How to become a clinical research associate (CRA)

Clinical research is an important step in developing and evaluating new medical products. For people with qualifications or experience within life sciences, a career in clinical research can offer many rewarding, interesting and varied opportunities and career paths. With the demand for new prevention methods and treatments ever increasing, clinical research associates are needed by pharma, biotech, medical device companies and CROs around the world. Here are some things to consider if you’re looking to kick-start a career in clinical research and how to become a clinical research associate:

What is a clinical research associate?

'A clinical research associate (CRA) is someone who monitors the running of clinical trials. A CRA may be involved in some or all stages of the clinical trials process depending on the type of position or the employer.

What are the responsibilities of a clinical research associate?

Typically, the key responsibilities of a CRA will include monitoring study sites and clinical activities, updating study documentation, maintaining clinical data systems and coordinating research procedures.

If you are a field-based CRA, you will spend most of your time travelling to different locations, dealing with medical professionals in trial centres, healthcare practices, or hospitals. The remainder of your time may be spent either office-based or working from home, but this will depend on the company. Some companies will have in-house CRA roles who just focus on document review and management and will make site visits only occasionally.

What is the demand for clinical research associates?

Driven by a rise in the number of healthcare facilities, increasing healthcare expenditure, technological and research capabilities, and an aging population, the need for new treatments has increased exponentially in recent times. This has led to a rise in the number of companies hiring for new clinical research jobs and this is likely to keep gaining momentum in the years to come.

What qualifications or training do I need to get a clinical research associate job?

How do I get the right experience for a clinical research associate job?

Getting your first job in clinical research can be challenging, and many graduates at the start of their clinical research career can become frustrated by the 'catch 22' scenario: they can't find work because of a lack of experience and they can't get experience because they can't find work.

Without relevant work experience, you will be more likely to secure a job as a clinical trials assistant (CTA). A CTA role will help support all processes of the trial and give you the required experience to move into a clinical research assistant role.

Generally, larger companies are far better equipped to take-on inexperienced graduates and are more likely to offer programmes such as graduate assessment days and internships. Research who the top pharmaceutical companies, medical device manufacturers and contract research organisations are, and look out for opportunities on their career websites. Their social media pages are also great places to find out about graduate programmes, so keep a close eye on them too.

You might be able to gain experience by working on academic projects or working within a healthcare body. Although these are good ways to gain experience, moving into a commercial environment later can be quite different and you might have to take a more junior position with a lower salary than you are used to.

Tips for applying to clinical research jobs            

Even with all the relevant qualifications, skills and experience that you need to become a clinical research associate, there can still be challenges in landing your perfect clinical research job. A few simple changes to your approach can give your CV a better chance of success.

Be realistic

Be realistic about the types of jobs that you can attain. If you don’t have industry experience, you are unlikely to be hired for anything above an entry level role. Don't apply to senior CRA jobs or clinical project manager roles unless you have been working as a CRA for some time already and have the required experience. Save yourself the time and effort in making lots of speculative applications and take a more targeted approach.

Highlight your relevant experience

If you are applying for a clinical research associate job, ensure that you read each job description carefully and highlight on your CV the relevant experience that matches the specific description. Your cover letter should be personalised to the specific company and describe why you want to work for that company and which of your skills match the specific requirements of the role. Employers and life sciences recruitment consultants are looking for the most relevant applications and will readily discard those that have put little effort into personalising it.

Make sure you network

Remember, not every company will advertise all its vacancies so you should consider other approaches too. Networking with recruiters and hiring managers and uploading your CV to a database are two great ways that employers and recruiters with CRA jobs can find you.