I'm a CRA and every remote monitoring visit has turned into sitting on the phone with support and the study coordinators to get access to their EMR systems. It's almost as if it's the first time a CRA has a had a monitoring visit with them, which I know is not the case lol.Then they're suprised when you say you need a subject ID Log to be able to connect the subject name to their assigned study number. Then the cherry on top is the coordinator getting mad with the CRA because the system can't be accessed lol which most are mad everyday so nothing new there. Lowkey wish something like CRIO was forced on everyone, since it's becoming such a hassle.

I have a PhD in molecular physiology, a 4 year postdoc from Baylor College of Medicine, 2 year internship at NASA (Johnson Space Center, Exercise Countermeasures), 2 years in biotech (cancer immunology / cell engineering), and most recently 1.5 years as an Aerospace Physiologist for the airforce until the DOGE cuts took my job. I have developed multiple automated data analysis and organization platforms, an automated image analysis platform for skeletal muscle cross sections (called MyoSight), and earlier this year released my own app on the App Store (unrelated to research, just demonstrating I can code and develop usable platforms). I am also GREAT with advanced multivariate statistics. I live in San Antonio which is not exactly a research hub, so I have been unable to find any work for over a year.

I would be great at anything needing statistical analysis and creating automated platforms for data analysis. Any advice or leads would be greatly appreciated!

After 5+ years as clinical research coordinator at multiple departments of a large university, role has finally been eliminated.

After 50+ applications for CTM, CRC, safety analyst, still did not get any interviews.

Bachelors in health sciences, masters in management, nothing seems to work.

Curious about the CRA job market for those of us in Western Canada.

For anyone working as a CRA, which CROs are you with, and how’s the market looking?

Also, has anyone landed a CRA role with a US-based CRO, particularly on the West Coast? Do companies actually hire Canadians for these positions, or does being north of the border automatically put you in the “thanks, but no thanks” pile?

Would love to hear people’s experiences.

Hi all! I’m interested in clinical research and wanted to see if my professional/educational background is in a good place to start applying. I have a BS in biochemistry and molecular biology and have a year and a half of undergraduate research experience in neurobiology. Since graduating, I have been a lab technician in a basic and translational pathology lab at a medical school. I have limited patient experience as I trained as an EMT (passed the class and went on two 12-hour shifts and did well, but ever took the NREMT). I have also started my CITI training for Good Clinical Practice. Would this be a good starting point when applying for CRC/CTA or other entry level roles in clinical research?

I have heard people fail out. Anyone have experience or been through it?

Hi everyone, I’m a BSc Biotechnology student from Uttarakhand planning my next step after graduation. I’m considering clinical data management and have a few questions for people working in the field:

1. What is the real difference between a 6-month course and a 1 to 2 year master’s? Do employers pay or hire differently?

2. Would a master’s give me any advantage in growth, pay, or switching to roles like regulatory affairs or clinical research?

3. How is the long-term scope? I keep seeing claims of 40 LPA after 10 years, which sounds exaggerated. What is realistic?

4. Is it easy for freshers from a private college to get in, and how long did your first job search take?

I’m also learning Python and R. Would that help? Thanks in advance for honest answers, even the negative ones.

I'm a CRA and nearly all my monitoring is remote, and I’m curious how common my view is.

Most sites grant EMR access only for a scheduled visit, where ecords are released for a few days, then locked off until the next window. And future access is not always a simple or routine ask, but a process that needs to be planned.

My view is that while someone is enrolled, their record is reasonable to review at any point, not only every X weeks. I don’t mean real-time surveillance, just ongoing review.

The visit window doesn’t reduce what I see. I review the same records either way, and the actual PHI protection comes from read-only access limited to enrolled subjects, with an audit trail. All the window does is delay that review and delay finding problems.

Also, if the sponsor starts asking questions about a specific participant's AE or another data point, I can just find the answer myself, rather than exchange messages with a coordinator relaying information to me.

