Salary for CRA in USA & immigration charges for Indian citizen

Beware- this sounds like some sort of scam. How many years experience do you have as a CRA in India?

Lakishi said: Be wary of this... It sounds like a scam. How many years have you worked as a CRA in India?

This interview is from Veritas (www.theveritas.co.in) consulting. Is it still a scam? they are based at mohali & ahemdabad. almost 2 years

regarda
ojha

Hello Sonu,

I would be very cautious. Typically, US employers GIVE you $ to help you with your relocation, they do not make you pay. Is there any way you could get around using this consulting agency.

CRA jobs are typically salaried positions. Pay is usually around:
CRA 1: (0-2 years experience as a CRA) = 45-60k (usually depends on Years as a CRC and therapeutic experience)
CRA 2 (2-4 years experience as a CRA) = 50-75k
Senior CRA (4-10 years experience as a CRA) = 70-95k
Lead CRA (5-15 years experience as a CRA) = 85-100k

Cost of living in the USA is too much to detail- you will have to do your own research. High cost of living areas include New York, Phili and anywhere in California. To live in any of these areas, you may struggle as a CRA 1 if you have a family. Any CRA job will provide you with enough if you are single.

My suggestion : when you move, get a place close to the airport- CROs make new CRAs travel like crazy and the only time you'll be at your house will be Saturday (Sunday if you are lucky)

Hi,
Even i heard about this consultancy and they are asking to pay around 1800 for CRA training. My OPT is almost ending and am confused if I have to get into this training or not and if this consultancy is really helpful or not...Can you please provide me more information about this consultancy or any others who help in training adn finding a job in CRA

Can some one tell what is this Veritas upto? Are they to believed. They are asking to pay $9000 for job in USA

Really? You are asking if it is legit and you have to pay them for a job? It is the other way around - if they were happy to hire you not a company in the world would ask YOU to pay them... It is a little crazy that you are even entertaining this.

If you were to be recruited by a US clinical research company, they would pay 100% of the fees- they'd also buy you airline tickets, hotel and meals for your interview. Once you get the job, most will give you $3,000 for relocation assistance for you and your family.

US companies NEVER require anyone to ever pay anything to get a job. If a "job offer" asks for money up front, that's a sure sign it's a scam.

Paul in Las Vegas, Nevada said: If you were to be recruited by a US clinical research company, they would pay 100% of the fees- they'd also buy you airline tickets, hotel and meals for your interview. Once you get the job, most will give you $3,000 for relocation assistance for you and your family.

US companies NEVER require anyone to ever pay anything to get a job. If a "job offer" asks for money up front, that's a sure sign it's a scam.

Hi Paul. Its absolutely true thats why i have stopped responding to them after cross checking the entire situation. In fact they called up from US phone number one fine morning and asked to attend one more round for which i postponed the schedule as i wasn't comfortable but after that there is no call. Really crazy!!. Thanks for your views.

hi sonu...i came to know dat it's scam...presently what are u doing..? did u try ICRI..?

hello everyone...i would like to know the average pay package in USA for jobs in the clinical research field..do we have good job opportunities in USA..?

Hi Ravi,

thanks for ur post. yes its a scam.and the persons involved are Ms.Meenu and mrs.kanwaljeet operating from Chandigarh/mohali and they dont feel the pain how to have white earnings thats why they are doing these cheap activities. I am already a certified clinical researcher and worked over more than 4 trials and also in the capacity of auditing at EU standards , training, business development of clinical trials and was able to close one client from USA & poland so i dont need ICRI :). and it was about job at USA in CR field.

Hi Ravi,

Half way up this page, Larry already answered your question. I find his Pay scale to be right on target for CRAs.

CRCs usually get between 30-50k.

Project assistants make between 20-45k.

Right now , there's is 10% employment in the USA so companies are not sponsoring people from other countries- not even Canadians! Even YS citizens with years of CR experience are competing for entry level jobs.

Thank u Paul and Sonu....

I did my graduation in BDS(BACHELOR OF DENTAL SURGERY). I also did a diploma course in Pharmacovigilance. so what would be the best option for me..? Do i have any chances of applying abroad..? please try to help me out Sonu and Paul..

sonu ..i mean did u hear about master's course offered by ICRI institute in hyd.?

With the large number of unemployed Americans and Canadians, a foreign applicant doesn't have much chance applying abroad. By all means, I encourage you to still apply, but don't hope for much.

Ask yourself: If you were in HR and you had two applicants who had the same credentials BUT one was from another country and you had to spend thousands of dollars and countless hours processing visas and relocation and the other one required none of that work or added expense- Which one would you hire?

