Does Charles River Laboratories pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, Charles River Laboratories employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.0 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at Charles River Laboratories. This rating has been stable over the past 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at Charles River Laboratories?

49% of Charles River Laboratories employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated Charles River Laboratories 3.2 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.2 for culture and values and 3.1 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at Charles River Laboratories?

Lab Technician (78) , Scientist (69) , Animal Care Technician (65) , Research Technician (55) , Technician (52) , Analyst (51) , Research Associate (46) , Research Scientist (42) , Supervisor (37) , Research Assistant (36) , Laboratory Technician (31) , Study Director (27) , Project Manager (25) , Manager (22) , Associate Scientist (20)

What are the pros of working at Charles River Laboratories according to real employee reviews?

"The ability to move around within the company is relatively good and the benefits are good." ((in 236 reviews)); "Great people you work with and a relatively easy job with very easy to understand ladder to climb." ((in 170 reviews)); "Very interesting place to work and colleagues are great" ((in 44 reviews)); "Great people and team to work with" ((in 42 reviews)); "Flexible hours and shifts day" ((in 41 reviews))

What are the cons of working at Charles River Laboratories according to real employee reviews?

"sites are disorganized and pay is low" ((in 177 reviews)); "Management is poor and people who are in charge lack knowledge of CDMO" ((in 166 reviews)); "The low salary also makes it hard to subsequently ask for more at another company." ((in 111 reviews)); "upper management is awful, lots of work to do which overwhelms people easily." ((in 33 reviews)); "A lot of managers don't know what actually occurs in their department." ((in 30 reviews))

What are employees saying about Charles River Laboratories layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about Charles River Laboratories layoffs and their outlook for job security at Charles River Laboratories in 2026.

What are the top reviewed Charles River Laboratories locations?

Wilmington , Mattawan , Reno , Ashland , Horsham , Shrewsbury , Memphis , Boston , Charleston , Worcester , Chicago , Bethesda , Raleigh , South San Francisco , Malvern , Wayne , Cambridge , Skokie , San Diego , Rockville , Morrisville , Newark , Frederick , Philadelphia , Spencerville , Kalamazoo , Wilmington , Durham , Kingston , Catskill

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Charles River Laboratories

Charles River Laboratories reviews

3.2

49% would recommend to a friend

(2,376 total reviews)

Birgit Girshick

64% approve of CEO

32% positive business outlook

Ratings by category

3.7

Diversity & inclusion

3.2

Culture & values

3.2

Work/Life balance

3.1

Career opportunities

3.0

Compensation and benefits

2.7

Senior management

Charles River Laboratories has an employee rating of 3.2 out of 5 stars, based on 2,376 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The Charles River Laboratories employee rating is in line with the average (within 1 standard deviation) for employers within the Pharmaceutical & Biotechnology industry (3.5 stars).

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Reviews by job title

2K reviews

3.0

Jun 26, 2016

Great for Learning

Auditor

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Nice family oriented environment, if you are into that kind of thing. If you arent, you feel a bit like an outsider. Very informative, innovative and with lots of room to grow.

Cons

Again, you have to be "one of them" to fit in.they do a lot of activities together and if you are the type of person to keep work and home seperate, this is not the place for you. By default, it makes it a "who you run elbows" promotion environment.

3.0

Jun 9, 2016

Great training

Analyst

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Good training, good people to work with.

Cons

Starting salaries tend to be low and most sites are not easy to get to by public transport (although they do provide a company bus to some places)

2.0

Jun 7, 2016

High Containment Technician

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

working for the CDC, coworkers are ok, government employees care more about the technician than the company itself

Cons

Horrible management, no structure, Management not present most of the time,

Viewing 2203 - 2205 of 2,376 Reviews

Jobs at Charles River Laboratories

Security Officer - Worcester, MA (Mon-Fri, 6am - 2pm)

Security Officer - Worcester, MA (Mon-Fri, 10pm - 6am)

Security Officer - Worcester, MA (Mon-Fri, 2pm - 10pm)

Animal Care Technician I

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Great for Learning

Great training

High Containment Technician

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