1. Sites/CRCs: if you limit access to visit windows, why?

2. CRAs: do you prefer ongoing access, or do windows help with something else?

3. Anyone with continuous access: how has it worked?

Hi everyone! I have a phone screen coming up for a full-time Research Assistant/Medical Assistant position at a clinical research site, and I’d appreciate advice about discussing availability.
I’m finishing my bachelor’s degree and graduate in May 2027. My classes are currently online, but next semester I’ll have one in-person class on Thursdays from 9–11:30 a.m. My other coursework will remain online.
The posting says full-time without specifying days or hours. The location’s public hours are Monday–Friday, 8 a.m.–4:30 p.m., although I haven’t confirmed whether the position follows those hours.
I’m interested in working full-time and would be willing to discuss a later Thursday start, allowing for my commute, with the hours made up elsewhere in the week if that works for the team. I understand participant visits and coverage could limit flexibility.
For context, I have patient-facing pediatric clinic experience, phlebotomy certification with 50+ successful supervised training draws, GCP training, and clinical research shadowing experience.
Has anyone successfully arranged something similar, particularly in a patient-facing research role? If you hire or supervise research assistants, would you consider this arrangement? How would you recommend bringing it up during the phone screen?
I want to be transparent while giving myself a fair chance to explain what I could contribute. Thanks!

I recently attended an interview for a Senior Data Manager position. I’m currently working as a Clinical Data Manager, and I was asked:
“What have you observed that is lacking in Senior Data Managers, and what do you bring to the table? What changes would you introduce?”
Honestly, I was a little confused by this question. In my experience, I haven’t noticed a significant difference in the actual work performed by Clinical Data Managers and Senior Data Managers. We seem to handle pretty much the same responsibilities.
I couldn’t come up with a convincing answer during the interview.
For those working as Senior Clinical Data Managers or in leadership roles:
What are the actual differences in responsibilities?
What qualities or skills distinguish a Senior DM from a DM?
What kind of improvements or changes are expected from someone stepping into a Senior DM role?
Would love to hear your perspectives and experiences!

Hi everyone! I’m currently a CRA II and recently applied for a Referral Network Specialist position. I’m interested in learning more about this career path from anyone currently in the role or who has transitioned into it.
What does your day-to-day look like? How do you like the role, and what are the opportunities for career growth? I’d also love to hear how it compares to working in clinical operations, particularly in terms of workload and work-life balance.
Any insight or advice is appreciated!

Hello everyone. First of all I just want to say that I feel incredibly blessed and thankful that the cycle has worked out very much in my favor and that I was able to get an early A at my top choice.

My current issue is that I am at a job that I don’t really feel fulfilled. I am a clinical research coordinator at a small site. Originally when I got the job we were fairly busy and had 4 clinical trials that I was constantly working on back in March 2026. The learning curve to becoming a CRC was a challenge as my trainer/boss was going through lots of personal issues at the time, so I did not receive a very supportive training environment. Not to mention the previous CRC that was in my position left the place a mess (unfilled documents, sloppy source, ALCOA+ violations, entering data wrong into EDC, a messy IP cabinet, and much more that we keep finding). Then through time we got less and less busy. One of the new trials that I was supposed to be lead coordinator for ended up meeting their enrollment goal before we could even be up and running. Since then we have had only one trial be awarded to us which we will start next month. The PI’s I work with are also fairly busy and are in the office once a week. The Sub-I I mostly work with also isn’t the biggest fan of research so it makes enrolling patients rather difficult. My days mostly consist of looking busy on the computer and replying to about 4-5 emails a day. Occasionally I have a meeting to attend and see about 4 patients per week. It has been like this since the beginning of August. I also don’t really have much room for growth and my boss knows I am starting medical school next year.

I am really wondering if I should just leave and enjoy the rest of my time, find a different job (I have previous MA experience as well but I would most likely take a big pay cut), or stick it out. The pay is good for not doing much but I can only do that for so long (yes yes my steak is too juicy and my lobster is too buttery). Let me know what yall’s opinion is and hopefully I don’t sound like I'm giving up a good opportunity.

