Career profile · 15-2051
Clinical Data Managers
Apply knowledge of health care and database management to analyze clinical data, and to identify and report trends.
What the work can involve
- Design and validate clinical databases, including designing or testing logic checks.
- Process clinical data, including receipt, entry, verification, or filing of information.
- Generate data queries, based on validation checks or errors and omissions identified during data entry, to resolve identified problems.
- Develop project-specific data management plans that address areas such as coding, reporting, or transfer of data, database locks, and work flow processes.
- Monitor work productivity or quality to ensure compliance with standard operating procedures.
- Prepare appropriate formatting to data sets as requested.
Selected core tasks from O*NET 31.0. Responsibilities vary by employer, specialization and experience.
Preparation and entry routes
This O*NET group commonly calls for substantial preparation, often including a bachelor’s degree or considerable relevant experience. An introductory vocational course alone may not provide an entry route.
Check the route for the specific occupation where you plan to work. Education, employer experience requirements, occupational licensing and industry certification can be separate steps.
Understand the different credentials →Skills used in this occupation
- Critical Thinking
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Speaking
- Writing
Selected from the highest importance ratings available in O*NET 31.0. These describe the occupation, not a particular school's curriculum.
Knowledge to build
- English Language
- Computers and Electronics
- Customer and Personal Service
- Mathematics
- Medicine and Dentistry
Selected from the highest importance ratings available in O*NET 31.0. These describe the occupation, not a particular school's curriculum.
Common work activities
- Working with Computers
- Processing Information
- Getting Information
- Documenting/Recording Information
- Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates
Selected from the highest importance ratings available in O*NET 31.0. These describe the occupation, not a particular school's curriculum.
Training subjects to investigate
The federal education-to-occupation crosswalk connects this role to the subjects below. These links do not endorse a school or guarantee that any particular award qualifies a graduate for the job.
Working conditions to consider
These are the most common published responses to selected O*NET work-setting questions. They describe occupation-level survey findings, not every employer or a particular job.
| Work-setting question | Most common response | Share giving that response |
|---|---|---|
| Contact With Others | Constant contact with others | 50.0%07/2016 · sample 20 |
| Exposed to Contaminants | Never | 90.0%07/2016 · sample 20 |
| Exposed to Disease or Infections | Never | 80.0%07/2016 · sample 20 |
| Exposed to Hazardous Conditions | Never | 100.0%07/2016 · sample 20 |
| Spend Time Sitting | Continually or almost continually | 85.0%07/2016 · sample 20 |
| Spend Time Standing | Never | 55.0%07/2016 · sample 20 |
| Spend Time Using Your Hands to Handle, Control, or Feel Objects, Tools, or Controls | Never | 52.6%07/2016 · sample 19 |
| Time Pressure | Once a week or more but not every day | 35.0%07/2016 · sample 20 |
| Wear Common Protective or Safety Equipment such as Safety Shoes, Glasses, Gloves, Hearing Protection, Hard Hats, or Life Jackets | Never | 100.0%07/2016 · sample 20 |
| Work Schedules | Regular (established routine, set schedule) | 85.0%07/2016 · sample 20 |
O*NET 31.0 Work Context, selected topics. Only unsuppressed source responses with sample size at least 10 are shown. A most-common response need not be a majority. Sampling uncertainty applies; source dates vary. Ask employers about actual schedules, accessibility, protective equipment and working conditions.
Software used in the workplace
Use these O*NET examples to ask how a course builds practical digital skills. They are workplace examples, not a required shopping list or confirmation of a school’s curriculum.
- Access software: Citrix cloud computing software
- Analytical or scientific software: Electronic data capture EDC software, IBM SPSS Statistics, Oracle Remote Data Capture, SAS
- Categorization or classification software: Autocoders, Drug coding software
- Data base management system software: Relational database management software, Teradata Database
- Data base reporting software: Oracle SQL Loader, SAP BusinessObjects Crystal Reports, SAP Crystal Reports
- Data base user interface and query software: 5AM Glassbox Translational Research, ClearTrial, Clinical trial management software, DZS Software Solutions ClinPlus
- Development environment software: Go, Microsoft Visual Basic
- Document management software: Microsoft SharePoint
- Enterprise application integration software: Extensible markup language XML
- Medical software: Allscripts healthcare automation software, Epic Systems, EpicCare Ambulatory Electronic Medical Records (EMR) software, MEDITECH software
- Object or component oriented development software: C#, C++, Oracle Java
- Office suite software: Microsoft Office software
Selected categories and examples from O*NET 31.0 Software Skills. Products and employer requirements change. These examples are not endorsements; check the complete official occupation profile.
Pay & employment outlook
Salary estimates for clinical data managers
This O*NET specialty shares the BLS 15-2051 occupation series. Pay is measured for Data Scientists, not separately for this specialty.