When unemployment so high- foreigners cannot compete in many job markets. I suggest to gain robust experience in your home country. Perhaps you can try to apply to the large global CROs based in the USA who have regional offices in your country. That seems like a better chance of assisting you in relocation.

hi i have recently come to USA i have done my masters in Pharmacy practice ( clinical pharmacy) Can any one suggest me genuine indian consultancies to get into clinical trials jobs. Iam desperately looking for a job please guys help.

There are no industry leaders in clinical research that function as indian consultancies. If you ever see a company in the USA that consists of and typically only works with one ethnicity I would be very cautious.

hi m a b.d.s graduate planning to take up clinical research course for next six months , after a while m planning to visit usa , how r my job oppurtunities ther? n ll my experience in india count? wat may b the salary package?can u also plz tell me which the global cro in usa based in india ? plz reply asap

thank you

Emma,

Here are the answers to your questions:

Prospects for getting a work visa in the USA are quite poor right now. There is opportunity for US citizens and people who have independently secured a work visa. Yes, experience in other countries will count, but still expect to enter in at the bottom of the pay scale.

Salary expectations are already detailed in another post on this page. I will not repeat this same information twice.

My biggest suggestion for you is to improve your language skills. This txt messaging language is regarded as highly unprofessional and it's completely unacceptable in the business world.

Hi Mather,

Please stop acting like an borish dictator. You better acknowledge that people who post here seek advice, not how to grovel Mather in Pittsburg. And stop imposing writing format that your granny have followed and so do you! Its a free internet. If u have any problem, dont bother to post here. There are better advisor around.

Chill and relax. Life is brief.

Revival,

You've obviously never worked in hiring or with product deliverables in the clinical research field. This is a PROFESSIONAL forum for clinical research professionals- this is not an exchange among casual friends. Although the txt message language is okay to use among friends, it is simply not accepted in the professional arena. Believe it or not, I have been actually sent the CV of a 'professional' who decided to use this type of language- needless to say, that person did not get a chance at an interview. A simple friendly reminder to avoid this language in professional situations is simply just good advice.

A clinical research professional must have impeccable language skills- after all the MV report is the CRAs main client deliverable and areas lacking of clarity in the report is a poor product! It's unacceptable to send that to the FDA and most people over the age of 40 won't have a clue what is written!

While your post only offered useless criticism, my post provided answers to all of Emma's questions. Perhaps your expertise is just limited to useless criticism and not about the current situation of foreign citizens looking for clinical research jobs in the USA...

hoapres,

Skilled man can not be stopped anywhere in this world regardless of any preferences.

Hoapres; well! Nobody comes simply and authorities are there to allow as they need it. If thats the case then tell them not to disturb over phone from USA hunting head honchos from IN instead they can disturb the people within their boundary if they get.

MATHER ,

you did sure.. answer my questions thank you for that!! but u were harsh .. since i understand its good advice i will take it positively!!

revival,

what can i say, same to same thinking!!

herpes,

am sorry , but who do you think you are to be telling anybody that??

Srly dos some1 think tehy get emlpoyed .. if u talk liek thisss ? AYSOS?!?!?!

Harsh? NO WAY- try honest! I guess people expect to be coddled like the baby whose writing skills leave them to shame. It's unbelieveable "ppl wanna" portray themselves on a professional networking site in the most unprofessional way possible.

A CRA needs a strong attention to detail, so it's also worthwhile to point out that twice after someone far a detailed answer about salary levels, the salary question was asked again! Makes you wonder if those people had what it takes to be a CRA, shouldn't they have already seen the answer was right in front of their face?

Hi,

I want to ask for advise, I'm going to live in USA after 1 month. I have 3 years good experience in pharmaceuticals as medical representative,( but not in usa),How can i start my career in clinical research field in USA?
Thank you

Which Visa we need to apply for getting entry level CRA position.
Is there any consultancies which suppost for Visa's, How to approach for getting Visa for getting Jobs in CRA. Currently I am on H4 visa.

Sachin,

Be very careful, there are a lot of scams out there looking to take advantage of people in your situation. Basically, if anyone ever asks you to pay for classes or pay to get a job, RUN! It's likely a scam.

The large CROs are hiring experienced CRCs for entry level CRA jobs. I don't know of any entry-level CRA jobs that are accepting applicants without CRC experience.

Hello everyone, I am glad to come across this thread,I wish I found this in April! Unfortunately,I guess I already am a victim of Veritas's scam.My strong suggestion is DO NOT join them. I will explain my experience with them and you can decide.Personally, I am interested in clinical research,so was looking for online training (as I didn't want to get a MSCR)and I found veritas on Sulekha,as did many students in our training batch.Most attractive part of the advertisement is 'will sponsor H1B'-that is a bait.

