clinical research associate

sales representative

field service technician

senior clinical research associate

clinical nurse

IQVIA

A typical day at work for me involved working queues of data inquiries, whether it be providing resolution or opening a ticket for another department to resolve. Work was extremely driven by numbers and output volume. Everything was tracked and compared with set metrics.

Working on healthcare data every day, I learned a great deal about the healthcare market in the United States, including how health systems are structured, different types of healthcare facilities, and the different types of healthcare providers. I also learned just how important clean and accurate data is, and how much work is needed to maintain it.

Culture overall was fun and laid-back. Many people wore jeans and shorts into the office regularly. We'd have potluck lunches a few times a year. 

I got the impression that management didn't care about the success/well-being of their employees. They often took a very passive approach to helping their subordinates succeed. They'd stress that their door is always open, but if you ever try to schedule a meeting with them, they'll either cancel it an hour before, or just keep rescheduling it for another time. It made me feel like I was their last priority.

The hardest part about working here is the annual goals and competency assessments. Raises and bonuses were heavily dependent on how you met your goals (which were all pre-written and assigned to you by corporate and were very "cookie-cutter" in nature). No one enjoyed doing them, very few even understood them, and I don't think I know anyone who actually benefited from doing them. Goals often mandated innovation and career development, but if you're at the bottom of the hierarchy, it is difficult to excel in these areas. What makes it worse is management stresses the importance of "meeting your goals" but I never got the sense they cared at all to help me achieve them. 

The most enjoyable part of the job was my co-workers. I made lasting friendships in my time here. I also enjoyed traveling for business.

A typical day at work would start out by walking into work about 15 - 60 minutes early. Being part of the Windows 7 upgrade project, I would send out mass emails to Quintiles Employees using a stationary template email informing them that they are ready for a Windows 7 upgrade. Shortly after, the ticket queue is checked to see the incoming schedule for upgrades. I would enter them into a detailed spreadsheet. Depending on what the date was, I would print out a sheet for all users scheduled for that day. Usually I would have pre-built machines by using the PXE boot (or NIC) Quintiles Windows 7 Imaging Software from the day before. If I did not, I would check the Asset Management Database to check on their laptop make, model, hard drive, and RAM; and then create a mirror image (according to specifications) of their current laptop. Application lists from the SCCM database are created for the users being upgraded. Then they are assigned to the newly imaged computers, and are installed. I send out another email to arrange a scheduled pick up time to those who are scheduled for the day. If I do not have many upgrades for the day and complete all of the preparation work prior to the first pick up, I will check the incident queue and assign tickets to myself and resolve any pending issues. I pick up the users laptop from their desk or arrange to meet them in the lobby. Once a laptop is picked up, I decrypt the data, and start a data transfer. This can take anywhere from 2-5 hours depending on the amount of data a users has. When a laptop is finished, the old and new laptop asset tags are written down and stored for future reference. I update the Asset Management Database and ensure the user will be assigned the correct laptop. The old laptops are labeled with a date, and then are held for 2 weeks incase a user is unhappy with their upgrade; or has any missing data. I have a strict quality assurance checklist for all of my work so it is very rare for someone to ask for any information from their old laptops. The new laptops are labeled according to which building and what desk number their are. A different employee comes in early and delivers them the next morning.

I worked at this company for many years, specifically at the Chesapeake helpdesk.  Management has always been stellar. They are fair. They care for and listen to their employees. They are exactly who you want guiding you. However, End User Services (the helpdesk) is an extremely small component of a global organization employing about 70,000 people.  Most of what they do is not related to helpdesk support. Many processes and policies are set at a high level and applied to all facets of the business, regardless of whether they are a good fit for an individual department. There is nothing IQVIA loves more than bureaucracy. The process is always more important than the outcome or experience...whether it's the customer experience or the employee experience. What does this mean in practical terms?  Things move glacially slow here. If it should take a week, it takes 2 months.  If it should take a month, it takes a year.  On top of that, the people in entry-level positions work incredibly hard, are expected to become experts in a massive amount of information, and are held to the highest standards. However, they are paid very little. You can roll out of bed and get a job making at least as much money in many other companies.  Turnover has become quite high, the overall quality of employees has diminished, and there is insufficient labor to meet the contractual obligations to our clients. The state of the helpdesk has gone downhill dramatically over the past 3 years and the future is looking bleak.  Management is, ironically (and wonderfully) quite good. They know, acknowledge, and sympathize with the difficulties mentioned here but are ultimately not empowered to change anything.  Their ability to do nice things for the employees to improve morale (gift cards, lunches, team-building events, etc) have largely been eliminated. However, they are good about verbal and written recognition of superior performance.

