Clinical research specialists plan and coordinate clinical researches. Their job is integral to many of the scientific discoveries we have today. Clinical research specialists usually work in laboratories alongside clinical technicians and interns. While performing their duties, they may also analyze data, compare with the current body of knowledge, and create new hypotheses.
As the name suggests, clinical research specialists work in medicine, and they do everything from developing to testing new drugs. They also culture and study bacteria cells to understand their impact on health.
As a clinical research specialist, you may develop protocols and research tools, coordinate research teams, and prepare reports based on your findings. The job requires skills like decision making, time management, and complex problem-solving.
To become a clinical research specialist, you need a postgraduate degree in your chosen field. The degree will give you the necessary qualification while also providing the opportunity to conduct research.
There is more than meets the eye when it comes to being a Clinical Research Specialist. For example, did you know that they make an average of $30.3 an hour? That's $63,025 a year!
Between 2018 and 2028, the career is expected to grow 6% and produce 3,700 job opportunities across the U.S.
There are certain skills that many Clinical Research Specialists have in order to accomplish their responsibilities. By taking a look through resumes, we were able to narrow down the most common skills for a person in this position. We discovered that a lot of resumes listed Communication skills, Interpersonal skills and Leadership skills.
If you're interested in becoming a Clinical Research Specialist, one of the first things to consider is how much education you need. We've determined that 64.2% of Clinical Research Specialists have a bachelor's degree. In terms of higher education levels, we found that 15.2% of Clinical Research Specialists have master's degrees. Even though most Clinical Research Specialists have a college degree, it's possible to become one with only a high school degree or GED.
Choosing the right major is always an important step when researching how to become a Clinical Research Specialist. When we researched the most common majors for a Clinical Research Specialist, we found that they most commonly earn Bachelor's Degree degrees or Master's Degree degrees. Other degrees that we often see on Clinical Research Specialist resumes include Associate Degree degrees or Doctoral Degree degrees.
You may find that experience in other jobs will help you become a Clinical Research Specialist. In fact, many Clinical Research Specialist jobs require experience in a role such as Clinical Research Coordinator. Meanwhile, many Clinical Research Specialists also have previous career experience in roles such as Research Assistant or Clinical Research Associate.
