Clinical Research Coordinators

An internship or part-time job in a clinical research facility provides opportunities to learn more about clinical research and work around people in the field. Speak with your members of your school's career services office about locating companies that have clinical research coordinator intern openings. Internships and job openings for clinical research professionals can also be found on professional associations' Web sites, such as the Society of Clinical Research Associates (http://www.socra.org) and the Association of Clinical Research Professionals (ACRP) (https://www.acrpnet.org).

Read publications and blogs on clinical research, such as Clinical Researcher (https://acrpnet.org/insights/clinical-researcher) and the ARCP Blog (https://acrpnet.org/news/blog), to keep up with news and developments in the field.

Conduct an information interview with a clinical research professional to learn more about the daily tasks and pros and cons of the job. Professional associations can help identify interview candidates. Suggested interview questions include: What made you want to enter this career? What do you like most and least about your job? How did you train for this field? What advice would you give to young people about preparing for the field and being successful on the job? How will advances in technology change the field? In addition to conducting information interviews, perhaps you could job-shadow a clinical research coordinator.

Check out Getting Started in Clinical Research, a free online training program that provides information about clinical studies and careers in the field. It can be accessed at https://acrpnet.org/career-center/getting-started-in-clinical-research.