*  Typical day as Administrative Assistant:  Fast paced environment. But I enjoyed the variety of work.  I worked diligently to meet deadlines from multiple staff members.  
*  Typical day as a Clinical Trial Assistant:  My typical day as a Clinical Trial Assistant was generally determined in advance.  I knew what I needed to do each morning.  It was predictable in that I could bookmark where I left off on a file review and resume it the following morning. There were usually no variations in my day other than the occasional impromptu meeting.
*  What I learned:  I enriched my knowledge of Microsoft applications, in particular, with Excel.  Time Management - I kept a task list in Outlook so I knew what I accomplished as well as notating outstanding tasks. Through my job, I became extremely organized and able to shift my workload priorities as needed.My Administrative Assistant position was very challenging and my manager was a superior mentor.
*  Management staff members were professional and respectful to me.  For the most part, they were easy to work with!
*  I truly enjoyed my co-workers at Quintiles and was able to interact with different levels of management and staff.   
*  The hardest part of my job would be spending too much time doing someone else's work when I should teach them how so they would be self sufficient.  An excellent example of this would be preparing expense reports for staff.  When I started at Quintiles, the admins were expected to prepare and submit expense reports for all staff. In time,there was a determination that it was more efficient for the employee to prepare and submit their own expenses.  It was difficult for me to turn employees away as I knew they were just as busy as myself.
*  The most enjoyable part of my job was the ability to interact with staff, interview candidates on a global scale.

Here’s a set of sample responses based on your concerns about your current role:

 **A Typical Day at Work**
A typical day involves juggling multiple responsibilities without clear guidance or structure. I manage several projects, work with call center staff, and address client concerns, often learning on the go. With limited support from leadership, much of the workload feels like trial by fire, making it difficult to prioritize effectively.

 **What You Learned**
I've learned how to navigate ambiguous situations and pick up new skills quickly under pressure. This experience has strengthened my ability to adapt, but it has also shown me the importance of proper onboarding and training to succeed in a complex, fast-paced environment.

 **Management**
Management turnover has been a significant challenge, leading to instability and lack of direction. With three managers leaving in a short span, leadership continuity is lacking, and the reassurance offered feels hollow when there is no concrete plan for training or role clarity.

**Workplace Culture**
The workplace culture is in flux, with constant changes and a sense of uncertainty. While colleagues are supportive, the lack of structure and clarity from management has created a stressful environment where it's difficult to feel truly confident in one's role.

 **The Hardest Part of the Job**
The hardest part is managing both the clients and the team with little to no direction from leadership. Balancing these two responsibilities without proper support, training, or clear expectations has been overwhelming and frustrating at times.

 **The Most Enjoyable Part of the Job**
The most enjoyable part is working with my team. Despite the challenges, I enjoy supporting and developing the call center staff, helping them grow and navigate their responsibilities. This aspect of leadership has kept me engaged, even amidst the broader uncertainties.


Support and coordinate forecasting and budgeting of United States Business Unit that included respective focus Service Line operations. Develop and enhance current financial tools, processes to achieve a better understanding of variances in professional services, IT, human resource recruiting, and travel and entertainment expenses. Use analysis to re-forecast and improve forecasting accuracy.
■Manage and maintain monthly journal entries and key account reconciliations. Review customer billing which includes: analyzing invoices for payment, online customer reports for audit and funding, investigate billing discrepancies and provide information in non-routine situations, and ensuring the approval process is followed and documented for all customer payments.
■Prepare monthly financial reports, analysis, and supporting schedules as required to promote business growth for effort based accounting projects.  Identify and track key performance indicator’s, translate metrics into operation and sales drivers to improve forecast transparency, and accuracy.
■Gather and analyze key pricing and revenue data from statement of works in coordination with operations and sales to support United States Business Unit. Organized and coordinated activities with specific service line personnel in order to resolve complex pricing and billing issues with key account customers.  Evaluate business case acceptance criteria and consult with legal counsel to ensure project revenue is recognized and managed properly. 
■Prepare detailed account analysis and key performance indicator reports for executive management.
■Conducted Lean Kaizen time study between cross departmental activity and the process flow of information.
■Develop, maintain, and distribute ad-hoc reports and financial models as needed for audit purposes.

I started out really enjoying working at IMS but now I realize that is because I had a great boss when I first got hired. Because of him I ended up thoroughly trained and prepared to lead independent projects.

