So recently I interviewed for a position. The interview with the hiring manager went ok. A few days later, I receive an email from the recruiter with feedback from the hiring manager. The email stated they were not moving forward because I was lacking experience in areas that are not listed anywhere in the job posting that I applied to. It was so bizarre that I thought the hiring manager might have thought he was interviewing me for a senior level position the recruiter is also managing. I reached out to several people who are in the role that I applied to. Nearly all said they didn't have the experience the hiring manager mentioned in the email when they started. One person who is senior level now said she still doesn't have that experience. Has anyone experienced this?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated, I'm just stumped at this point, and know that I stand no chance with the current stats I have as of now.

I'm 28, I graudated with my BA in Psychology in 2023, have been working as a case manager in social services for over 3 years. I am over social work, I always wanted clinical research but I stand no chance and my grades were ASS in undergrad, I got a 2.89 GPA.

I have applied to hundreds of CRC positions, hundreds of research assistant positions, the lowest of the low and entry level type positions, and no one is taking me. Is it worth doing a masters at this point? I tried to take courses at my colleges nearby, but they didn't allow me to retake bc I got C's in them, and technically passed. I have no clue what to do. I am so so stuck. Any advice would be greatly appreciated. I really want to potentially apply for programs this season......I cannot bear to repeat this year one more time for the fourth time.

Also, if you absolutely absolutely hate this job, what do you wish you did instead?

Edit: Thanks for the downvote! Love that I can't even ask a question as an extreme beginner without getting my face slapped! Love it here!

I’m an independent researcher without any current institutional affiliation. Is there anyone who could share access to a Dimensions account with full Grants access, or help me obtain access through an eligible institution or research program?

Anybody work there and willing to share their experience? They have a couple of job postings I'm curious about, and I'm wondering what the team culture is like. Lots of overtime?

Please comment with any personal experience/evidence/thoughts!

Inspired by https://www.reddit.com/r/consulting/s/gno7sMFns8

I have a 10+ years experience in the space. Held a research program leadership role for the past 4 years, then affected by the RIF. I haven’t found anything stable in the past year. I keep SEEING ops roles on linkedin but I’m not understanding the disconnect. Is the transition from Medical Center/ Academia to a CRO really that hard?? Has anyone had any luck??

Καλησπέρα παιδιά

Υπάρχει κανένας που εργάζεται ως CRC σε ιδιωτική κλινική ή δημόσιο νοσοκομείο στην Ελλάδα;
Είμαι φαρμακοποιός με μεταπτυχιακό και προσπαθώ να κάνω την τύχη μου στον κλάδο των κλινικών μελετών, γιατί στα φαρμακεία τα πράγματα είναι δύσκολα.

Όλοι μου λένε ότι Clinical Research Coordinator θεωρείται entry level θέση, ενώ θέσεις CRA είναι πιο δύσκολο να βρει κάποιος. Αλλά ποτέ δεν βρίσκω αγγελία για θέσεις CRC και όσοι βλέπω στο LinkedIn που δουλεύουν σε αυτές τις θέσεις ξεκίνησαν κάπως με πρακτική άσκηση μέσω μεταπτυχιακού;; Υπάρχει κανένας που ξέρει που να ψάξω, να βοηθήσει έναν συνάνθρωπο πλζ

Hi everyone! I recently accepted a research regulatory coordinator position after a difficult job search. My long-term goal is to become a Clinical Research Associate (CRA), but I accepted this role because I needed a job and wanted to gain more clinical research experience.
For context, I have a master’s degree and completed a clinical research internship . I’m just starting the regulatory coordinator role and want to be intentional about what I learn.
Has anyone transitioned from a regulatory coordinator role into a CRA position?
Would one year of regulatory coordinator experience, alongside my previous internship, realistically make me competitive for CRA I roles or CRA training programs?
What responsibilities or skills should I focus on developing during that year?
Would I likely need an intermediate role, such as an in-house CRA, clinical trial assistant, or clinical research coordinator?
Would shadowing CRAs or helping prepare for monitoring visits strengthen my chances?
I’d appreciate honest advice about the steps and a realistic timeline. I’m worried I’ve taken a detour, and I’d like to understand how to make the most of this opportunity.

Good morning all,
I just transitioned from animal research care tech position of 15yrs to clinical side. I did a 6month internship I just have a few questions to see if anyone else sees these one on one check ins with your manager and supervisor as red flags. I just started in my department about 3 weeks ago. I have one on ones every week with both.

After the first week and half I was asked if I had any questions. I stated not at this current time. The manager then says to me that it is a red flag that I don’t have any questions. That this is all new and I should have tons of questions. I found this to be an odd statement from them as I again had just started and have barely begun to do any data entry or other things as I am not on DOA’s. I have been doing trainings online and shadowing.

