africa has all these untapped advantages?

·         If Africa has these advantages, why are there so few sites in Africa, and why isn't it more of a focus?

·         India has successfully attracted outside sponsors. What are they doing differently that Africa could learn from? There are several stories from India where sites started small and gradually grew bigger.

·         Do you know any consultants specialized in this area who might be helpful for me?

 

Thank you for your time and insights!

In the past month, has anyone actually interviewed and been hired for a CRA 1 or CTA position at any CRO? Openings have been scarce but I’m wondering if any of them have even been real, or just ghost postings. We all know of the recent layoffs as well

Hey everyone. So I wanted to share my story and how I ended up making this decision today to give up my pursuit of getting into the clinical research field. I never really did too well in highschool, but I graduated just fine. It was during my senior year I began working as an Audio Visual Technician doing freelance work setting up corporate events (lighting, cameras, video work, etc..) which paid really well and I for the most part enjoyed it. However, I always had a love for science and a passion for helping others, and I knew deep down I didn't want to continue in the technology industry as an AV tech.

After working AV for a few years, I saved up enough to put myself through college where I graduate in Dec 22 with a B.S. in Biology from a very well known and highly accredited university. I was so proud of myself since I struggled in highschool to graduate with a 3.5 GPA. I knew during my undergrad I wanted to pursue a masters or doctorate degree as either a Physician Assistant, MD, PhD, Genetic Counselor or Clinical Researcher.

After graduating college, I struggled to find any employment related to my field of Biology. During this time after I graduated college, and even while in college, I had been applying to just about every job I could find that was in some way related to biological science or clinical research. After several months, and after applying to hundreds of jobs, being turned down from every single one of them, I finally got a job as a Lab Assistant at a blood bank. In this job I was making very little money, but had a good purpose. It was during this time I applied and got accepted into graduate school to earn my M.S. in Clinical Research. I began my graduate studies and I loved studying clinical research. However, I still continued to apply and have interviews with no luck.

Eventually I got a job offer for a chemical engineering company to work as a Quality Control Laboratory Analyst, making double what I was making as a Lab Assistant. However, I was stepping away from a medical lab and working just in a very simple chemistry lab working with plastic materials. While the pay was good, the work hours began to get worse and worse, where I'm now working almost 7 days a week regularly. The moral is awful, and there's no since of purpose, and I'm not in a position where my work positively impacts others like I've always wanted. During my time with this company, I have had numerous clinical research interviews and I get denied from every single one, that is if I even get an interview.

This week has hit me hard. After reading so much on this subreddit about the industry laying people off, and people with way more experience and background than I have not even being able to get another job in this field after being laid off, combined with the fact I have applied to well over 1100 clinical research jobs, had 5 interviews and 0 offers over the past 2 years, I feel I have no choice but to set my sights on another field.

I want to be in this field so bad, and between spending all my free time after working 7 days a week on school and applying to clinical research jobs for close to 2 years now with no results, I don't see how I can justify continuing to pay for my graduate school in a field that I have no chance at getting a job in. I don't want to continue lab work either as I'm burnt out doing the same repetitive tasks day in and day out, and I feel I need to set my sights on a more ambitious and lucrative goal.

I started thinking yesterday that I need to follow my love of science and technology and apply that to something purposeful and something that I have a better chance eat obtaining than a clinical research job. I'm seriously considering pursuing a career in the Air Force as an officer and applying my science background to a new career within the Air Force. I just feel like I have no other options at this point, and being 26 I need to find something that I feel is purposeful, meaningful and fulfilling.

Would you mind sharing how the WLB is like? Pros and Cons? TIA.

Got headhunted for a position at as a clinical informatics/bioinformatics scientist at a large healthcare network (~70 hospitals, >300 total sites). It’s a blend of public health work and molecular bioinformatics. Anything from public health intervention analysis with EMR pulls all the way to RNAseq. The department head has his own AI startup that he will let me work on peripherally once I’m trained on PyTorch. The healthcare network is currently 80/20 split between sponsor initiated and investigator initiated research, respectively. My role is a 50/50 split between leading my own research and being a collaborative data expert on other projects.

I didn’t anticipate having this job nor did I ever even consider it beforehand. All of my PhD work was clinical trials (I ran a single site clinical trial tip to tail, the whole shebang beyond medical inclusion/exclusion and some procedures that needed MDs or techs). Working at a healthcare network feels like a bit of a strange middle point between industry and academia. Where do I go after this? I’m planning on staying here for 2 years before relocating. I’m genuinely open to anything from MSL to bioinformatics and anything in between.

I’m currently PhD+ 8 months Postdoc at the start of this role.

Hey all! As a software engineer looking to make an impact in the clinical research space, the research I have done is showing me there may be some room for improvement in the space of clinical trial recruitment and enrollment.

I just wanted to get the thoughts from the people actually running these studies, is there any standardized software that is used across the industry for patient recruitment/matching? If so, what pain points have you come across when using this software, or is this software missing crucial functionality altogether? Looking to see what areas in this space require improvement and how filling these gaps could improve the clinical trial matching process.

