Regulatory Scientist Career & Jobs: Training, Salary & Certification Requirements

When you are taking your prescription medicine for a throat infection, or swallowing your daily multi vitamin, have you ever stopped to wonder who decides whether these substances are safe for humans to ingest, and who regulates their potency and price? The Food and Drug Administration is mostly responsible for determining the safety and use of most of the pharmaceuticals and supplements that are available on the market. However, the professionals that work most closely with the FDA to conduct the research into potential new drugs are known as the regulatory scientists. These professional are responsible for testing products before they reach the public market place in order to detect any abnormalities or potentially harmful substances. It is important for the regulatory scientists to be familiar with the latest testing technology and to have excellent communication skills.

Salary Outlook

Average Annual Salary
$65,800
Salary Range
$39,200 - $100,900  

Work Environment

Because they operate in an almost purely research and testing capacity, regulatory scientists are most often employed by governmental and private industrial laboratories. Other possible places of employment are pharmaceutical companies, chemical plants and research hospitals. Regulatory scientists are required to be familiar with a wide variety of substances and understand the way that they could potentially affect the human body.

High School Preparation

Those individuals that think they might enjoy the responsibilities of a regulatory scientist are encouraged to spend their high school career advancing their knowledge of biology, chemistry and research science. Other supporting subjects for this line of work include physics, calculus, geometry, physical education, sociology, computer science, and communications.

Requirements

After achieving their high school diploma, those students that are interested in pursuing the career of a regulatory scientist are required to receive a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university. The most common undergraduate majors are biology, chemistry, physics or pre-med. Following the completion of the undergraduate degree, it is required that aspiring regulatory scientists go on to achieve their masters or doctorate degree. Regulatory scientists are usually certified in the specialty of their post-graduate work.

Career Outlook

As the pharmaceutical industry continues to expand and dominate the field of modern health care, it will be important for qualified regulatory scientists to be available to test the safety and effectiveness of the drugs that are slated to reach the market. As more and more miracle drugs are developed, it will be important for the regulatory scientists to provide adequate testing to make sure there are no undesirable side effects. Those candidates that keep up their knowledge of the latest technologies are likely to be the most sought after applicants.

Professional Organizations

Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
9650 Rockville Pike
Bethesda, MD 20814-3996
Phone: (301) 634-7021
www.faseb.org