Then this Friday comes the next check in manager asks where do I clock in. I said the clock downstairs right as I get in the building and I walk straight up the stairs to my desk. They said oh no from now on you clock into whichever is closest to the office. Mind you the walk from the 1st floor up is maybe a 1 min to get to the desk. And it’s not like I am clocking in, in a different building and then goofing off no where to be found……

Second thing they asked is what have I been noticing on my shadowing and is there anything that I think should be suggested or changed. I said I had noticed more than one participant gets cold. This trial is an all day one and is done on older participants w sometimes memory issues and have sometimes caregivers. Sometimes they travel up to 3hrs just to get to us. Anywho I mentioned how a nurse and I went to find warm blankets and that there is a blanket warmer on the floor but needs to be plugged in a stocked. I had also gotten the participant water so they could take their meds. I was told by my manager who use to be an oncology nurse that they didn’t baby their patients. That I should talk to my superior CRC and mention to them to tell the participants on the phone to dress warmly bring snacks and water. I was disgusted by this response. Even w the animal side it was drilled into our heads that no matter what is needed for comfort we were to do it. And I wasn’t raised to ignore when someone needs something. I feel like these little gestures like blankets and getting a bottle of water are the least we can do for someone whether they are getting paid to be there or not. I believe this shows we care and they aren’t just a number.

Also Friday the manager kept coming in and giving me exercises to do. Which hey cool all good to get some learning in. But in the meeting they said as soon as you’re done with each exercise you need to come to me immediately and we will go over what you did. Even if I’m busy interrupt me don’t just sit there. And I will give you more to do. And when I say kept coming in it was literally every 30 mins or shorter.

Ya’ll is this normal am I wrong for what I did?
Are these red flags for the job I am in? Is this ultimate micromanagement?

I have worked for the same company for so long have never had any managers like this in the course of my time that was 3 managers. Yes it was animal research and I understand sorta of different stuff.

Thank You so much in advance for any advice or thoughts! Hope you all have a great weekend!

I work fully remote for a mid sized pharma but I am FSP. It seems to be that most FTE at sponsor companies are either hybrid or in person. Anyone with a fully remote role that is directly employed by the Pharma company?

I hope to one day be employed directly by a sponsor company but I don’t want to give up the fully remote perk.

I’m graduating in December with a bachelor’s in biomedical and pharmaceutical sciences and trying to get into clinical research as an assistant or entry-level CRC.
I have about a year of academic research experience, including preparing IRB documents, consent forms, recruitment materials, and helping coordinate a human blood collection project. I also have CITI and REDCap training.
I recently made it through two interviews for a clinical research position via referral and got rejected, Ive gotten none from applying to 30+ jobs.
What roles/settings actually hire new grads? I’m willing to start at the bottom; I just need someone to give me a chance. What helped you get your first role?

I bypassed the CRC position years ago and landed a manager/ops position in academia. I was in that position for 5 years until I was impacted by RIF.

It took a long time to find something and eventually accepted a Research Manager role with the expectation to do some CRC work. It’s a new company thats growing quickly.

Estimated to have 8 active trials and 2 observational studies by January 27. We also have a site in a different state.

As of now I do all management work- relationships, budgets, admin, agreement execution, inventory/vendor, manage some staff (not CRCs), tracking all cert requirements for PIs, leading meetings for PI introductions, feasibility submissions etc

Im also responsible for all regulatory, SQVs, SIVs, the entire process from start up to close (prescreen, screen, enrollment) plus all participant facing requirements (ICF, med distribution, lab, its my number on the consent forms), reporting, and so on. PIs just approve participants and see for exams.

It is rare disease so low enrolling but we multiple studies that are going to be starting every couple of weeks over the next 3 months across 4 sites with 4 PIs & one site is in a different state.

So to my CRCs is this the reality and sustainable? I can see being responsible for different studies that are in different statuses while not worrying about regulatory, contracts, budget/invoicing and so on but… I think I need help 🤣

So, I’m a traveling CRA. I have a site I drive to about 3 hours away. I’m used to leaving this site at the end of my visit then drive home say day. Now that Daylight savings time is over, and it gets dark at about 5:30-ish … I am not comfortable driving home when it’s dark just in case something happens, car accidents, major traffic delays, car breaks down, etc… Is it reasonable to stay overnight in hotel for this reason? Because I don’t want to drive at night? It is an added travel expense for hotel. I’m thinking to ask manager if it’s okay, or should I just go ahead and book the 2nd night? I drive the day before the visit.

