To give you the best head start for your first job in clinical research it is worth investigating the type of degree or experience that employers will be looking for. On some occasions you may find that employers are looking for a variety of degrees all the way through to a Masters/PhD. This is especially true for statisticians, who usually require a Masters in biostatistics.

• Life Science Degree – a degree based on the study of living organisms. This can be on a variety of subjects including Biochemistry, Biological Science & Biomedical Science.
• Numerical based Degree – a degree such as Mathematics or Computing with some specifics based on life sciences such as statistics or epidemiology options.
• Health Science Degree- An alternative route would be looking at a degree based on Pharmacy or Nursing.
• No degree – there are a number of routes by which you could enter the clinical research space without any degree. This is especially true of Investigator site or hospital based roles.

As well as a proven degree or relevant experience, a diploma or certification in Clinical Research can help to add weight to your application and boost your knowledge of Clinical Research. There are many Employers who offer Internship or Graduate schemes for those who have not yet gained any work experience. It is common for Employers to recruit directly from Graduate schemes, however, with the experience gained from any of these schemes you may have a higher success rate in future applications.

Alternatively, The ICR provides many training courses, some of which are entry level and provide a certificate in Clinical Research that will be of great benefit when applying for a job. See more details in Training (Click Here)