u/Important-Storm-6852

Hi everyone!

I'm looking for some insight from anyone who currently works at Thermo Fisher Scientific/PPD or has recently applied for an ACRA/CRA position there. I was in the recruitment process for the ACRA position at Thermo Fisher Scientific (Northeast & Southeast US). After my initial recruiter screening interview, I received an email from the recruiter stating that hiring for their CRA opportunities has been temporarily paused until further notice and that they are not moving forward with interviews at the moment. The recruiter was kind enough to say that she believes I could be a strong candidate for future opportunities and would like to reconnect when hiring resumes. I'm wondering if anyone else has received a similar update, particularly for ACRA or entry-level CRA positions. Does anyone have insight into whether this is a broader hiring pause, a team-specific decision, or something affecting particular regions or projects? I understand that nobody may know the exact details, but I would appreciate hearing about others' recent experiences or any insight into the current hiring situation. Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

I'm hoping to get some advice from people who have successfully broken into clinical research because I'm starting to feel stuck. I have a B.S. in Health Science and I'm about to graduate with my M.S. in Clinical Research Management & Regulatory Science. I also have my GCP certification from NIDA Clinical Trials Network.

My experience has been in healthcare operations and regulatory compliance. I've worked in roles involving regulatory documentation, quality oversight, compliance, audits, documentation management, provider data management, and working within highly regulated healthcare environments. While it isn't direct clinical research experience, I feel that many of the skills are transferable. The challenge is that almost every Clinical Research Coordinator, Clinical Trial Assistant, or Regulatory Coordinator position seems to require 1–3 years of direct clinical research experience. I've been networking on LinkedIn, reaching out to recruiters and hiring managers, tailoring my resume for each application, earning my GCP certification, and applying consistently, but I haven't been able to land that first opportunity.

At this point, I'm willing to start wherever I need to if it gets my foot in the door. My long-term goal is to build a career in clinical research operations and eventually become a CRA. I'm not expecting to skip the line because I have a master's degree, I understand that experience is invaluable in this field. I simply want the opportunity to learn, work hard, and prove myself.

For those of you who successfully entered the field without prior research experience:

•What finally helped you get your first opportunity? •Is there anything else I should be doing that I'm overlooking? •Are there specific roles, companies, CROs, or hospitals that are more open to hiring/training candidates with transferable regulatory/compliance experience?

I'm based in the NYC/New Jersey area, but I'm open to opportunities elsewhere if needed. If anyone has any advice, knows of organizations that are willing to train entry-level candidates, or can point me in the right direction, I would truly appreciate it. Thank you so much for taking the time to read this!