The Career Path of a Clinical Research Coordinator

Key takeaways

A clinical research coordinator oversees clinical trials, recruits trial participants, prepares budgets, and maintains detailed records.

• The median total pay for a clinical research coordinator is $73,000 per year [1].

• A career path for a clinical research coordinator begins with a bachelor’s degree, work experience, and certifications.

• You can earn a certification to potentially increase your job prospects and salary as a clinical research coordinator.

Discover the clinical research coordinator role, including avenues for working in clinical research, salaries, and potential employers. If you’re ready to begin a career in clinical research, enroll in the Epidemiology for Public Health Specialization, where in as little as four weeks, you can learn about clinical research, data collection, research methodologies, and more.

What is a clinical research coordinator?

A clinical research coordinator, sometimes known as a clinical trial manager, supervises clinical research and drug trials, such as interventions involving drugs, devices, or procedures promoting behavior changes. In this position, you would recruit and screen participants, coordinate the day-to-day running of the trials, collect data, and produce reports. 

A clinical research coordinator is also responsible for ensuring a trial's safety and keeping the materials used safe during and after the study. You ensure certain regulations and ethical standards are met and track patient health and progress. 

As a clinical research coordinator, you play a vital role in the research team for medical studies. You conduct and manage clinical trials, providing outcomes that shape medical advances in preventative care, curing diseases, and immunizations, among other areas. With employment options available in hospitals, pharmaceutical companies, and private companies, clinical research coordinators can seek various positions, and the salary is above average compared to similar professions.

Where does a clinical research coordinator sit in a clinical research team?

A clinical research coordinator reports to a principal investigator, who is responsible for the overall design and management of the study. In contrast, a clinical researcher organizes the day-to-day running of the trials. As a clinical research coordinator, you will also work closely with sponsors and staff within the departments responsible for finance, personnel, and compliance. You will typically oversee a clinical research team, including doctors, nurses, other medical staff, and assistants.

What does a clinical research coordinator do?

Clinical research coordinators work in various settings, from hospitals to private businesses, and your duties will vary according to where you work and what you are trialing. However, typical clinical research coordinator job responsibilities include:

• Coordinating and overseeing the running of clinical trials

• Recruiting and screening participants for trials

• Managing documents and records of participants and trials 

• Ensuring trials are delivered following regulatory, government, and ethical regulations and requirements

• Ensuring the safety of participants, supplies, and materials

• Performing cost analysis and preparing budgets

• Designing and delivering training to staff and participants 

• Collecting data and maintaining detailed records

• Acting as a point of contact for study participants to ask any questions or express concerns 

• Promoting the study through meetings, events, and seminars

• Overseeing the research team

Read more: What Is Team Management: Strategies, Duties, Job, Career Outlook

What skills do you need to be a clinical research coordinator?

Clinical research coordinators need to have strong communication skills to interact with the clinical research team. Data management, time management, and organizational skills can also help you succeed in the role. Additionally, as a clinical research coordinator, you should understand basic medical terminology, possess regulatory knowledge, and be technologically proficient.

How to become a clinical research coordinator

To work in clinical research, you need to hold a degree and have a certain amount of experience. You can pursue certifications and graduate qualifications to further your chances of a position. 

Bachelor's degree

A bachelor’s degree is generally step one for anyone who wants to work as a clinical research coordinator. A Bachelor of Science in a relevant subject, such as clinical research administration or a matter under the umbrella of health sciences, public health, or microbiology, is recommended. 

Work experience

Experience in health care or clinical research is essential for most positions. Some professionals come from a background in nursing or health care. If you have limited experience, getting some through an internship, voluntary assignment, or an entry-level role in a hospital or research position is a good idea. Experience is essential to be able to work towards certain industry-specific certifications.

Master's degree or graduate certificate 

All you need to work as a clinical research coordinator is a bachelor’s degree and experience. However, some employers prefer a graduate degree, and having a graduate certificate or a master’s degree will help set you apart from other applicants without this level of education. 

You have several options to consider, and there is no set course. Still, it is most advantageous to select a subject such as clinical research, clinical administration, or clinical research management to combine the elements of clinical research and a level of leadership. Specializations like medical technology are also an option, as are more general course subjects like life sciences or health sciences. 

When choosing a course, essential factors to consider are whether there is a good mix of theory and practical experience and whether the course covers clinical and managerial subjects to give you a broad range of expertise. If you are already working and gaining experience, consider the flexibility of studying part-time or online to achieve your educational goals.

In addition to a master’s degree, you can also study for a graduate certificate in a relevant subject. These courses tend to be part of the curriculum for a master’s degree, and you can transfer credits, so it’s a great way to gain a certificate while building towards a master’s degree.

Clinical research coordinator certification

It isn’t essential, but it is recommended that you become a certified clinical research coordinator if you want to advance your career in clinical research. To become certified, you need to be working in the field. Certification verifies your skills and competence, potentially boosting career prospects and salary. The Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) provides a variety of certifications for clinical research professionals:

• ACRP Certified Professional (ACRP-CP): To validate your knowledge and skills as a clinical research professional

• Certified Clinical Research Coordinator (CCRC): To validate your knowledge and skills as a clinical research coordinator

• Certified Clinical Research Associate (CCRA): To validate your knowledge and skills as a clinical research associate

• Certified Principal Investigator (CPI): To validate your knowledge and skills as a principal investigator

• ACRP Medical Device Professional Specialty (ACRP-MDP): To validate your knowledge of medical device trials

• ACRP Project Manager Specialty (ACRP-PM): To validate your knowledge of project management within clinical research

The Society of Clinical Research Associates (SOCRA) also provides its Certified Clinical Research Professional credential to validate your experience, education, and knowledge as a clinical research professional.

Clinical research coordinator salary

The median total pay for a clinical research coordinator is $73,000, according to Glassdoor [1]. This figure includes base salary and additional pay, which may represent profit-sharing, commissions, bonuses, or other compensation. This can reach over $90,000 [1] for more senior positions. Salaries vary according to employer, industry, and type of trial. 

Who are typical employers of clinical research coordinators?

A clinical research coordinator can work in various places, including health care organizations, pharmaceutical companies, research hospitals, and government and private companies. You may be employed to research new medicines for the market, genetic diseases, illness prevention, and behavioral prevention. 

Stay current on trends and job opportunities in health care research

To keep up with trends and job opportunities in health care research, you can join Career Chat on LinkedIn. Then, check out these other free resources:

• Watch on YouTube: Alzheimer’s Disease: A Brief History - Living with Dementia by JHU #3

• Use AI for work and learning: Reimagining Work and Learning with AI: Expert Insights from Dr. Jules White

• Take a quiz: Career Test: What Career is Right for Me Quiz?

Accelerate your career growth with a Coursera Plus subscription. When you enroll in either the monthly or annual option, you’ll get access to over 10,000 courses.

Build job-ready skills with Coursera Plus

Start 7-day free trial

• 
• 
• 
• 

Start 7-day free trial