Job Responsibilities
Management and coordination of multiple protocols (NIMH,
foundation, and industry-sponsored as well as investigator
initiated) for clinical research studies. Job responsibilities
include acting as primary liaison to initiate and maintain
relationships with interdisciplinary teams involved in the care
and management of research subjects, including study sponsors and
other sites. Monitoring responsibilities include management of
all regulatory documents and communications with local
Institutional Review Board and Office of Grants Management (e.g.,
budget, NR1, FDA 1572, etc.) as well as preparation (and creation,
when necessary) of case report forms (e.g., Consent/Assent);
screening/recruitment documents (e.g., study brochures, newspaper
and web ads), and other source documents. Clinical
responsibilities included screening of potential study subjects to
determine eligibility in adherence with protocol
inclusion/exclusion criteria; administering informed consent;
performing protocol required clinical assessments; ordering labs
and reviewing results; coordinating subject care between subjects
and physicians; and ensuring appropriate follow-up. Troubleshot
recruitment. This job requires a thorough knowledge and
proficiency of ICH, GCP, and HIPAA regulations.
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Job Requirements
The minimum educational requirement to be a research assistant in
a university is a bachelor's degree.
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Uppers
The best part of being a research assistant is that you're generally working
with pretty bright people, and also, it's exciting to be on the cutting edge of
what you're working on.
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Downers
The worst part of being a research assistant is that the pay is
terrible and the hours are almost always long. Also, there's
often a lack of respect, in academia, for anyone with "merely" a
bachelor's or master's degree.
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Lifestyle
If you're interested in any type of research, this is a great job
to have for a couple of years, before you move on to bigger and
better things. In terms of hiring, the job outlook is good,
because research assistants are always needed, however, plan on
moving on after a couple of years, because being a research
assistant is a dead-end job.
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Compensation
Research assistants don??t make much money. In July 1999, I was
hired as a Research Assistant at the University of Texas,
Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas (UTSW). At the time, I had
"no research experience", however, it's worth noting that the UTSW
HR department generally refuses to give credit for research
experience obtained anywhere other than UTSW, and they use this to
keep starting salaries low. Accordingly, although I had a
Master's Degree from UTSW, my starting salary was just $26,004.00.
When I left, 5 years later, I'd managed to increase my salary to
$36,408, although I'd had to leave and be re-hired to achieve that.
The benefits package was good, though. Several insurance plans
were available, including medical, dental, vision, life, personal
accident, and long term disability insurance. Also, the
University provides new employees 8 hours paid vacation per month
(usable after 6 months) and 8 hours paid sick leave per month
(usable immediately) as well as an additional 11 paid holidays
each year. There are no bonuses or stock options.
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Advice to Jobseekers
If you're interested in any type of research, this is a great job
to have for a couple of years, before you move on to bigger and
better things. In terms of hiring, the job outlook is good,
because research assistants are always needed, however, plan on
moving on after a couple of years, because being a research
assistant is a dead-end job.
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