Is ICON a good company to work for?

ICON has an overall rating of 3.5 out of 5, based on over 6,546 reviews left anonymously by employees. This rating has decreased by 1% over the last 12 months. 64% of employees would recommend working at ICON to a friend and 50% have a positive outlook for the business. The best reviews about ICON have been left by employees working as Clinical Trial Specialist , CRA and Site Management Associate II .

Does ICON pay their employees well?

According to anonymously submitted Glassdoor reviews, ICON employees rate their compensation and benefits as 3.3 out of 5. Find out more about salaries and benefits at ICON. This rating has decreased by 2% over the last 12 months.

How satisfied are employees working at ICON?

64% of ICON employees would recommend working there to a friend based on Glassdoor reviews . Employees also rated ICON 3.6 out of 5 for work life balance, 3.5 for culture and values and 3.2 for career opportunities.

What are the top reviewed jobs at ICON?

Clinical Research Associate (236) , Project Manager (192) , Clinical Trial Assistant (CTA) (181) , Senior CRA (180) , CRA I (162) , Clinical Trial Manager (115) , Clinical Trial Assistant (110) , Project Associate (108) , Study Start-Up Associate (73) , Drug Safety Associate (72) , CRA (70) , Senior Clinical Research Associate (69) , In House CRA (61) , CRA II (56) , Clinical Research Associate II (54)

What are the pros of working at ICON according to real employee reviews?

"Good benefits although they gave decreased over the last 10 years since I started working at this company." ((in 370 reviews)); "Good work life balance and all good" ((in 369 reviews)); "There are really great people that work for ICON and I love being in the team that I am in." ((in 233 reviews)); "Worked with great people and team." ((in 164 reviews)); "They do pay you and are flexible with you if you have a good manager." ((in 150 reviews))

What are the cons of working at ICON according to real employee reviews?

"Poor management with no vision." ((in 214 reviews)); "For all this reasons trying to make career starting as SMA requires many years of hard work and low salaries." ((in 200 reviews)); "No bonus in the strategic solutions side and promotions harder to achieve as need embedded employer agreement" ((in 183 reviews)); "Low pay and highly reliant on client investments" ((in 180 reviews)); "( poor leadership)" ((in 43 reviews))

What are employees saying about ICON layoffs in 2026?

Explore Glassdoor’s employee reviews to understand what current and former employees are saying about ICON layoffs and their outlook for job security at ICON in 2026.

What are the top reviewed ICON locations?

Raleigh , Blue Bell , Philadelphia , New York , North Wales , Brentwood , Lenexa , Houston , Farmingdale , Nashville , Durham , Chicago , Salt Lake City , Los Angeles , Wilmington , Boston , Phoenix , Atlanta , Dallas , San Antonio , Charlotte , San Diego , Whitesboro , Washington , Sugar Land , Charlottesville , Kansas City , San Francisco , Portland , Austin

ICON reviews

3.5

64% would recommend to a friend

(5,299 total reviews)

Barry Balfe

55% approve of CEO

50% positive business outlook

Ratings by demographic groups

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ICON has an employee rating of 3.5 out of 5 stars, based on 5,299 company reviews on Glassdoor which indicates that most employees have a good working experience there. The ICON 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

5K reviews

3.0

Nov 3, 2013

Hard work, long hours, little pay

Cra

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Great benefits -- the health insurance offered is very good and low cost to employees. The people who work for ICON are smart and very hard working. You'll make some great connections for future job opportunities (because the turnover at ICON is very high).

Cons

Employees are over-allocated, underpaid, and under appreciated. If you enjoy working your ass off, working long hours, and struggling to meet timelines because of a lack of resources, only to have it go unnoticed, then ICON is the place for you. There is no career development here, unless you know how to work the system or are lucky and assigned to studies where you are given opportunities. It's hard working in the same position for years with no guarantee that you'll ever get anywhere.

2.0

May 15, 2012

Very poor quality of life with no end in sight.

Senior cra

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

Benefits are good. People are for the most part great and the LCRAs have been great to work for.

Cons

Totally metric driven company! 96 days on site per year to receive an avg performance rating. Slip one or two days and you get a below avg rating. Studies are POORLY resourced. Not enough CRA, LCRAs and assistants on every study. CRAs are working 60-75 hours per week and missing metrics due to being over worked and then we suffer at our evalution. The metrics set everyone up for failure. Pfizer alliance only makes this situation worse because of their 483's with the FDA which ICON has a 483 as well. Put two companies like that together and it's all about metrics and unrealistic CAPA committiments to the FDA such as CRAs getting evaluated on a site's EDC entry timeline of 4 CALENDAR days! One vaccine study for Pfizer had 9 of 20 CRAs quit. Which I am too very soon. Rumor is ICON is getting bought out or merging. Employees on all levels are leaving ICON. Oh, no bonuses either and not one drink allowed to be expensed.

2.0

Aug 4, 2025

Blindsided by Layoff Despite Hard Work and Promises

In house cra

Recommend

CEO approval

Business Outlook

Pros

• Exposure to global Phase I–IV trials across various therapeutic areas • Opportunities to collaborate with experienced teams in clinical research • Use of major industry tools and systems (Veeva Vault, InForm, Siebel CTMS, etc.) • Remote work flexibility

Cons

• No merit increases or cost-of-living adjustments, even with strong performance • Promised promotions that never materialized—despite taking on higher-level responsibilities and supporting CRA-level tasks • Excessive workload due to high turnover and understaffing • Lack of transparency and communication from leadership • Sudden layoff with little notice, despite being told the team was stable and secure

Viewing 175 - 177 of 5,299 Reviews

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Hard work, long hours, little pay

Very poor quality of life with no end in sight.

Blindsided by Layoff Despite Hard Work and Promises

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