How To Become A Clinical Data Manager: What It Is and Career Path

What is a clinical data manager and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

Clinical data managers combine knowledge of healthcare and database management to do their job. Their primary duty is to ensure that clinical data is collected and stored accurately. Clinical data managers may also collect, analyze, and extrapolate data to develop trends and recommendations.

They may work for large pharmaceutical companies, hospitals, governmental organizations, or even doctors' private practices. Clinical data managers often work with physicians and other clinical staff to collate and understand the organization's data. They also spend time supervising data management teams, developing software solutions, and building data systems.

To become a clinical data manager, you need a bachelor's degree in IT, statistics, or related fields. Employers will also look for proficiency with data management software, like Google Cloud Platform. It may be helpful to have prior experience with medical data when seeking employment.

ScoreClinical Data ManagerUS Average

Salary

7.6

Avg. Salary $98,148

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

4.9

Growth rate 31%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

2.7

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.22%

Asian 22.75%

Black or African American 5.06%

Hispanic or Latino 7.59%

Unknown 4.95%

White 59.43%

Gender

female 70.13%

male 29.87%

Age - 35

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 35

Stress level

4.9

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

7.2

Complexity level is challenging

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.2

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a clinical data manager

Explore clinical data manager education requirements

Most common clinical data manager degrees

Bachelor's

67.1 %

Master's

16.4 %

Associate

9.5 %

Start to develop specific clinical data manager skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	12.52%
Data Collection	7.17%
Data Management	4.80%
CRF	4.19%
QC	4.17%

Complete relevant clinical data manager training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 3-6 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New clinical data managers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a clinical data manager based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real clinical data manager resumes.

Research clinical data manager duties and responsibilities

Manage online survey execution and SPSS database for child substance abuse prevention program.
Manage all of the operational aspect of clinical trials in compliance with GCP regulations and Merck policy.
Lead training for new hire nurses and physicians in EMR system: develop training handouts and learning objectives
Manage CRO data management activities for the oncology clinical study.

Prepare your clinical data manager resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your clinical data manager resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a clinical data manager resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable clinical data manager resume templates

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