COClinical Operations
CO
Career

Clinical Operations

By the numbers
Typical pay
$167,220 / yr
Education to start
Bachelor's degree
Future demand
+3.7% by 2034
People in this job
109K
Figures shown for ·closest of 3 O*NET occupations
The work
Watch · day in the life
A day, hour by hour
08:00
Morning triage

Scan overnight emails from global sites; flag urgent safety alerts first.

08:30
Trial status standup

Run the cross-functional sync — sponsors, CRAs, vendors, 20 minutes sharp.

09:00
Site monitoring review

Dig into a lagging site's data: real problem or just a slow week?

10:30
Protocol deviation call

Site deviated from dosing schedule — decide: escalate now or let them self-correct?

11:15
Regulatory paperwork

Finalize IRB submission and update the trial master file before the deadline.

13:00
Safety report review

Read adverse event reports; one flag looks serious — escalate to medical monitor immediately.

14:00
Site training session

Walk a newly onboarded hospital team through the study protocol step by step.

15:30
Data chase

Hunt down three missing patient records; one entry is wrong and needs a correction form.

16:30
Timeline & budget check

Enrollment is two weeks behind — decide whether to flag leadership now or recover first.

Things you do
  • Oversee clinical trials from first patient enrolled to final results.
  • Visit research sites to make sure doctors are following the study rules.
  • Track timelines and budgets so the trial doesn't fall behind or overspend.
  • Review safety reports and flag any unexpected side effects immediately.
  • Submit paperwork to ethics boards and regulators to keep the trial legal.
Decisions you’ll make
  • Is this site falling behind because of a real problem, or just a temporary slowdown?
  • Should I escalate this protocol deviation now, or can the site correct it on their own?
  • Do we pause enrollment at this site, or push through and risk data quality?
  • Is this adverse event serious enough to report immediately, or does it fit the expected risk profile?
  • Should I flag this timeline to leadership now, or try to recover it first?
Education Pathways · how you get there
81 in 100 went the college route · 19 in 100 found another way in 5 years or more, typically
Education mapped from O*NET:
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