Compliance officer vs regulatory affairs specialist

The differences between compliance officers 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 $64,058 average annual salary of a compliance officer.

The top three skills for a compliance officer include oversight, risk management and compliance program. The most important skills for a regulatory affairs specialist are regulatory affairs, FDA, and regulatory agencies.

Compliance officer vs regulatory affairs specialist overview

	Compliance Officer	Regulatory Affairs Specialist
Yearly salary	$64,058	$70,060
Hourly rate	$30.80	$33.68
Growth rate	-	-
Number of jobs	69,161	9,915
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Average age	46	46
Years of experience	-	4

What does a compliance officer do?

A compliance officer is responsible for monitoring company operations, ensuring that all the processes and members are adhering to the regulatory and procedural policies set by the company. Compliance officers' duties also include proposing compliance programs, reviewing and updating existing company policies with management approval, taking immediate actions for policy violations, and mitigating risks. A compliance officer must have extensive knowledge of legal procedures and regulatory standards to manage and evaluate problems, providing meaningful solutions, and keep the company's positive reputation.

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 officer vs regulatory affairs specialist salary

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

	Compliance Officer	Regulatory Affairs Specialist
Average salary	$64,058	$70,060
Salary range	Between $42,000 And $96,000	Between $49,000 And $99,000
Highest paying City	Wilmington, DE	Santa Rosa, CA
Highest paying state	Delaware	California
Best paying company	Meta	Meta
Best paying industry	Finance	-

Differences between compliance officer and regulatory affairs specialist education

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

	Compliance Officer	Regulatory Affairs Specialist
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 61%	Bachelor's Degree, 66%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Harvard University	Stanford University

Compliance officer vs regulatory affairs specialist demographics

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

	Compliance Officer	Regulatory Affairs Specialist
Average age	46	46
Gender ratio	Male, 48.8% Female, 51.2%	Male, 37.5% Female, 62.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 11.1% Unknown, 4.5% Hispanic or Latino, 15.9% Asian, 8.3% White, 59.4% 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 officer and regulatory affairs specialist duties and responsibilities

Compliance officer example responsibilities.

Achieve millions of dollars in possible FDA fines and remediation costs by eliminating regulatory risk.
Lead a team to review new HCBS final rules settings as outlined by CMS for all contract provider agencies.
Participate in OCC exam preparation and review including research and presentation of documentation to achieve compliance with federal examiner requests.
Track and coordinate CAPA to ensure effectiveness in root cause remediation.
Support senior compliance staff and legal counsel in all phases of investigation and litigation.
Use the Internet, Lexis Nexis and Accuity as necessary to perform EDD QA processes.

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 officer vs regulatory affairs specialist skills

Common compliance officer skills

Oversight, 7%
Risk Management, 7%
Compliance Program, 6%
Compliance Issues, 5%
Risk Assessments, 4%
PowerPoint, 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 Officer vs Regulatory Affairs Specialist

Updated January 8, 2025

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