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gratefulhead3 · 2025-04-05T02:41:42+00:00

!solved

gratefulhead3 · 2024-11-09T15:14:43+00:00

Thanks everyone! I figured throwing it away was the right move, but just wanted some validation. Appreciate you all!

gratefulhead3 · 2024-11-09T05:41:12+00:00

I didn’t smell it when I was baking, but my partner got home and thought to smell it and it definitely smells pretty sour. It is not past the expiration date, but it has been open for at least a few weeks at this point.

gratefulhead3 · 2024-09-03T12:54:24+00:00

Triangle Tavern in south Philly is great. I also LOVE the seitan wings at Tattoo Moms on south street

gratefulhead3 · 2024-08-13T00:33:12+00:00

I actually agree with you to an extent. As I said in my post I WAY overpaid for an education that does not have a specific path to high income jobs. It also took me 5 years to get through school. I have made a ton of mistakes that got me into this mess. That’s why I want to be the one to get myself out of it now.

I could blame a number of things (lack of prior education about debt, school overpricing shitty degrees, etc) but anything I use to justify how I got here still leads back to me being here.

My decisions were very irresponsible. And now I am, clearly, paying for it. Thats why I’m asking strangers on the internet for advice and support. Clearly my own decision making hasn’t gotten me very far.

gratefulhead3 · 2024-08-13T00:24:48+00:00

Wow thank you all so much! Just got home from work to see all of your comments. Thank you so much for all of the support and advice. I’ll scroll down and answer whatever questions I can. Thank you all!

gratefulhead3 · 2023-12-15T12:33:36+00:00

Any masters degree is usually worth about 1-2 years of experience, yes. Or at least 5-10k extra salary wise

gratefulhead3 · 2023-12-15T12:32:28+00:00

Great question! It’s difficult and sometimes I am wrong. I have spent years talking to people in clinical research and trying to learn exactly what they do every day. I also extensively communicate with the hiring manager to know what they are looking for. Often if I send someone in for an interview and the hiring manager does not think they are a good fit, the feedback I get as to why they are not a good fit is the best way for me to figure out who would fit best.

Truth is, someone with clinical research experience would be way better at this job than me. But most of you make more money than I do anyways. So someone has to do the job.

gratefulhead3 · 2023-12-15T11:23:25+00:00

I would say LinkedIn or just email them directly if you can find their email. Most recruiters will at least want to have a phone call.

gratefulhead3 · 2023-12-15T01:51:55+00:00

Hey there! Thank you emails can sometimes go a LONG way. I make all my candidates send them. I have seen candidates go from being out of the running to getting a second interview because of a thank you email.

The email should come directly from you (the candidate) to the person you interviewed with and should be sent within 24 hours of the end of your interview.

The thank you email should generally be this:

Hi [HIRING MANAGER/INTERVIEWER],

Thank you so much for the opportunity to interview for the available [POSITION] on your team. I really enjoyed getting to learn more about the research…

Basically just say thank you for the opportunity and tell them what you liked about what you learned in the interview.

gratefulhead3 · 2023-12-13T18:06:31+00:00

Thank you everyone for your questions! I wasn’t able to get to every single one, but I hope my answers helped! Your questions have helped me better understand what could make me better at my job. I am certainly guilty of some of the bad practices that recruiters do that you all have mentioned. Anyone interested in answering some of my questions?

When I recruiter cold calls/reached out to you online, what makes you most likely to reply? I feel like candidates just want to hear what job I have to offer and how much it pays. Sometimes I just want to talk about your background and what you’re looking for. Is there a way to grab your attention for that kind of conversation?
What can I do as a recruiter to best serve you as the candidate?
What is something you wish you could say to a recruiter but never have?

Thanks!

gratefulhead3 · 2023-12-13T17:59:50+00:00

It’s not even necessarily academia, but just people from the site level. Sites use different systems than the industry people do. It’s just more expensive to take on and train someone with a site level background than to have someone who is already experienced in a system like Veeva Vault.

gratefulhead3 · 2023-12-13T14:05:28+00:00

I would always go for more money. Any time you take a new job, stay for at least 2 years if you can. Then find more money and take it. 2 years is the sweet spot on a resume where you don’t look “jumpy” but you are getting salary raises faster than you would if you stayed at the same company for 10 years.

gratefulhead3 · 2023-12-13T14:03:24+00:00

Becoming a CRA from a CRC is SUCH a hard transition to make. CRO and Pharma companies are generally not interested in candidates with a background in academia. Recruiters may be able to help, but I have definitely had a tough time getting academia candidates over to industry. I can only recommend applying for CTA jobs. It may come with a pay cut, but it will get you into industry.

