The results from the CK Clinical salary survery have shown some very interesting results for trends in the recruitment of Clinical Research, Pharmacovigilance and Medical Information staff with the most interesting findings relating to the recruitment of Data Managers.
DATA MANAGEMENT
The average permanent salary for Clinical Data Managers rose by a staggering 28% from an average starting salary of £30,004 in 2007 to £38,375 in 2008. One explanation for this may be the change in the role moving more from a query resolution role more towards having project management responsibilities. Another reason for this may be that companies are now paying higher basic salaries to permanent staff to entice them to take a permanent contract as opposed to following what has historically been a very lucrative route of contracting a as Data Manager where the average salary was more in the region of £65000. Contracting however does not offer the same level of security or benefits which as we enter the challenging economic climate of 2009 is becoming more important to job seekers.At the more senior end of the market for Data Management Team leaders and deartment Managers we also saw a significant rise with basic starting salaries for team leaders and department heads recruited from extern sources rising from £51702 in 2007 to £57920 in 2008.
CLINICAL RESEARCHERS AND CLINICAL PROJECT MANAGERS
It will come as no surprise to anybody workign in resourcing within the Pharmaceutical market place that 2007 - 2008 would demonstrate a rise in salaries for CRA’s as the demand for staff rose and the number of people entering the market at entry level has remained stagnant for some time. CRA’s and Senior CRA’s have been able to command ever increasing basic salaries. 2008 saw the basic salary of a Senior CRA rise from £30850 in 2007 to £35525 in 2008. This is an inflation beating increase of 15%.The raise in avarage starting salary for Clinical Project Managers also rose significantly by nearly 7% from £45100 in 2007 to £48250 in 2008. This was also complimented by a19% increase in the average car allowance to Clinical Project Managers bringing it to just short of £7,000.
PHARAMCOVIGILANCE AND MEDICAL INFORMATION
There is good news for people joining the industry in these two disciplines. The entry level salary in Drug Safety rose by nearly 14% from £20250 in 2007 to £23000 in 2008 however salaries for new recruits in more senior roles remained the same with no significant increase from 2007 to 2008. The entry level salary in Medical Information rose by just over 8% from £24000 in 2007 to £26000 in 2008 however salaries for new recruits in more senior roles also remained the similar with a slight drop of 2% from 2007 to 2008. One explanation for this may be that we also saw an increase in the numbers of recruits at more junior levels with the numbers of more senior staff remaining stable. It is likely that as larger teams expand they are recruiting a more junior level and training these people up rather than recruiting more experienced and expensive members of staff.
In summary 2008 saw a significant increase in the starting salaries being offered to new recruits within most disciplines. Given the challenging economic climate that we face in 2009 it will be very interesting to see if the same levels of increase in basic salaries are offered. On a positive note, the shortage of candidates in all of these areas does mean that we are unlikley to see the shrinkage in employment that some of the other industries are currently facing. In fact the last quaret of 2008 saw one of the busiest months periods ever for new starters in Permanent roles for CK Clinical. These figures are based on the avaerage starting salaries of candidates introduced to client companies through 2007 and 2008 and refelect an average only.
About CK Clinical
CK Clinical are a specialist recruitment firm operating in the Pharmaceutical, Biotechnology and Medical Device industries. For more information about how CK Clinical could help you with your recruitment, job search or general information about working in this sector please contact Jonathan Hart-Smithon 01438 743047 or at jhartsmith@ckclinical.co.uk or visit our website at www.ckclinical.co.uk.
