r/clinicalresearch

Had a 3rd interview and they decided to not move forward… and I am actually thrilled. I was going to cancel the interview due to all the negative comments on here but was afraid it would keep me from being considered for other CRA 1 positions there.

The interview itself was one of the most dreadful experiences.

I have been trying to move from a CRC to CRA for a while now, especially with IQVIA because of my experience with IQVIA CRAs being so incredible. I hope that not making it past this interview doesn’t keep me from other ones!

I’m 17 and thinking about what to major in in college and what career field to go into. Right now I’m thinking about biomedical science and going into clinical research but I’m seeing some things that are turning me off.
A goal of mine is to make 6 figures and find a jobs that has a good balance of pay to work balance and I’m wondering if this career field is good for that

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I’ve been reading a lot of posts here from people who are completely burned out and exhausted by the clinical research industry, and it genuinely made me curious: what is it about this industry that causes so much burnout?

I’ve been in clinical research for about 3 years, working in Clinical Trial Payments / Finance. I’m currently working from Argentina in an FSP model, assigned to a sponsor.

My workload is actually very high. I manage a large volume of work, there are always competing priorities, and my managers are good people but, like everywhere in this industry, everything seems to be needed yesterday. 😅

And yet, surprisingly, I don't feel burned out.

Maybe my perspective is different because of where I came from. Before moving into the corporate world, I worked in another industry where I routinely worked around 12 hours a day, six days a week, and the workload was much less predictable and rewarding. Moving into the corporate/clinical research environment honestly felt like one of the best things that ever happened to my career.

Even when things get crazy, I have more autonomy, better working conditions, professional growth, and—perhaps most importantly—a much better work-life balance than I had before.

So I'm genuinely curious about other people's experiences.

For those of you who feel burned out by clinical research: what specifically is driving it?

Is it:

- Unrealistic workloads?

- Constant shifting priorities?

- Management?

- Lack of career progression?

- Compensation?

- CRO vs. sponsor environment?

- Too many meetings and administrative tasks?

- The pressure of timelines?

- Or simply being in the industry for many years?

And for those who don't feel burned out: what do you think makes the difference?

I'm not trying to say that burnout isn't real—I’m genuinely trying to understand why my experience has been so different from what I read here so often.

Would love to hear perspectives from people in different roles, CROs, sponsors, FSPs, etc.

Hello friends. I am a relatively new CRC for pediatric oncology trials. In your experience, would you say that oncology trials are harder/more complex than other trials that are non-oncology? I am asking more in terms of data management and AE/SAE reporting. Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone, I am currently considering getting my M.S in clinical research and I am actively searching for entry level positions so I can see if I like it before fully committing to this career. If anyone can share what day to day looks like, if you enjoy doing it, etc.

It would mean a lot, thank you!

I’m freaking out right now. Im a research coordinator and I had sent out a request to obtain a blood spot card from a state department. I was told that even after providing a form signed by our IRB for its study release, I had to obtain an authorization from the parents. I told my supervisor this, and she said to put the state blood spot card on our study authorization form.

This is where I screwed up big time. I printed out our existing study authorization form (which has been signed by the parents and notarized) and wrote out the state blood spot card after biospecimens, copied it, and sent it to the state to obtain the blood spot card.

Afterwards, I let my boss know and she said that this was considered fraud and it is illegal. I don’t know what possessed me to think this was the right thing to do, but I’m freaking out right now and I really think I’m going to get fired tomorrow. I have since emailed the state department to shred the existing request, and they did so. I will be obtaining the updated authorization the correct way by going through the parents.

I’m freaking out. Absolutely freaking out. I absolutely give permission to be let go.

overworked, understaffed, underappreciated. unrealistic timelines, meaningless metrics, and unorganization. bad management, out of touch PIs, protocols with increasing complexity yet terribly written. everything URGENT. phone calls/messages at odd hours. constantly on edge. from site to CRO to sponsor. it's a mess and rampant across the whole industry, no matter which role i've been in. oh, and, a 'high performer'? you'll be rewarded with burnout.

ugh. genuinely ruining my mental health. i hate that i feel so jaded now. if anyone else feels the same way about their role, good luck to us, and i hope we can find a way out to a new career path!

Is this normal? I’m a CRC at a hospital, my boss had told me I’m the best CRC they’ve had and looking to the future would want be in charge of all CAR-T non oncology trials at the hospital (I’m working on the first one at our site). She told me she’s pushed for my promotion, I’ve only been a CRC for a year but everyone else had gotten their promotion at the 1 year mark.