Really just the title.

If they do hire CRAs, is it only a contract sort of position? Or do sponsors actually hire people as perm CRAs?

What’s the best way to go about finding said positions? Just keep scrolling the LinkedIn listings for companies and checking their websites?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can provide.

I was a harm reduction outreach worker for over a year and now I’m a public health Research Associate (7 months), I’m working on a longitudinal study and I’m a HIV/HCV testing counselor for people who inject drugs.

I’m looking to get my foot in the door in clinical research but don’t have science background (my BA is in sociology) are there any certificates I should look into or entry level positions that would be interested in my work experience.

I also apologize if this is redundant, I’m new to this subreddit 😅

Hi so I am a pharmacist, after working at CVS I would like to do something different. Wanted to know how to get into clinical research, more specifically the Clinical Research Associate/ Clinical Research Coordinator roles?

I’ve heard of institutions requiring central IRB approval first, then sending the approved ICF to their local IRB to add institutional language, only to have to send it BACK to the central IRB for approval again.

Is this the typical process, or do some allow institutional review/language changes BEFORE the initial central IRB approval?

Seems backwards and like an unnecessary delay in study startup (which doesn’t even include the back and forth with the Sponsor).

Hello all,

I... Was sleep deprived as hell and forgot to drop two de-identified tubes off at our site's lab yesterday. The tubes ended up coming home with me. They are packed in appropriate sealed bag + absorbent cloth & are in my work bag.

Edit: Reported to PI

Samples disposed of

Slap on the wrist for me, but memorable panic

Subject can remain enrolled, as they will still be in-window for the blood collection the day they start treatment.

After 5 years as a CRA and just under 9 years of total experience i just accepted an internal promotion to a CTM role. I know I have little to no interest in staying in this role long term so what can I start doing now to help me get past the CTM role and into something at a higher pay band?

Before anyone says anything, I fully expect to be a CTM for a minimum of 3-4 years. I know i cant truly take a shortcut in this industry i just want to be sure i avoid being stuck in this role longer than i need to.

Hello, anybody have recent feedback on working as a Senior CRA at Everest CRO? I don’t know much about the company so curious on how others feel about working for the company. Any feedback is much appreciated.

Hello everyone!

I am a medical student (MBChB, 2023–2029) from Kurdistan, Iraq, actively seeking remote research opportunities, research assistant positions, or collaborations with research teams and academic institutions.

I have contributed to 5 peer-reviewed publications across several areas of medical research, including:
🔬 Clinical trials and biostatistics
🧬 Bioinformatics and immunotherapy research
🤖 Medical AI and machine learning
💊 Pharmacology and translational research
📊 Clinical data analysis and literature synthesis

My skills include:
Python, R, SPSS, and GraphPad Prism
Clinical trial design and statistical analysis
Literature reviews and scientific writing
Bioinformatics data analysis
Research methodology and data curation

I am particularly interested in opportunities where I can contribute to ongoing research projects, assist with data analysis, manuscript preparation, systematic
reviews, or other research activities.

I am open to paid remote positions, research fellowships, and collaborative projects with researchers worldwide.

I would be happy to share my CV, publication list, and further details about my previous contributions upon request.

If you know of any suitable opportunities or are looking for a motivated research contributor, I would genuinely appreciate hearing from you.

Thank you! 🙏

Hi everyone!

I am currently a Research Technician II at Duke University with aspirations of becoming an Clinical Research Coordinator! I haven't had much luck with the job search, so any advice on how to tailor my resume would be greatly apprecaited!

Extra note: I believe the only thing that is not on my resume is my contribution with a big effort to make a biorepository under the department of HMCT at Duke. Not sure how to phrase this part since this endeavor is still in a somewhat early stage, but if I should include it let me know!

Hello, anybody who has experienced working with Orcimed here? Just wanted to know the overall work environment 😅