How much does a senior CRA make?

A senior CRA makes $90,498 a year, on average. That equates to $43.51 an hour. The pay range for a senior CRA is $64,000 for entry-level positions and upwards of $127,000 for the top 10% of earners. Senior CRA pay varies greatly depending on location, industry, and various other demographics.

How To Become A Senior Clinical Research Associate: What It Is and Career Path

What is a senior clinical research associate and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A senior clinical research associate is responsible for the management of all clinical activities involved in clinical studies and trials. They handle the day-to-day operations of the clinical investigative phase of drug development. They supervise a team of clinical research associates in conducting research studies and the ultimate design and implementation of clinical trials. They perform studies and trials on medication and medical procedures and evaluate their benefits and risks before they are released to the market.

Senior clinical research associates work closely with other research professionals to share results and agree on conclusions. They usually work in hospitals, research companies, pharmaceutical companies, universities, and government agencies. A successful senior clinical research associate should have proficiency in clinical research, analytical skills, research skills, attention to detail, organization skills and communication skills.

Senior clinical research associates mostly work in a laboratory setting. They work 40 hours a week. The role involves occasional travel to clinical sites.

ScoreSenior Clinical Research AssociateUS Average

Salary

7.5

Avg. Salary $95,878

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

5.6

Growth Rate 6%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

5.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.51%

Asian 11.56%

Black or African American 2.56%

Hispanic or Latino 14.98%

Unknown 7.56%

White 62.83%

Gender

female 71.78%

male 28.22%

Age - 43.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 43.5

Stress Level

5.6

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

8.5

Complexity Level is advanced

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

6.3

Work Life balance is fair

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a senior clinical research associate

Explore senior clinical research associate education requirements

Most common senior clinical research associate degrees

Bachelor's

66.0 %

Master's

16.6 %

Associate

8.5 %

Start to develop specific senior clinical research associate skills

Skills	Percentages
Patients	11.06%
Informed Consent	6.40%
Oncology	4.96%
CRA	4.64%
Site Management	4.54%

Complete relevant senior clinical research associate training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 6-12 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New senior clinical research associates learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a senior clinical research associate based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real senior clinical research associate resumes.

Research senior clinical research associate duties and responsibilities

Manage a consultant to review scientific support and create dossiers on each product that make health claims in the EU.
Interact with FDA and other regulatory authorities to manage and facilitate approval of regulatory submissions.
Monitor U.S. sites in accordance with ICH and GCP guidelines.
Maintain investigators and subjects files, review investigators files for compliance with GCP and FDA regulations, review drug utilization records.

Get senior clinical research associate experience

Generally, it takes 1-2 years to become a senior clinical research associate. The most common roles before becoming a senior clinical research associate include clinical research associate, clinical research coordinator team lead and staff nurse.

Prepare your senior clinical research associate resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your senior clinical research associate resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a senior clinical research associate resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

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Build a professional Senior Clinical Research Associate resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Senior Clinical Research Associate resume.

Apply for senior clinical research associate jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a senior clinical research associate job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

Average senior clinical research associate salary

The average Senior Clinical Research Associate salary in the United States is $95,878 per year or $46 per hour. Senior clinical research associate salaries range between $64,000 and $142,000 per year.

Average Senior Clinical Research Associate Salary

$95,878 Yearly

$46.10 hourly