How To Become A Clinical Trials Specialist: What It Is and Career Path

What is a clinical trials specialist and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

3 min read

Quoted expert

Sharolyn Kawakami-Schulz Ph.D.

As a CTS or Clinical Trial Specialist, you are responsible for providing operations support for the executive of clinical trials. You will need to follow established regulator's requirements as well as SOPs. In addition, you will need to proactively identify and resolve operation project issues and participate in improvement initiatives as required. You will ensure timely and accurate study communication to clinical personnel as well as upper management. A Clinical Trials Specialist prepares and communicates clinical trial correspondence, newsletters, plus IND safety letters. You will also assist with the creation of study-specific manuals, tools, and templates.

A bachelor's degree in a health-related or science field is preferred for this role. You also need one year of clinical research experience. You will need to complete all courses as required by the company you work for. Global trial experience is also preferred. Your median annual salary will be $69,000. The field is wide open, and more Clinical Trials Specialists will be required in the coming years.

What's a day at work look like for a clinical trials specialist?

Sharolyn Kawakami-Schulz Ph.D.

Director, Office of Professional Development, University of Minnesota Medical School

As the workforce continues to adapt to restrictions resulting from the pandemic, graduates can expect to find more workplaces discussing hybrid workdays, with a combination of in person and work from home activity. In some sectors, the pandemic has demonstrated that remote work can be a new normal. As graduates work across various sectors and in a variety of types of roles, each person's day will look different. However, flexibility and adaptability will continue to be key skills for success.

ScoreClinical Trials SpecialistUS Average

Salary

5.9

Avg. Salary $74,910

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability level

5.6

Growth rate 6%

Growth rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.51%

Asian 11.24%

Black or African American 2.57%

Hispanic or Latino 15.20%

Unknown 7.59%

White 62.90%

Gender

female 72.97%

male 27.03%

Age - 43.5

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 - 43.5

Stress level

5.6

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

8.5

Complexity level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work life balance

6.3

Work life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a clinical trials specialist

Explore clinical trials specialist education requirements

Most common clinical trials specialist degrees

Bachelor's

66.1 %

Master's

16.7 %

Associate

7.9 %

Start to develop specific clinical trials specialist skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	12.68%
Clinical Research	9.84%
Clinical Trials	9.42%
Informed Consent	7.86%
FDA	4.61%

Complete relevant clinical trials specialist training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New clinical trials specialists 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 trials specialist based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real clinical trials specialist resumes.

Research clinical trials specialist duties and responsibilities

Manage all clinical data and subject source documentation through the EDC system to verify compliance and subject eligibility.
Lead study data management activities for oncology trials in preparation for study close-out.
Review clinical study documents for completeness and compliance with protocol, FDA regulations, ICH and GCP guidelines.
Perform routine quality control (QC) of TMF and submit documents to ensure overall quality.

Prepare your clinical trials specialist resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your clinical trials specialist 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 trials specialist resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

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