HR called me today and offered me my same pay rate but salaried instead of hourly so now without overtime opportunity for the senior title. Am I or is this offer insane? Is this normal?

I saw a job posting that seemed to fit my background and experience. It asked for 4 years of experience, I have 8 years of experience. So cool, I applied to the position.

I also know someone internally so they were able to provide me with the email of the recruiter overseeing that role. So I also emailed the recruiter directly right after applying to the posting. I introduced myself and attached my resume to the email.

He (the recruiter) responded saying, the hiring manager is looking for someone with more experience, sorry.

REMINDER: I have 8 YOE, and the job posting is looking for 4 YOE.

I only go where I’m wanted so I did not debate it with the recruiter. I simply responded saying “I understand, thank you!”.

1 week later, the SAME RECRUITER emails me and said they saw my application and wanted to move forward to the next steps. I never mentioned the previous interaction we had but I ended up screening with him, interviewing with the hiring manager and making it to the final stage to a panel interview. Unfortunately I did not get the role.

But clearly if I made it to the last interview stage, I clearly am qualified so why did the recruiter even tell me I’m not qualified in the first place.

Maybe I’m crazy but to me it felt like he was basically saying only I can reach out to candidates. How dare you, as a candidate, try and reach out to me. Idk

Any Merck CRAs out there? Not FSP with a CRO, but a CRA within the sponsor itself. I have questions! Can we chat?

I am considering a CRA I position at IQVIA. It would be under the Eli Lilly FSP model with Eli Lilly. I would love to hear thoughts and opinions from current and former employees who have experience with this setup. I’m particularly interested in hearing about the training, workload, growth trajectory, and overall culture. For context, I’m currently a PMP-certified research coordinator who manages psychosocial studies and been in my position for a little over 5 years.

Hi all,

I’ve been a prePA student for a while and as time passes, i’m less and less certain that it’s the right choice. Since deciding my career path 6 years ago, the world has become far more expensive, the pay for PAs has not increased but tuition has and i’m more aware of the debt i’m signing on to. My bachelors is in Neuroscience and I’ve had an interest in research in the past too but chose a “more stable” option. i’m reevaluating and interested of switching fields if anyone has any advice to offer. I want a job with meaning and where i will always feel like i’m contributing something to the world. I looked into the CRC position and I would fit the role (prior phlebotomist, MA and pt recruiter). Are there any other positions to consider?

Any advice would be appreciated :)

I’ve been referred to a PM position at ICON, but I don’t a think I’ve heard anything positive about them. Are there any CL PM’s around that can tell me how bad ICON sucks / doesn’t suck / doesn’t suck as much as other CL’s

To clarify, are there any major differences in the day to day work? Different systems that the NIH requires? I'm curious about your experience if you've worked on these types of studies before.

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Is there really no scope for Clinical Research in Dubai? I moved here in December 2025 and haven't found anything yet. All the positions I applied to, despite having relevant experience, got rejected, and I barely see any postings. If anyone has knowledge about the market here, I would really appreciate any insights. I really don't want to change my domain but at this point I am not sure what to do!

I’m working for a sponsor on a rare cardiomyopathy in a competitive environment and we’re very behind on enrollment. If you had decent resources, what do you look at first? We are adjusting the protocol now, but I don’t think it will move the needle all that much. The patient advocacy group has done a lot, but I need to reach patients beyond the group now. How do I find patients? Do I find an advertising company? If so, who is good at this? Help!

Editing to add sites are in the US, but may expand to other locations

Hello, I am CRA in the UK and have been for over 2 years.

I took over 3 sites at the start of the year and action items have been an issue since.

I find I am raising around 20 items per visit with a majority of the actions related to pending trainings and updates needed in source by the PI and Sub-Is. Majority of the items take several visits to complete which flags them as aging and I have go through them all with my LM and CTM regularly.

As this is affecting all three sites, I am starting to think it’s an issue with my monitoring. I clearly list the important and aging actions during my onsite visit meeting with staff and in the confirmation and follow up letters. I also send reminders and highlight the issues with the PIs. I often end up begging the sites to please resolve these issues as it’s affecting my metrics.

I am not often able to meet the nurses, Sub-Is and PI in person so have to do teams calls which I think I could be affecting this.

I know sites are busy and have several of me asking the same thing but it’s just exhausting. And tbh it makes me dread finding issues as I just know it’s going to take months to resolve.

Any tips would be appreciated :)

Starting a home-based PM role at IQVIA soon!

I was wondering if anybody had any experience working outside of the home state occasionally? For example visiting family in a different state or visiting friends/lover? How frequently were you able to do it?

TIA!