Compliance investigator vs regulatory affairs specialist

The differences between compliance investigators and regulatory affairs specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. Additionally, a regulatory affairs specialist has an average salary of $70,060, which is higher than the $58,594 average annual salary of a compliance investigator.

The top three skills for a compliance investigator include federal laws, law enforcement and management system. The most important skills for a regulatory affairs specialist are regulatory affairs, FDA, and regulatory agencies.

Compliance investigator vs regulatory affairs specialist overview

	Compliance Investigator	Regulatory Affairs Specialist
Yearly salary	$58,594	$70,060
Hourly rate	$28.17	$33.68
Growth rate	3%	-
Number of jobs	19,977	9,915
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	-	4

What does a compliance investigator do?

A compliance investigator is primarily responsible for ensuring all aspects of a facility or company complies with its policies and regulations, including government laws and standards. Their responsibilities revolve around conducting regular inspections, gathering and assessing documentation, and conducting interviews and assessments. There are also instances when a compliance investigator must travel to different locations, investigate contract adherence, and identify any fraudulent or illegal activities. Furthermore, it is essential to maintain records of all investigations, producing progress reports as needed.

What does a regulatory affairs specialist do?

A regulatory affairs specialist assists in securing and maintaining government approval for nutritional products, drugs, medical devices, and related supplies. They are often employed by medical, pharmaceutical, and biotechnology companies. They may also work in the government or law. Typically, they work on document preparation, file maintenance, information management, and coordination of tasks across various departments. They expanded their duties and responsibilities as a result of company acquisitions and restructuring, worldwide globalization of markets, and constantly evolving regulations.

Compliance investigator vs regulatory affairs specialist salary

Compliance investigators and regulatory affairs specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Compliance Investigator	Regulatory Affairs Specialist
Average salary	$58,594	$70,060
Salary range	Between $42,000 And $80,000	Between $49,000 And $99,000
Highest paying City	Menlo Park, CA	Santa Rosa, CA
Highest paying state	Delaware	California
Best paying company	Meta	Meta
Best paying industry	Pharmaceutical	-

Differences between compliance investigator and regulatory affairs specialist education

There are a few differences between a compliance investigator and a regulatory affairs specialist in terms of educational background:

	Compliance Investigator	Regulatory Affairs Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 65%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common major	Criminal Justice	Business
Most common college	-	Stanford University

Compliance investigator vs regulatory affairs specialist demographics

Here are the differences between compliance investigators' and regulatory affairs specialists' demographics:

	Compliance Investigator	Regulatory Affairs Specialist
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 57.3% Female, 42.7%	Male, 37.5% Female, 62.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 12.0% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.4% Asian, 8.1% White, 59.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%	Black or African American, 10.7% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.7% Asian, 8.2% White, 60.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.8%
LGBT Percentage	12%	12%

Differences between compliance investigator and regulatory affairs specialist duties and responsibilities

Compliance investigator example responsibilities.

Participate in OCC exam preparation and review including research and presentation of documentation to achieve compliance with federal examiner requests.
Conduct BSA risk assessments on new products & services.
Prepare and conduct yearly bank wide BSA/AML training.
Research employee theft, fraud, Medicaid and Medicare contract compliance and computer security issues.
Investigate potential AML, KYC and OFAC violations in the Americas and draft reports of findings.
Investigate potential OFAC violations, money laundering, and fraudulent financial activity across client business lines.

Regulatory affairs specialist example responsibilities.

Gather, evaluating, organizing, managing and collating information in a variety of formats.
Manage CRO (regulatory) in support of the company's approve product in Europe.
Manage and submit electronic EPA product registrations.
Manage and submit regulatory permit and notification applications to USDA to import, move and release regulate plant materials.
Support complaint handling process and screening, ensure FDA 21 CFR compliance.
Close complaints receive from external customers in compliance with FDA, ISO, QSR and other regulatory guidelines.

Compliance investigator vs regulatory affairs specialist skills

Common compliance investigator skills

Federal Laws, 10%
Law Enforcement, 10%
Management System, 7%
Conduct Investigations, 5%
Ethics, 5%
Due Diligence, 4%

Common regulatory affairs specialist skills

Regulatory Affairs, 10%
FDA, 8%
Regulatory Agencies, 7%
Medical Devices, 6%
Regulatory Compliance, 5%
Regulatory Submissions, 5%

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Compliance Investigator vs Regulatory Affairs Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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