So when I called them,they said they have many positions open.I want to live in California and as you guessed,they have 'many positions in bay area'.They kept calling non-stop and said fresh batch is starting this weekend-I am telling you that is a red-flag.They said the course would last 2-2.5 months maximum. Now, it almost 5 months, we are not done with the course and my guess is they don't have any positions open,as they are strethching as much as they can. Most irritating part is, recently they offered some '$10' production specialist job and that if you attend the interview,you HAVE to accept the job.Why in the world would I accept the position,we should be able to make a decision of 'I accept/reject the offer'. Why in the world would I pay for 'Clinical research monitoring' course,if I had to accept a production specialist position.

Anyways,I paid $1500 for the certificate course, which I doubt I will receive!!!Their standards are really low,very unprofessional,you ask them something-they get very defensive,unapproachable after you pay the fee,when you call/email the instructors i.e. in need of clarification regarding the subject matter/exams-YOU NEVER GET A RESPONSE. The receptionist/whoever answers the phone(I have no idea what their qualification is but it is better to talk to walls than talk to unprofessional,ignorant staff).You tell them you need to talk to someone,following are their answers-contd in next post

i)they are busy/talking to some other student/instructing other batch
ii)not in the office
iii)some other department is responsible for that/that goes in a circle-you never hear/know the answer
Many students are having the same problems and I have asked them to put their thoughts on this forum, so future enthusiasts will not be affected.Some students are still optismistic that they will find a position for them but I have already learned my lesson, something that sounds too good to be true 99.9999% of the time-you are right.They promise to get you into a CRA position at your choice of location alongwith sponsoring H1B visa-unfortunately, I fell for that. Though I am a licensed RPh(registered pharmacist in California) and have 6 months of experience as a pharmacist with admirable communication and customer service skills, no one is willing to sponsor my H1b transfer for my current employer.I have interviewed with almost all major retail chains and some hospitals,everything goes well and I am offered a position but everything goes downhill after I mention that I need visa sponsorship.So it is best to inform while scheduling an interview, that you need sponsorship,so that neither side is disappointed after the interview.It is very depressing,especially after I have spent $8,000-$10,000 on my pharmacy license exams,books/material,crashcourse,practice exams,licensing fee,continuous education fee,etc.

So,H1b visa sponsoring part(very tempting) is the bait,consulting agencies(esp'lly-veritas)uses,so as Mather said-RUN.I told them I either need my certificate for wasting 5 months of my time/my $1,500 back-she just laughed (I think she must have thought-are you dreaming of getting your money back FROM US-WE ARE SPECIALISTS AT STEALING MONEY SKILLFULLY). The people you would talk to in USA,when you call them are-Tina,Isha,Astha and someone else-don't remember the name;instructors are Dr.Deepthi and Dr.Saritha and owner is Simarjeev Jolly.Nothing is consistent.GOODLUCK.

Hi all,

I appreciate, if anyone have any suggestions for me. I have started applying for entry-level CRA positions on my own,have BS Pharmacy(India),MS Nutritional Sciences(USA);Have 8 months of HPLC & in vitro lab research experience,1 year of Chemist I experience in R&D,Registered pharmacist(1.5years of inpatient hospital pharmacy experience as pharmacist intern and 6 months of pharmacist experience in retail pharmacy and psyche hospital)in California.I would prefer to live in Bay area but willing to relocate.So,my questions are i)What is the salary range I should expect to be within considering my education and experience? ii)Do pharmaceutical companies accept my clinical experience as a pharmacist for an entry-level CRA position? iii)Do pharm companies sponsor H1B visas? iv)What are best places for me to apply at? v)Any other titles/positions, I could apply for with my pharmacist experince?

Looking forward to hear from experienced professionals in Clinical Research.Thank you.

Veritas is a complete fraud. Don't trust them at all.

File a case , and their offices at US and India. they are proving to be real fraud, . taking the money and never turning back fortunately i dint agreed for the approx $8000 fee but lost some money in the beginning. what a game they are playing! copy the messages , and just put a copy to local police with cyber crime cell or put a raid on all the offices including USA, India and other places, its useless to talk to them. and its just lack of time and due to nature of my current job i am unable to go to local police/cyber crime fraud cell. Hoping to see them behind bars and my money back , if they are not wrong then they must prove it without fail else the grip will be tightened, so how many are putting up the CC of this entire message to cyber police/police in USA or India?

Hi JLY,

Drag them to the court of California. You got to do that. reported their domain as black. every sites of veritas is being reported as scam, I make sure that they should be flagged as scam from my end. people at CA put it across immediately so that other should not become the victims.

guest in San Francisco, California said: Please don't come to the US looking for a job.

We have enough UNEMPLOYED Americans and don't need your services.

If you want to come to the US then consult an experienced immigration attorney.

Hello Guest , I am not at all interested to come over there at all. If people needs me then I wil have to go , but I make sure I should be kind enough on you A's. will consider on ur request depending upon the situation if I am coming. Dont worry. take care

This is mad weird !!! Due to H1B visa we American are loosing jobs. The jobs getting outsourced is making it difficult for us Americans to get a job. The IT jobs and now healthcare jobs are taken away by ... Americans dont lack knowledge>>> Sigh we are struggling to get our jobs back...

