How to Get a Job as a CRA

There's an article on BioSpace written by Somaraju Lokaranjan, PM, i3 Research titled, "How to Get a Job as a CRA." The author notes:

The average salary for a CRA ranges from 40,000 to 60,000 USD but is also country specific as per national standards and subsequently better within life science jobs.

That's a bit on the low end, but it's a reasonable starting range. Advanced CRAs can make over 80-90k per year. Then again, when you're talking about salary ranges for positions that are found both in academia and industry, you'll find a very wide range of potential salaries.



It's important to clearly define what a CRA does:

What is the role of a CRA?


The Clinical Research Associate has the responsibility of monitoring clinical research data on the study site where the research study is conducted. This is usually at hospitals and major clinics under the guidance of a reputed physician, commonly known as the Principal Investigator, and his team. A CRA provides assurance by monitoring the study research data that it is credible, verifiable and authentic. This will form the basis of establishing the new drug entity safety and efficacy in study population and supports its licensure to be used at a commercial level by regulatory authorities.

The author then describes: Entry Options to the Clinical Research Industry:

1. Employment in contract research organizations
2. Employment in site management organizations
3. Employment in major hospitals handling large number of studies
4. Employment in outsourcing organizations
5. Employment in pharmaceutical companies
6. Employment as freelance CRAs to multiple clients

You can read the BioSpace article here.