Thanks all!

Hello, I'm quite new to the clinical research field. I'm wondering what are the job titles of the people who configurate EDC/eCRF/eSource? Like setting up the questions, answer options, validations etc. And do they normally do other things other than this?

Hi all!

I am currently a Senior CRC at a site. I’m actually the only CRC in the department in charge of 10 studies for 7 different neurosurgeons. I do everything from start-up to being doing patient related activities. This includes 12 hour surgeries doing data entry in source documents and helping the surgeon follow protocol/guidelines (every patient is different for stem cell trials). I’m extremely underpaid for the amount of work I do. I have an MPH and MBA, have 6 years of experience in research but been in healthcare more than 10 years. I was previously a speech pathologist assistant. I have been promised the Clinical Research Manager title and never happened. I am very interested in working in industry but haven’t received any call backs. I am applying for project management jobs since most of what I do is regulatory work and being a liaison between site, sponsor and CRO. Any advice?

I have a job offer to go back to my old career and need advice. I am currently a CRA at a sponsor for oncology and I was part of a bridge program (super lucky but was a pay cut). Been at the sponsor for 9 months. I didn't have a clinical research background but worked at a large healthcare company and delt with the FDA and hospitals, so I had some relevant experience. I feel very confused because after 8 months I am only signed off on COV and SEV and I'm not busy. Getting routine visits or training visits for sign off has been like pulling teeth with my manager. No idea why it's going so slow. Other CRAs say they are swamped.

My old employer has now offered me a new position with a pay bump. New job is local travel. Work load and stress varies greatly day to day. I would be repairing medical devices.

I'm worried if I stay as a CRA I will become swamped and miserable based on what others say. If I leave I will wonder if I left an job that didn't consume my life.

I'm just frustrated at being at a job for 9 months and having no idea what the work load is. How busy are sponsor oncology CRAs? When asking people at my company they say they are super busy. Why am I not busy? I've had no negative feedback or reason for the slowness.

Not sure what to do. Any advice is welcome.

Hi, 4 months ago I declined an entry position - PV Associate in Primevigilance. Some family matters led me to make that decision. Since then a day doesn't pass for me not to regret my decision. I want it because it is something I want to work on in my life.

Taking into consideration that someone in my profession (dentist) rarely gets an opportunity in this field. I decided to apply again for the same role. Does anyone know if a company in this area gives a second chance? What is your advice ?

Thanks

Hello everyone, I m going to start college soon and going to major in psychology BS. Is there anyone who has majored in same and is in this field. I would like to know all the basics of getting into the field. What type of jobs should I apply to? Types of internships to do. Any insight on this would be really great. :)

So it’s time to job hunt. I think I’m about 6mo - year out from actually NEEDING a job so I’m starting now. I’ve applied for multiple CRA positions at IQVIA and Merck. It would be entry level.

Had 1 internal referral and 1 taped interview. I don’t expect much else this cycle. I now have questions given this experience.

1. How long until the cycle renews and you can submit new applications?

2. How are you getting referrals? Does LinkedIn ever help?

3. How are you finding out who the hiring manager is for the position you want?

4. Are you emailing or LinkedIn mailing?

5. Does anyone ever agree to the informal interview?

I think that’s it. I haven’t applied for a job since 2007.

Anyone have any experience working at Cytel? I am searching for open positions there but do not know anyone who is a current or past employee to give their honest opinion

When they mention hybrid work-from-home, how many days does that typically involve? Are you required to be on campus a certain number of days each week, regardless of your workload?

Spring/Summer in the metroplex is so unpredictable. After yet another trip of delayed and cancelled flights, just wanted to see how the rest of those who travel mostly in& out of DFW/Dal are surviving? I’ve seen that Thursdays are typically the worst for thunderstorms but this week it’s been pretty bad every day.

Just curious what other CRC/CCRCs make on average. If you’re comfortable with sharing, I’d greatly appreciate it! I love the position I’m in, and I am extremely lucky where I landed, as I didn’t know a single thing about research prior, but would love to see what other mutuals make at the same position on the national level. I’m freshly 24 years old, have been in clinical research for a little over a year, got my coordinator certification just about a month ago as soon as I hit my requirements, if you’re willing, please share 😊

I'm an MD with 4.5 years of experience as a CRA in Europe, currently looking for a new job in clinical development or medical affairs. I've been searching for over 2 years with no luck. I started looking in Clinical Development (medical monitor, clinical research physician) but this is extremely competitive for the moment. For this reason I also started applying in medical affairs (MSL, MA). Every application I get the same feedback: lacking experience. Besides continuing to apply and network as much as possible, are there any other strategies I can try? Are there valuable courses (really valuable for recruiters I mean), maybe even internships, or freelance opportunities that could help boost my chances? Am I missing some options?

I am interested in a couple of jobs with Novo Nordisk (I have some direct contacts) but none of the job postings mention anything about remote (not even an option to select). Does anyone know if they offer remote or working from home?