The median divides workers into two equally sized groups by pay. It is not a starting salary, a school’s graduate outcome or a promise of employment. Lower percentiles are not automatically new graduates.
National outlook: 2025–2035
- Typical education for entry
- Bachelor's degree
- Related work experience
- None
- Typical on-the-job training
- None
BLS national employment projections, 2025–2035. Openings include people leaving occupations or the labor force; these are not advertised vacancies. Education categories describe typical entry, not legal eligibility or a guarantee that any specific program is sufficient.
Compare wages across 50 state/DC estimates
| State | Annual median | Hourly median | Employment |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $103,120 | $49.58 | 1,740 |
| Alaska | $84,110 | $40.44 | 230 |
| Arizona | $107,240 | $51.56 | 4,560 |
| Arkansas | $109,390 | $52.59 | 530 |
| California | $141,590 | $68.07 | 39,310 |
| Colorado | $117,400 | $56.44 | 6,280 |
| Connecticut | $126,340 | $60.74 | 1,760 |
| Delaware | Not published | Not published | 770 |
| District of Columbia | $126,490 | $60.81 | 2,680 |
| Florida | $115,820 | $55.69 | 10,240 |
| Georgia | $104,340 | $50.16 | 9,260 |
| Hawaii | $102,130 | $49.10 | 300 |
| Idaho | $89,380 | $42.97 | 1,350 |
| Illinois | $106,560 | $51.23 | 10,520 |
| Indiana | $91,470 | $43.98 | 3,580 |
| Iowa | $95,830 | $46.07 | 2,300 |
| Kansas | $98,130 | $47.18 | 490 |
| Kentucky | $91,760 | $44.12 | 1,540 |
| Louisiana | $78,760 | $37.86 | 1,300 |
| Maine | $90,880 | $43.69 | 1,210 |
| Maryland | $136,370 | $65.56 | 3,340 |
| Massachusetts | $131,750 | $63.34 | 9,420 |
| Michigan | $100,590 | $48.36 | 7,360 |
| Minnesota | $128,800 | $61.92 | 4,020 |
| Mississippi | $69,490 | $33.41 | 440 |
| Missouri | $97,090 | $46.68 | 4,730 |
| Montana | $100,490 | $48.31 | 220 |
| Nebraska | $98,230 | $47.23 | 1,980 |
| Nevada | $98,540 | $47.37 | 1,680 |
| New Hampshire | $100,620 | $48.37 | 1,100 |
| New Jersey | $135,280 | $65.04 | 6,430 |
| New Mexico | $95,850 | $46.08 | 560 |
| New York | $130,460 | $62.72 | 23,970 |
| North Carolina | $119,090 | $57.25 | 11,430 |
| North Dakota | $81,900 | $39.37 | 210 |
| Ohio | $102,630 | $49.34 | 6,100 |
| Oklahoma | $86,310 | $41.49 | 1,900 |
| Oregon | $125,990 | $60.57 | 2,140 |
| Pennsylvania | $106,850 | $51.37 | 13,810 |
| Rhode Island | $102,440 | $49.25 | 1,160 |
| South Carolina | $91,990 | $44.23 | 3,750 |
| South Dakota | $96,150 | $46.22 | 220 |
| Tennessee | $100,330 | $48.24 | 2,790 |
| Texas | $122,090 | $58.70 | 25,860 |
| Utah | $108,090 | $51.97 | 4,360 |
| Vermont | $127,070 | $61.09 | 200 |
| Virginia | $126,430 | $60.79 | 8,920 |
| Washington | $163,350 | $78.54 | 9,600 |
| West Virginia | $85,090 | $40.91 | 390 |
| Wisconsin | $106,680 | $51.29 | 4,370 |
Metropolitan and nonmetropolitan wages
Search the 373 published local-area estimates for this occupation. Metropolitan areas can cross state lines; a city’s postal name is not necessarily the statistical area’s name.
Sources: BLS May 2025 OEWS public downloads and 2025–2035 employment projections, retrieved September 9, 2026. Unpublished estimates stay unavailable. “+” means BLS’s upper reporting threshold ($239,200 annually or $115 hourly). Wages exclude self-employment and nonwage benefits. How to interpret these figures.
Compare the route and prepare for work
Questions to test the fit
- What does an entry-level working day look like, and how does it differ from the experienced role described here?
- Which tasks, work environments and schedules would I enjoy or find difficult?
- What education, supervised practice and credentials do local employers actually request?
- Can I speak with someone in the occupation or arrange a suitable workplace visit?
- How does the complete training cost compare with my realistic budget and available routes?
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Related through shared training-subject mappings. Entry requirements can differ substantially.
Sources and attribution
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under CC BY 4.0. Trade School Guides selects and organizes the material and adds explanatory guidance. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. Occupation code: 15-2051.02.
Training connections: CIP 2020–SOC 2018 crosswalk. Snapshot: September 8, 2026. See the methodology.