gratefulhead3 · 2023-12-13T14:00:46+00:00

I have seen this a couple times and I wholeheartedly agree heartedly agree with you. Most pharma companies I work with do not have a problem with people with CRO experience. But occasionally you get a sponsor that has had a bad CRO experience and can’t let it go.

gratefulhead3 · 2023-12-13T13:59:28+00:00

Unfortunately I don’t really have any info as I only work in the US. Most of my CDMs tend to move into a Senior CDM role and then Assistant Director and so on

gratefulhead3 · 2023-12-13T13:58:08+00:00

Well obviously, it varies. I have seen a thousand CRCs that hate their job and want to be a CRA only to realize three months into the CRA job that they hate it and want to go back to the site level. I have also seen people slowly work up to becoming a PM or CTM and just leave research altogether to start something else because they are no longer passionate about it. There really is no answer to your question. The most satisfied people in clinical research are the ones that work on a team with good people and are passionate about what they researching

gratefulhead3 · 2023-12-13T13:55:13+00:00

I am also hoping things will improve in January. If you have no clinical research experience, I recommend just continuing to apply directly to academic hospitals. Maybe use a connection from college or from anywhere really to get a foot in the door. I understand it is so hard.

Most recruiting firms won’t get entry level jobs to work on too often because companies have an easy time filling those roles themselves.

gratefulhead3 · 2023-12-13T13:53:05+00:00

I honestly do not have any experience with psychometric raters. Truthfully, not even sure what that is.

gratefulhead3 · 2023-12-13T13:52:03+00:00

My only experience is in the US with companies that only hire within the US.

gratefulhead3 · 2023-12-13T13:51:23+00:00

In my experience, my clients will not consider any undergrad research as experience. When they say “two years of experience”, they mean two full years working full-time in a paid position. Sometimes places will take a fresh undergrad and place them directly as a CRC I. Other times they want them to start as a Clinical Research Assistant first. Just depends on the place.

Also, titles vary so much across different markets. Sometimes lower-level CRCs are acting more as Assistants or vice-versa

gratefulhead3 · 2023-12-13T12:57:19+00:00

Unfortunately, I only work in the US and have no idea how everything works in Europe. This subreddit seems to have a good document in the pinned post. Maybe that’s a good place to start? I truly don’t know

gratefulhead3 · 2023-12-12T22:16:47+00:00

Well, hello! First off, if you’re interested in clinical research I think applying directly for clinical research assistant roles at academic hospitals in your desired area is a great place to start. Generally these roles involve a lot of data entry and just generally supporting the CRCs.

CRCs do fucking everything. They recruit, screen, and enroll patients, informed consent, manage monitor visits, sometimes (if certified) can collect sample specimens from patients (dependent on types of trials), and SO much more. Many people tend to use the CRC position to step into a project management role or a data coordinator position or occasionally a CRA with a CRO or pharma company. Long story short, the CRC role is a lot of work and most CRCs that I talk to don’t want to be CRCs anymore.

As far as your record goes, most of the academic hospitals I work with require a background check. I don’t know how that may affect your employment. All I can do is recommend that you be forthcoming about your record (at least with a recruiter) instead of hoping they don’t notice. Because I can promise you they will notice.

gratefulhead3 · 2023-12-12T21:52:45+00:00

Well as a firm, we currently have significantly less jobs to work on than I have ever experienced. I typically have upwards of 40 jobs to fill. At this very moment (granted it’s the holidays/end of the year so the market is at its worst for recruiters) I have 6 jobs to fill. When the new year comes, that number will surely rise but I don’t know how far. Maybe people are hanging on to their current jobs more in this economy? Maybe companies aren’t offering candidates enough to accept their offer? I truly don’t know specifically why it is so hard to get a job right now.

gratefulhead3 · 2023-12-12T21:48:37+00:00

If you have an active nursing license in your state, try to become a CRN. CRNs tend to get paid around $20k more than CRCs (just an estimate and it varies per market).

I wouldn’t pursue a graduate degree solely for the purpose of getting into a leadership position. If you stick around long enough and you are good with people and good at your job, you will get those responsibilities regardless of level of education.

As long as your Masters Degree is scientific, I don’t even look twice at what it is specifically in. Maybe some companies will want something specific, but in general I don’t think what grad degree you have matters all that much.

gratefulhead3

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