A regulatory affairs specialist works in the pharmaceutical industry, but many other fields of work include this position. The work is a highly specialized role that requires an advanced degree in science. Candidates for jobs in the field are required to have experience and knowledge of government regulations and policy. The job duties will depend on the specific employer and their needs.
The median salary for a Regulatory Affairs Specialist is $75,000. This is the mid-range of salaries in the industry, and you’ll find that starting salaries are typically around $60,000 per year. After five years on the job with around three years’ experience, most people make $100,000 to $130,000 annually. With even greater experience (15+ years), these professionals usually pull in $150K or more. Regulatory affairs specialists at big companies like Pfizer and Merck tend to earn higher incomes than their counterparts trying to make it big in smaller companies.
Salary For Regulatory Affairs Specialist Overview
Regulatory Affairs Specialist Salary: How Much Do They Make?
A regulatory affairs specialist salary is an important part of the career path you take. This can be a great opportunity to advance your career, so it’s important to know how much you can expect to make and how much it will cost you in training and experience. In order to understand what it takes to earn a regulatory affairs specialist salary, we have broken down the average salary for regulatory affairs specialists by year and experience level.
Regulatory Affairs Specialist Salary: Entry Level
Entry-level regulatory affairs specialists typically make between $48,000 and $59,000 per year. This figure includes both full-time and part-time positions with benefits. Many entry-level positions do not offer benefits on their own, so this figure does not include any additional compensation for health care or other benefits packages that may be offered by some employers. The starting salary for regulatory Affairs Specialist 2 positions is usually higher than this range due to the increased responsibilities of these roles.
What Is A Regulatory Affairs Specialist?
The following job responsibilities are common for individuals in regulatory affairs specialist roles:
- Fully understand all laws and regulations that are applicable to an industry
- Review products, processes, and procedures within a company to determine whether or not the company is in compliance with government regulations
- Recommend alternative procedures when non-compliance is discovered
- Conduct incremental, ongoing reviews of products, processes, and procedures to ensure continued compliance
- Write reports on findings and present to company leadership
A Day In The Life
Essentially, a regulatory affairs specialist is a role that bridges the gap between a company, its services or products, and governmental agencies who regulate the company’s industry. Most commonly, this position is found in medical settings (including pharmaceutical companies), but many other industries have also begun to use the particular talents of skilled regulatory affairs specialists. Energy, telecommunications, cosmetics, and banking are a few examples of other industries where this position is found.
Because a regulatory affairs specialist can work in diverse industries, their day-to-day tasks can be quite different. However, nearly all industries will follow a similar arc of research, analysis, and drafting reports. As a start, the regulatory affairs specialist will review and become familiar with existing industry regulations and determine whether the employer is in compliance or not. From there, a detailed report or action plan can be developed to assist the company in meeting the regulation requirements.
In addition to ensuring compliance for company goods or services, a regulatory affairs specialist is often tasked with analyzing a new procedure or product during the development stage. With a solid working knowledge of industry regulations, a regulatory affairs specialist may also be asked to judge the regulatory climate and be able to predict upcoming changes to regulations. These tasks are especially useful in the pharmaceutical and medical industries.
How To Become A Regulatory Affairs Specialist
The requirements of a regulatory affairs specialist will largely depend on the industry involved, but the vast majority will require a bachelor’s degree as a minimum, and most successful candidates will also have a master’s degree. For the most common positions in the pharmaceutical and medical fields, these degrees will often need to be in a scientific field to form a solid knowledge base from which to understand the issues and regulations at hand.
Because of the extensive knowledge needed, few regulatory affairs specialists are hired as an entry-level position. The most common way to obtain a position is through experience and promotion from within a company. As such, internships, residencies, and other programs are excellent ways for a prospective regulatory affairs specialist to gain the experience needed to be employed in this career. Also, switching positions between industries is extremely difficult due to the field-specific knowledge.
While having a good theoretical knowledge base and experience working in an industry will prepare a person for a career as a regulatory affairs specialist, there are also certain skills that will help you excel once you have this job. With reports that can be hundreds or even thousands of pages long and serious consequences for not complying with regulations, being detail-oriented and meticulous should be one of your strongest qualities if you want to be a regulatory affairs specialist.
Regulatory Affairs Specialist Salary Data
We’ve provided you the following to learn more about this career. The salary and growth data on this page comes from recently published Bureau of Labor Statistics data while the recommendations and editorial content are based on our research.
National Anual Salary
Low Range
$48,810
Average
$69,180
High Range
$102,940
National Hourly Wage
Low Range
$23/Hr
Average
$33/Hr
High Range
$49/Hr
How do Regulatory Affairs Specialist salaries stack up to other jobs across the country? Based on the latest jobs data nationwide, Regulatory Affairs Specialist’s can make an average annual salary of $69,180, or $33 per hour. On the lower end, they can make $48,810 or $23 per hour, perhaps when just starting out or based on the state you live in.
