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 238 reviews)); "Great people you work with and a relatively easy job with very easy to understand ladder to climb." ((in 175 reviews)); "Great people and team to work with" ((in 45 reviews)); "Colleagues are nice and friendly." ((in 42 reviews)); "flexibility friendly easy good training" ((in 39 reviews))

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

"sites are disorganized and pay is low" ((in 182 reviews)); "Management is poor and people who are in charge lack knowledge of CDMO" ((in 168 reviews)); "The low salary also makes it hard to subsequently ask for more at another company." ((in 111 reviews)); "Long hours are common and they happen with little or no warning and frequently (at least a couple times a week)." ((in 43 reviews)); "upper management is awful, lots of work to do which overwhelms people easily." ((in 37 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

Charles River Laboratories reviews

3.1

49% would recommend to a friend

(2,373 total reviews)

Birgit Girshick

64% approve of CEO

32% positive business outlook

Company ratings over time

Ratings trend for the last 6 months (2,373 reviews)

Ratings by demographic groups

Race / Ethnicity

Gender

Sexual orientation

Disability

Parent or family caregiver

Veteran status

Charles River Laboratories has an employee rating of 3.1 out of 5 stars, based on 2,373 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).

Reviews by job title

2K reviews

3.0

Oct 18, 2013

Fine

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Strong company not going anywhere anytime soon.

Cons

Upper management does not communicate clearly

1.0

Oct 11, 2013

Long-time current employee

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great place to gain experience, but best to move on to somewhere that will treat you better in the long run

Cons

Not a great place to work if you have a life outside of work. Be aware that you can consistently go above and beyond what is required but never get so much a a thank you for your hard work. You can do a thousand things right and make one mistake. Trust me, the one mistake is what you will hear about and you will be punished for it.

1.0

Sep 26, 2013

A frustrating place to work (BPS division)

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Ex-employee of the BPS division. Comments pertain to this division of CRL only. 1. Many of my co-workers were nice 2. Adequate to good benefits

Cons

1. Low base salary 2. Limited advancement opportunities 3. High employee turnover rate, and senior/corporate management indifference to this problem. 4. A corporate culture which tends to ignore large, systematic problems, while getting bogged down with minutiae 5. A corporate culture which does not recognize the need for process improvements or R&D, instead focusing almost solely on short-term revenue goals 6. General miserliness and penny-pinching, to the point of perhaps being pennywise but pound foolish, related to #5.

Viewing 2305 - 2307 of 2,373 Reviews

Jobs at Charles River Laboratories

Associate Director Global Marketing - Biologics Testing (REMOTE)

Animal Care Associate

Animal Care Technician I