Great people but horrible work/life balance - Senior Clinical Research Associate ICON Employee Review

2.0
Oct 23, 2018
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

The people at ICON are fabulous. The line managers and study managers have been CRAs before, so they are able to fully support you to the best of their abilities. The health insurance is insanely good. One of the reasons I stayed as long as I did was for the health insurance. You start off with 15 days vacation.

Cons

As a CRA you are traveling 80-90%. It's expected you link your travel, so you may hit three to four cities in one week. With there being only three big airlines now, you are usually connecting which adds to a very long day. A typical work week is 55-70 hours. There is a 10 day on site per month requirement. Travel time is not taken into account. Their vacation plan is generous, but because of the heavy workload, you are 'punished' for taking time off. The amount of work that piles up (because there is no one to cover for you) adds so much extra time, it's almost not worth it. Work/life balance as a CRA is HORRIBLE. Errands, dr appointments, socializing, etc have to be done on the weekends. Managers are sympathetic and help as much as they can, but ultimately their hands are tied by Senior Management. It's a shame I had to rate the company two starts. It used to be a wonderful company to work for. As ICON has grown in size, CRAs have been reduced to workhorses.

Explore other reviews about ICON

5.0
Jun 19, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Really great manager. Remote work major plus. No micro management. Great pay

Cons

Annual salary increase this year isn't until September which is odd.

4.0
Jun 30, 2026
Recommend
CEO approval
Business Outlook

Pros

Strong Leadership, Fair/Average compensation, Thrive Program (company strives to keep you employeed as Sponsor reallocations occur)

Cons

HR is very hands off. It is very difficult to speak to anyone. Not simple to call and ask a question. Everything has to go through a portal. This is challenging when there is time sensitive needs. They make it work but in my opinion, this is a 'con'.

See reviews by: Helpful|Rating|Date|All