Ya right huh you got tons of time bitching here go find yourself a job in the call centers there mr.......

Brian I completely agree with you, they come in our country to study and easily get placed in good companies because of these work visa's...and we Americans don't get jobs :(

Hi

I am Palak. I am pharma D. from India who is looking to get into CRA and wondering if anyone knows anything about the Boston College Clinical Research Certificate program?

Hello Mather,

I am new here.I like your each and every honest comment on this forum.I did my Masters in clincial research from US university.Currently, I am working as CRC since 2 yrs and still struggling for a challenging position in clinical research.I have solid knowledge of medical science.I wanted to get your advice.Just curious to know how are the other consultancy for job placement Qtech and others.

Many Thanks

Regards
Mita

Hello Mather,

I am new here.I like your each and every honest comment on this forum.I did my Masters in clincial research from US university.Currently, I am working as CRC since 2 yrs and still struggling for a challenging position in clinical research.I have solid knowledge of medical science.I wanted to get your advice.Just curious to know how are the other consultancy for job placement Qtech and others.

Many Thanks

Regards
Mita

Hi Mita,

Can I ask why you are interested in using a consultancy or job placement agency? I have been in this business for over a decade and have never even heard of anyone using one of those to get a job. Yes, CRAs often work through recruiting firms that have a specialized knowledge of the clinical research world- but job placement consultancies seem less common.

My suggestion is to apply directly to the pharma company or CRO and cut out the middleman. Especially if you are looking for CRA 1 or 2 roles, a consultancy would not be effective.

I was reading through the comments made by various users regarding jobs in clinical research. Though I am not so keen on going abroad, what I really want to discuss in this forum is, why arent CRCs, with the relevant job experience struggle to make to private companies. It's really sad. I have been trying like crazy, and dont even get a call for a clinical trial assistant post. Also, reading about Veritas, I am sure it is a scam. I got a call from them yesterday and they have demanded a 15,000-16,000 USD to help me relocate to the US. Any comments anybody? Will be glad for any help I get.
Thanks.

hi i had done Msc in medical Pharmacology and presently iam working as a tutor in medical college.1 week back i got a call from veritas consultancy regarding the post of Clinical data management vacancy in USA and for that they are asking 11000 as initial payment.So iam bit confused whether i should go ahead with that or not.So those who know veritas consultancy please help me to find out wether the consultancy is scam or trustful......

Anchal & Rahul : Its a big Scam , they are shameless, its almost a year that I paid 4000 INR post our tele conversation with them in the first instance. Thankfully I was out of their trap which they were trying to by asking approx. 2000 USD for relocation. After repeated emails they did not refunded my money and i was so busy that i also felt that I gave money to orphanage. Just be wary and try to escalate this matter to Mohali court by putting a CC. They should learn a lesson. for any job if u are successful no body asks for money. I have gone through all these drama. Take care.

Hi Lakhan!

Thanks a trillion for the info! I did a thorough research and i was quite convinced that they are a scam. I dont understand how are they managaing to fool so many people. But I really thank you for taking time out and writing to me. I am sorry for the loss of money you had to bear. I am glad that u filed a case against these people. I am trying to spread the word through online forums though.

Rahul in Kolkata, India said: hi i had done Msc in medical Pharmacology and presently iam working as a tutor in medical college.1 week back i got a call from veritas consultancy regarding the post of Clinical data management vacancy in USA and for that they are asking 11000 as initial payment.So iam bit confused whether i should go ahead with that or not.So those who know veritas consultancy please help me to find out wether the consultancy is scam or trustful......

Rahul, it will be best to drop the idea. They arent the right people to be trusted. See Lakhan's reply to my query and u will know.

HI,
I have got an admit to univ of Pittsburgh for MS non thesis pharmaceutical science for fall 2013. It comprises of a comprehensive literature review of written project and has training for-
Small Animal Training,Bloodborne Pathogens Training,Chemical Hygiene Plan & Formaldehyde Awareness,Radiation Safety Course. It is a one calendar year course. Could you please help me with the kind of jobs (job titles)that would be available after this program and what would be the annual payscale. Waiting for your response.

Hi, all,I am new here,My name is jenifer,I have got an admitt from University of Pitt for MS pharmaceutical science for the fall 2013.
The course work comprises of a written project consisting of comprehensive Literature review and training in Small Animal Training,Bloodborne Pathogens Training,Chemical Hygiene Plan & Formaldehyde Awareness,Radiation Safety Course. It is a one calendar year course. Could you please help me with the kind of Jobs available (job titles)after graduation frm this program for fresh graduates and what would be the annual payscale?? Waiting for your response.
Thanking you.
Regards,
Jenifer.