Since then, I am now on my fifth boss in three years due to the high turnover. Skilled people who have excellent interpersonal skills in addition to technical skills are leaving. They are being replaced by insourced and outsourced labor, many of whom have great technical skills but no ability to interact with clients and coworkers and to think through a business problem in a creative manner. Management says they care about training but in reality people are woefully unprepared and under trained to do their job. Having them on a project team is a huge challenge.

This has had a huge impact on the culture and the ability to serve clients. The company apparently no longer thinks of itself as a consulting company with great data assets, but more of a technology/platform company. I am frustrated at the lack of care for quality and for delivering good services to our clients - its all about meeting quarterly revenue targets with no regard for consequences.

Senior management does not communicate with employees at all. I have no idea what the company's goals or values are and I highly doubt there are any aside from meeting quarterly targets.

I do maintain great work life balance because I am in a remote office. Things at headquarters are apparently different with many people working long hours. I can not complain about compensation.

All the offices are located in very inconvenient places way out in suburbs in high traffic areas. They will not pay for good office space.

A typical day at IQVIA involved managing large datasets, creating performance reports, and collaborating with commercial teams under tight timelines. This routine required organization, precision, and the ability to prioritize tasks efficiently.

During my time there, I strengthened my analytical skills, improved my technical abilities with data tools, and learned how to communicate insights clearly to non-technical stakeholders. I also gained a deeper understanding of pharmaceutical market dynamics, which was valuable for my professional development.

Leadership and management, however, were challenging. Despite the company’s strong global reputation, the local environment did not always offer the support or guidance needed for employees to thrive. The senior team member directly above me maintained a management style that felt excessively demanding and often discouraged open communication. These dynamics limited collaboration and contributed to a stressful atmosphere.

The company culture did not always align with its stated values. Issues such as high workloads, limited recognition, and inconsistent managerial oversight affected morale and made the work environment difficult at times.

The hardest part of the role was balancing the high pressure and demanding timelines while navigating these cultural and interpersonal challenges. Nonetheless, the experience taught me resilience and adaptability.

What I appreciated most was working with meaningful healthcare data and developing strong analytical skills. Despite the challenges, the role helped me grow technically and clarified the type of organizational environment where I can perform at my best.

Pros:
IQVIA offers solid benefits that initially made the compensation package competitive. The core work can be interesting depending on your team.
Cons:
Compensation Issues:

Merit raises are consistently delayed to the point where the previous year's raise doesn't take effect until October
Pay raises are slower than industry standard
Bonuses regularly fall short of what's promised during discussions
Overall compensation has declined as benefits are being reduced or eliminated

HR and Upper Management Problems:

HR and upper management regularly make promises they don't deliver on
The business team's Associate Director lacks clear direction and understanding of operations
Expectations set from the top are unrealistic
These issues have become so normalized that employees have stopped raising concerns
There's a culture of acceptance around dysfunction rather than addressing systemic problems

Overall:
While IQVIA has strong name recognition and initially attractive benefits, the deteriorating compensation structure and unreliable decision-making from HR and upper management make it difficult to recommend. The pattern of delayed raises, reduced bonuses, and unfulfilled promises creates an environment where employees feel undervalued. The problems stem from the top down, not from direct management. Unless you're joining for very specific experience, consider whether the cons outweigh the brand name benefit.

My experience as a Lab Associate at IQVIA was overwhelmingly negative. I experienced what I perceived to be a hostile and toxic work environment, including repeated instances where I felt disrespected, closely monitored, and treated unfairly by members of management.

When concerns were raised through HR, I did not feel that they were adequately investigated or resolved. In my experience, employee complaints were often dismissed, particularly when they involved individuals in leadership positions. This created a workplace culture where many employees appeared reluctant to speak openly about concerns.

I also observed what I believed to be favoritism in hiring and advancement decisions, which negatively impacted morale and employee trust in leadership. Combined with frequent turnover and ongoing staffing challenges, this contributed to an unstable work environment.

Communication with clients and internal teams often appeared disorganized, and expectations regarding timelines and resources did not always align with operational realities. As an employee, this was frustrating and made it difficult to feel confident in management’s decision-making.

Overall, I found the culture to be highly stressful, poorly managed, and unsupportive of employees. Based on my personal experience, I would not recommend this location to prospective employees seeking a professional, transparent, and well-managed workplace

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Clinical research associate 23 salaries reported	$102,478 per year
Sales representative 1 salary reported	$81,000 per year
Field service technician 7 salaries reported	$30.86 per hour
Senior clinical research associate 4 salaries reported	$129,350 per year
Clinical nurse 3 salaries reported	$70.00 per hour

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