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 improved by 1% over the last 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 243 reviews)); "Great people you work with and a relatively easy job with very easy to understand ladder to climb." ((in 173 reviews)); "Great Coworkers (for the most part)" ((in 45 reviews)); "Great people and team to work with" ((in 45 reviews)); "Flexible hours available" ((in 42 reviews))

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

"sites are disorganized and pay is low" ((in 181 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 109 reviews)); "upper management could do better caring for the employees." ((in 33 reviews)); "Favoritism runs rampant like a rash." ((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 , 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

1.0

Aug 17, 2009

Inexperienced management / hostile work environment.

Anonymous employee

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Fine if you are a PhD. These individuals are treated with respect.

Cons

The monkeys are treated better than the employees. To quote an HR person "the only professionals here are Study Directors". Anyone else is subject to their verbal abuse. Nepotism ( a percentage of individuals are married and actually supervise one another!) Inexperienced management. Hostile environment. People are afraid to make eye contact in the hall. The less people you know, the better. Low pay and zero opportunity for advancement unless you at all times keep your mouth shut. Having an opinion or any level of expertise will put you in the unemployment line.

1.0

Jul 1, 2009

Good for entry level, that's about it.

Research assistant

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Flexible schedule (my specific department) Ice cream in the summer

Cons

Underpaid due to no competition in area No clear path for career growth (Fast Track is a joke) Poor management

3.0

Oct 23, 2008

A good company to work for if you are looking for a springboard into another pharmaceutical company.

Senior technologist

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Internal hiring is favorable for people who want to completely change job types, at least for the lower levels. Everyone is relatively easy to work with and, most of the time, the supervisors do not bother the daily flow of work, allowing for a very personalized work schedule. It is quite easy to find a group of people that one can relate to which makes the otherwise droll days pass by easier. Even if the company is not doing well financially, HR allows people to choose another department to work with in lieu of being laid off.

Cons

When the company is not doing so well, HR is very quick to reassign people to different departments. And although this allows these people to keep their jobs, it makes for increasingly difficult work situations for the remaining people. Withing any given department, there are only a few levels of progression. Once you reach a certain level, there is no where to go except other departments, unless you don't mind an abysmal maximum 5% raise (if you score lower than a 3, you get no raise. and there is absolutely no way to score a 5). Communication between managers and workers is relatively poor. While most of the work schedule is personally based, any aspects which require involvement with another group or person often becomes a hassle due to lack of communication.

Viewing 2368 - 2370 of 2,372 Reviews

Jobs at Charles River Laboratories

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