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 242 reviews)); "Great people you work with and a relatively easy job with very easy to understand ladder to climb." ((in 175 reviews)); "good work life balance to an extent" ((in 69 reviews)); "Great people and team to work with" ((in 50 reviews)); "Very interesting place to work and colleagues are great" ((in 44 reviews))

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

"sites are disorganized and pay is low" ((in 176 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 118 reviews)); "Long hours are common and they happen with little or no warning and frequently (at least a couple times a week)." ((in 41 reviews)); "upper management could do better caring for the employees." ((in 34 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 , Kalamazoo , Spencerville , Wilmington , Durham , Kingston , Catskill

Charles River Laboratories reviews

3.1

49% would recommend to a friend

(2,372 total reviews)

Birgit Girshick

66% approve of CEO

33% positive business outlook

Company ratings over time

Ratings trend for the last 6 months (2,372 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 2,372 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

Dec 22, 2011

Great people, Good entry level experience, poor advancement opportunities

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

spacious facility, average benefits package, great people to work with, will hire new college graduates, good communication, relaxed atmosphere, good sense of teamwork

Cons

lots of changes in management structure - could never seem to get it right who should report to who (and some managers are appointed to supervise employees without knowing what their direct reports' jobs are), pay is on low side, my workload doubled while my coworker was on maternity leave and all i got out of it was having to work weekends all summer, vacation requests occasionally get denied for poor reasons, not much room for advacement, sometimes atmosphere can get too relaxed where people become unprofessional, HR has been known to give misinformation on benefits

1.0

Dec 1, 2011

Unresponsive, Inconsiderate, and Unhelpful

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

The facility is well kept and the location is good (an industrial area away from the downtown area). The facility is highly secured.

Cons

The hiring website has many flaws that make it very difficult to use. There are websites and email addresses that are not functional. Human Resources is unhelpful and inconsiderate to prospective employees. Unresponsive to emails and phone calls.

3.0

Nov 29, 2011

Not organized and too challenged with the corporate office

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

It really depends on your management as to what the good qualities are - Flexibility is a plus, depending on your manager. The benefits and vacation are decent.

Cons

It can be difficult to get the job done, processes are not very well organized or set, which creates frustration and wasted time. Most of the management is old school and very set in their ways.

Viewing 2344 - 2346 of 2,372 Reviews

Jobs at Charles River Laboratories

TEMP Packing Assembler

Animal Care Associate (Entry-Level)

Animal Care Technician I