Six Proven Strategies to Get a Job in Pharmaceutical Regulatory Affairs
Pharmaceutical Regulatory Affairs
Regulatory professionals are vital to a number of industries including pharmaceuticals, biopharmaceuticals, medical devices, food and nutrition and cosmetics, and regulatory work is varied in each sector. Skilled regulatory affairs people are in high demand and vacancies for senior regulatory positions are easy to find, but many roles require experience and that can be hard to get.
How do I get regulatory affairs Job?
Regulatory affairs jobs often require candidates to have the previous industry experience to be considered. Even entry-level regulatory affairs jobs can require up to 2 years of experience in a related field.
1. Internships are an excellent way to gain regulatory experience and start to build contacts within the industry. Consider taking a sandwich-year placement if your university offers it as an option, and take advantage of the opportunities at your disposal through your universities such as graduate development schemes and careers fairs to talk to companies that are looking for science graduates.
2. You can also gain experience in regulatory frameworks fields and improve your technical understanding by starting out in other related fields. Entering regulatory affairs in this way might feel like a sideways move or even require you to take a pay cut in some instances, but this is a short-term sacrifice for long-term gain.
3. Many pharmaceutical regulatory affairs professionals started their careers working in formulation, product development, pharmaceutical development, or other roles that enabled them to gain technical expertise in the drug development process, such as quality assurance, safety, or clinical trials.
4. If you are a registered pharmacist, you can also gain regulatory experience working as a Pharmaceutical Assessor for the MHRA, EMA, or equivalent national competent authority in your country.
5. If you are looking to move sideways into regulatory affairs, the addition of a regulatory-specific qualification to your CV will have added importance and value. A basic qualification will make your CV stand out from all the other people who have no experience at all.
6. Make it known to people in your current place of work that you have regulatory qualifications and wish to move into regulatory affairs. Dependent on the organization, an internal move can sometimes be the best route to take but keep your options open and regularly update your CV with relevant new experience and qualifications.
Here is a sample of the entry routes into regulatory affairs from some CVs of professionals who ProClinical consultants have recently placed into pharmaceutical regulatory affairs jobs.
Candidate A: Undertook an internship in a community pharmacy whilst at university studying for a bachelor's in pharmaceutical sciences. Upon graduating she went on to work as a Quality Assurance Technician at a small pharma company for 2 years. She then spent short spells over the next 3 years at small pharmaceutical companies working on various projects in QA roles before eventually taking a permanent job as a Regulatory Affairs Officer at a global pharma company.
Candidate B: Graduated with a master of pharmacy and became a clinical cardiovascular pharmacist working in a hospital. After 2 years he was able to find a position as a Regulatory Affairs Associate at a top 10 pharmaceutical company.
Candidate C: After graduating with a bachelor's degree, this candidate had a placement as an analytical chemist whilst undertaking his master's in pharmaceutical analysis. After completing his studies he started working for a large global pharmaceutical company as a Quality Assurance Analyst, ensuring compliance with documentation. After 18 months he was offered a position at another leading pharma company as a Regulatory CMC Associate.
What level of qualifications and training do I need to work in regulatory affairs?
You would usually be expected to have a bachelor's degree in a life-sciences-related field to start your career in regulatory affairs. In some cases, you might be able to get a position as a regulatory affairs administrator without a degree, although this is quite a junior role and further career progression might prove more difficult in the future.
In pharmaceutical regulatory affairs, candidates with pharmacy degrees (PharmD) are generally viewed more favorably than those with degrees that are less specific to drug development. In countries such as France, where the degree is vocational, graduates with a thesis on a regulatory topic and relevant work placements are more highly sought after.
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