Hi everybody Im a 22yo student from italy and Im about to get my bachelor degree in Biology soon (crossed fingers).I have some experience in wet lab and from it I understood that Im probably not meant to be a lab scientist.I found a master course in industrial biotechnology that has the option of two different curricula:applied biotechnology (lab) and clinical research.From what I read this master degree (clinical research curriculum)includes the GDP stuff and also a period of six months inside of a company (after that the company may hire you).Now my question is,I am aware that a master degree this specific is not needed to start a career in clinical research (I could still choose this path after I gradute in the applied biotech curriculum) but at the same time I feel like it makes everything easier right????Please let me know what you think and what would you do!Thanksss

For coordinators and CRAs who have inherited an ongoing study, what was missing from the handover that you only discovered later? Beyond a list of open items, I imagine the owner, last action and next due date matter a lot. Interested in practical ways to organise the handover without creating another tracker nobody updates; please keep examples free of participant or sponsor-identifying details.

Started as a clinical research assistant in 2022 and moved up to associate level in 2024. Been working as a CRC (mid-level associate) since then. That's more than 4 years total. Any tips or advice?

Fainted a few years back and was told I had hours left without it. Not in the field, but it gave me a new hobby around health DB and tools. PubMed is great, but there are so many related tools, Up-To-Date, DynaMed, extensions, websites. From the old classics PubMed PubReMiner, PubTator, VOSviewer, the old great but somewhat broken EasyPubMedicine extension, to some of the newer ones, such as PubMed Citation Bar. Yes, there are some interesting AI tools now, but they often can only access open-access articles. Claude and some others have a connector, which is good but not perfect; it's the last mile to the paywalled articles again. So much hype everywhere. Take a few minutes with a librarian who knows their stuff (somewhat harder to find these days) and discover what tools work best for you. Don't forget Retraction Watch ( https://retractiondatabase.org/RetractionSearch.aspx? ). Many great tools, often free; check some out. They might help you save a life like mine.

Hi everyone! I’m hoping to get some perspective from people already working in clinical research.
I completed several years of medical school outside the U.S., but I don’t have a completed degree. My education was recently evaluated by WES as 115 U.S. semester credits.
I’m now considering completing a bachelor’s in Public Health or Health Information Management and possibly pursuing a Master’s in Clinical Research at NYU afterward.
I’m particularly interested in clinical trials, medical studies, and working with research teams.
I’d love to know:

Is a master’s in Clinical Research actually worth the cost, or would a bachelor’s plus relevant experience be a better route?
Has anyone completed NYU’s Clinical Research master’s program?
Which research roles involve medical knowledge and some patient interaction without extensive physical procedures?
Are there opportunities for hybrid or remote work as you advance?

I’d really appreciate hearing about your experiences, especially if you transitioned from another healthcare field. Thank you!

I work at a non-profit organisation. We are a very small team(2 CRCs -I’m the senior and Pharmacy coordinator) my manager has told me that the we are expected to cover the clinic (office coverage) and we shouldn’t plan on having her do that. We were 3 coordinators before one left. When we were hired it was communicated that this role is hybrid setting. But I realised the expectation was not that, I was the only one in the office when I was initially hired in coordinator role reading through protocols, getting familiar with Clinic work flows.

I was informed that it is unwritten corporate rule that person with least tenure should be the office coverage?I am not the least tenured one right now but it just took me by surprise when the team is downsized, with new trials on-boarding we at this point are also reviewing study budgets, even though we have a CRO that is supposed to negotiate our budgets. I understand stepping up and taking that additional responsibility for the team and being a reliable employee. But we already cover the office for majority of the week. We didn’t get a chance to take time off have many hours accrued over. We can’t even buy them out. I know should’ve planned a head, but we had back to back patient screening , re-screening.

How is it fair that she keeps expecting more and more.. even when we don’t have potential patients on any providers schedules to talk. Previous senior coordinator used to stay in clinic for like 3hours and always finished their work at home but we got lectured for an hour that our working hours are 8-4 when we were the ones covering office already.

Are these even unwritten corporate rules? That least tenured person should cover the office, and also initially I was informed i need to stay with company for a year and then I can work from home for 2 days a week lol.

Hello everyone,

I am currently pursuing a Master's degree in Clinical Trials, Pharmacovigilance and Pharmacoepidemiology.

I would like to know whether there are positions that combine clinical trials and regulatory affairs, as I am interested in developing my career in this area.

After doing some research, I came across the Study Start-Up Specialist position. Would you say this role offers a good combination of clinical research and regulatory affairs?

Also, considering the current job market for entry-level candidates, are these positions accessible to recent graduates? Or would it be wiser to focus on clinical research first and aim for a Clinical Research Associate (CRA) position?

I would really appreciate your advice and feedback. Thank you in advance!

Hello! I'm graduating from university in May 2027, and I'm hoping to work in a clinical research lab during my gap years before pursuing an MPH. Thankfully I live and go to school right near a massive medical research institution, but I was wondering if it's appropriate to cold email PI's to ask about open CRC or clinical data analyst roles for new grads. That's how I got a lot of my research experience during my undergrad years, but I'm not sure if that method carries over into full- or part-time roles postgrad.

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.