Clinical Research Jobs for Gap Year - When to apply?

[14_karat]

Currently a rising senior and I'm starting to look for gap year job opportunities straight out of college. I'll be applying to med school for the next cycle, so preferably I want this to be a one year gig. I don't want to stay in the city of my undergrad program at all, and my parents want me to stay with family so that I don't have to pay rent. They live in upstate NY with a 1.5 hour commute to NYC which isn't doable for me. But I also have family in South Jersey / Philly, so I'm thinking of stay with them and commuting (30 min) to Philly for work.

I'm worried that a lot of these jobs will just be filled internally. I have done one year of clinical research. I was second author, the work was published and I presented my team's findings with a podium presentation at a major national medical surgery conference. I think I'm good as far as prior experience goes, but since I don't want to stay in my current city, I don't think I can really use my connections. I also can't really go through the normal school recruiting / job fair outlets, because they'll mostly be based in my school's city (but I'll still be on the lookout anyways).

Clinical Research Coordinator and Clinical Research Assistant job offerings are what I want to look for. When do you think I should start looking since I want to move to a different city? What do jobs like CRC entail or is it really specific to who you're working for? How would I handle interviews since I'm in a different city? Also when I'm applying should I just not say anything about my medical school interest? How would I handle medical school interviews during the job? If I do get job offers how rude would leaving after a year seem?

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[bluepeony]

Currently a rising senior and I'm starting to look for gap year job opportunities straight out of college. I'll be applying to med school for the next cycle, so preferably I want this to be a one year gig. I don't want to stay in the city (Pittsburgh) of my undergrad program at all, and my parents want me to stay with family so that I don't have to pay rent. They live in upstate NY with a 1.5 hour commute to NYC which isn't doable for me. But I also have family in South Jersey / Philly, so I'm thinking of stay with them and commuting (30 min) to Philly for work.

I'm worried that a lot of these jobs will just be filled internally. I have done one year of clinical research. I was second author, the work was published and I presented my team's findings with a podium presentation at a major national medical surgery conference. I think I'm good as far as prior experience goes, but since I don't want to stay in my current city, I don't think I can really use my connections. I also can't really go through the normal school recruiting / job fair outlets, because they'll mostly be based in my school's city (but I'll still be on the lookout anyways).

Clinical Research Coordinator and Clinical Research Assistant job offerings are what I want to look for. When do you think I should start looking since I want to move to a different city? What do jobs like CRC entail or is it really specific to who you're working for? How would I handle interviews since I'm in a different city? Also when I'm applying should I just not say anything about my medical school interest? How would I handle medical school interviews during the job? If I do get job offers how rude would leaving after a year seem?

Based on personal experience, I would suggest you start applying to CRC/ CRA jobs 3 to 4 months prior to the anticipated start date. I was honest with them about med school plans. I think this varies from PI to PI because some only require 1-year commitment whereas others want 2 years. I don't think you can really avoid saying that you want to go to med school because all the interviews I went on asked a variant of the 5-year plan question. I think you can keep the answer vague and say you eventually want to go to med school without specifying which app cycle you're applying to. In terms of attending interviews, you can use your PTO days after the probation period. Your boss isn't really supposed to pry into what you're using it for tbh.

CRC job responsibilities also vary. Some work on clinical trials, others work on grant-funded trials. There's a lot of administrative stuff to do (IRB submission, doing paperwork), consenting and explaining studies to patients, and tracking them over time. I applied to CRC/ CRA jobs in NYC and it took me over 2 months to land my first job. For my second CRC job, it took 1 month from app submission to job offer. But if you're going to apply to jobs in Upstate NY/ Philly, maybe you should allot more time since there might not be as many opportunities. Also, a 1.5-hour commute really isn't that bad. That's actually my commute right now from north Jersey.

 

[star-lily]

Does anyone also know generally about the relative availability of CRA/CRC jobs outside of the more traditional hiring months (from what I've seen, typically May, June, July), AKA in the fall? I'm taking my MCAT in mid-September, graduated May 2018, have a lot of prior research experience from during undergrad and full-time the past year. Months and months ago I sent out applications and was generally able to get plenty of job interviews but couldn't secure anything because I wanted to try to have a start date right after my exam (I've studied full-time for 4.5 months and the results look promising so far, have done plenty of third party tests and am scoring well on official practice), but they all wanted someone to start right in the middle of summer. I do have one place that previously interviewed me and seemed to have a positive impression of me that says that they may have another job opening in October, but of course I can't assume that it's a safe bet.

 

[bluepeony]

Does anyone also know generally about the relative availability of CRA/CRC jobs outside of the more traditional hiring months (from what I've seen, typically May, June, July), AKA in the fall? I'm taking my MCAT in mid-September, graduated May 2018, have a lot of prior research experience from during undergrad and full-time the past year. Months and months ago I sent out applications and was generally able to get plenty of job interviews but couldn't secure anything because I wanted to try to have a start date right after my exam (I've studied full-time for 4.5 months and the results look promising so far, have done plenty of third party tests and am scoring well on official practice), but they all wanted someone to start right in the middle of summer. I do have one place that previously interviewed me and seemed to have a positive impression of me that says that they may have another job opening in October, but of course I can't assume that it's a safe bet.

