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 241 reviews)); "Great people you work with and a relatively easy job with very easy to understand ladder to climb." ((in 166 reviews)); "Great people and team to work with" ((in 47 reviews)); "Great Coworkers (for the most part)" ((in 42 reviews)); "flexibility friendly easy good training" ((in 38 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 113 reviews)); "Long hours are common and they happen with little or no warning and frequently (at least a couple times a week)." ((in 40 reviews)); "upper management is awful, lots of work to do which overwhelms people easily." ((in 32 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

Jan 29, 2016

Decent Company

Accountant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Decent benefits, various career opportunities, room for growth, challenging work, good work environment and nice people in the local office, some nice people in the corporate office

Cons

Pay does not align with skills/achievements, difficult to maintain a work/life balance, corporate structure is a barrier to process improvements, lack of communication, system challenges

1.0

Jan 24, 2016

Lab tech

Lab technician

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

None. Overtime. Lots and lots of mandatory overtime. It would be very difficult to find any words that were good about this company.

Cons

Indentured servant. Absolute worst place to work. Run fast the other way. You will make more per hour at a fast food place. Run like a sweat shop. Arrogant small minded management. Strong behind the scenes cronyism .

4.0

Jan 18, 2016

Great company to work for.

Senior marketing coordinator

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Very competitive pay, flexible work schedule, decent growth opportunity. Excellent stability as well and fellow employees are very nice to work with.

Cons

Benefits are a little shabby. Could be much improved. Also, definitely a typical company hierarchy structure when it comes to bonuses and time off. Maybe show a little more importance to the smaller people.

Viewing 2227 - 2229 of 2,373 Reviews

Jobs at Charles River Laboratories

Animal Care Technician I

Animal Care Technician I

Reno, NV

View job

Clinical Veterinarian

Animal Care Technician