How to Become a Research Coordinator

A research coordinator is a professional who facilitates the implementation of a scientific, medical or commercial research study. An individual hoping to become a research coordinator will require thorough knowledge of grants, budgeting, government regulations and data processing. Read on to learn more.

Things You'll Need

• Bachelor of Science degree

Instructions

Get Work as a Clinical Research Coordinator

1. Supplement your science studies at the high school and college level with government policy, business or information management courses.

2. Complete a 4-year Bachelor of Science degree from an accredited postsecondary institution. While additional training or advanced degrees can also lead to positions as research coordinators, an undergraduate science degree will generally suffice to give you solid career prospects.

3. Develop your organizational, computer and communication skills (written and verbal). Take workshops to become better at these if you're weaker in a certain area.

4. Work or intern on your summer breaks throughout college in a research lab. Ask your school's science or career services department to help you find internship or summer job opportunities that will help you gain practical lab experience.

5. Apply for entry-level jobs working in a research lab, using the experience you gained in Step 4 and your completed B.Sc as qualifications.

6. Get a couple years' experience working under the tutelage of supervisory staff. In the meantime, brush up on your government policy regarding the use of human subjects in research studies. You'll also need to be able to prove you have the ability to find and obtain funding, implement a budget, manage data and apply protocol without a great deal of supervision.

7. Collect references who can attest to your knowledge of sound clinical research practices.

8. Identify companies that hire research coordinators and introduce yourself to their human resources departments. Find the name of a specific person who works in human resources, rather than just sending out a general query letter or email. However, with some hard work and good luck, you might gain a promotion to the position of research coordinator with the lab you started working for out of college.

9. Keep your skill set current by continuing to attend informational seminars and ongoing training programs, especially in regards to government policy on the use of human research subjects. This will keep as many doors as possible open for you going forward in your career.

Tips & Warnings

• Do your B.Sc. in the field of life sciences. A biology or related degree will be of the most value as you try to become a research coordinator.