I feel that there are usually CRC/CRA job openings year round. However, usually they are looking for someone to start within the next month after background check/ drug screening/ physical exam/ orientation. Maybe you should try to send apps closer to your desired start date.

 

[star-lily]

I feel that there are usually CRC/CRA job openings year round. However, usually they are looking for someone to start within the next month after background check/ drug screening/ physical exam/ orientation. Maybe you should try to send apps closer to your desired start date.

Thanks! Yeah, I have seen a few additional ones on a job board recently that look very interesting to me, so since I could potentially start a month from now, maybe I should send those in very soon.

 

[14_karat]

Based on personal experience, I would suggest you start applying to CRC/ CRA jobs 3 to 4 months prior to the anticipated start date. I was honest with them about med school plans. I think this varies from PI to PI because some only require 1-year commitment whereas others want 2 years. I don't think you can really avoid saying that you want to go to med school because all the interviews I went on asked a variant of the 5-year plan question. I think you can keep the answer vague and say you eventually want to go to med school without specifying which app cycle you're applying to. In terms of attending interviews, you can use your PTO days after the probation period. Your boss isn't really supposed to pry into what you're using it for tbh.

CRC job responsibilities also vary. Some work on clinical trials, others work on grant-funded trials. There's a lot of administrative stuff to do (IRB submission, doing paperwork), consenting and explaining studies to patients, and tracking them over time. I applied to CRC/ CRA jobs in NYC and it took me over 2 months to land my first job. For my second CRC job, it took 1 month from app submission to job offer. But if you're going to apply to jobs in Upstate NY/ Philly, maybe you should allot more time since there might not be as many opportunities. Also, a 1.5-hour commute really isn't that bad. That's actually my commute right now from north Jersey.

Thanks for this detailed response. So maybe applying starting in January/February would be my best bet? I graduate at the end of April. Really want a position by June, though the sooner after graduation, the better.

I'm actually not applying in Upstate NY. My parents don't want me to stay with them. I actually brought up the idea of getting an apartment in north Jersey and then commuting to NYC, but there are still aren't with it. They strictly want me to stay with family.

What was the your pay for your first CRC job?

 

[bluepeony]

Thanks for this detailed response. So maybe applying starting in January/February would be my best bet? I graduate at the end of April. Really want a position by June, though the sooner after graduation, the better.

I'm actually not applying in Upstate NY. My parents don't want me to stay with them. I actually brought up the option of getting an apartment in north Jersey and then commuting to NYC, but there are still aren't with it.

What is your pay for your first CRC job?

First one was $23/ hour. Second one is $23.80/ hour.

 

[mad957]

Does anyone have advice on asking a supervisor for a day off for an interview? I work in a clinical research setting, but in more of an administrative position so they are not used to employees applying for med school while at this job. I just started a month ago, so I cannot use PTO yet. At the interview I mentioned that my career goals include going to med school, and when they asked when that would be, I said 1 year. In the interview I also asked about the process for taking time off, but looking back I don't know if I made it perfectly clear that within the first few months of working there I would need to take days off for interviews. Has anyone been in this position? My supervisor is easy to talk to, but I don't think she understands the application timeline/knows that I am interviewing now and possibly leaving this job in the summer/early fall if I am accepted. I don't want to lie, but I also don't want it to seem like I am going to be leaving soon/don't care about this job!

 

[tessellations]

First one was $23/ hour. Second one is $23.80/ hour.

Damn! At my current CRC job in BOSTON, I get paid $16 an hour.

OP, I recommend applying starting around March if you plan on starting soonish after you graduate. Also as a warning, a good chunk of these jobs (at least here), expect you to make a 2 year commitment.

 

[deleted1009115]

Does anyone have advice on asking a supervisor for a day off for an interview? I work in a clinical research setting, but in more of an administrative position so they are not used to employees applying for med school while at this job. I just started a month ago, so I cannot use PTO yet. At the interview I mentioned that my career goals include going to med school, and when they asked when that would be, I said 1 year. In the interview I also asked about the process for taking time off, but looking back I don't know if I made it perfectly clear that within the first few months of working there I would need to take days off for interviews. Has anyone been in this position? My supervisor is easy to talk to, but I don't think she understands the application timeline/knows that I am interviewing now and possibly leaving this job in the summer/early fall if I am accepted. I don't want to lie, but I also don't want it to seem like I am going to be leaving soon/don't care about this job!

you just need to be honest and take unpaid time off

 

[bluepeony]

Damn! At my current CRC job in BOSTON, I get paid $16 an hour.

OP, I recommend applying starting around March if you plan on starting soonish after you graduate. Also as a warning, a good chunk of these jobs (at least here), expect you to make a 2 year commitment.

Haha, well I would imagine the cost of living in Manhattan to be higher than Boston.

 

[deleted1009115]

Haha, well I would imagine the cost of living in Manhattan to be higher than Boston.

Definitely higher but I don’t think 30% higher

 

[justin7875]

$29 an hour here in SF!
Although most of that goes straight to rent...

 

[LizzyM]

Consider that many of these jobs turn over in July/Aug/Sept as previous employees leave to go back to school.
Every medical school has some clinical research going on. Ditto the Veterans Affairs medical centers.