Regulatory Affairs Managers

Plan, direct, or coordinate production activities of an organization to ensure compliance with regulations and standard operating procedures.

Most important skills

Writing
Reading Comprehension
Active Listening
Speaking
Critical Thinking
Complex Problem Solving
Judgment and Decision Making
Systems Analysis

Key knowledge

English Language
Law and Government
Administration and Management
Biology
Education and Training
Administrative
Chemistry
Computers and Electronics

What the work involves

Direct the preparation and submission of regulatory agency applications, reports, or correspondence.
Formulate or implement regulatory affairs policies and procedures to ensure that regulatory compliance is maintained or enhanced.
Provide regulatory guidance to departments or development project teams regarding design, development, evaluation, or marketing of products.
Communicate regulatory information to multiple departments and ensure that information is interpreted correctly.
Develop regulatory strategies and implementation plans for the preparation and submission of new products.
Establish regulatory priorities or budgets and allocate resources and workloads.
Implement or monitor complaint processing systems to ensure effective and timely resolution of all complaint investigations.
Investigate product complaints and prepare documentation and submissions to appropriate regulatory agencies as necessary.

Strongest interest areas (O*NET): Enterprising, Conventional, Investigative.

Qualifications and licensing

Most common education: Bachelor's Degree (73.9% of respondents)
Related experience: Over 2 years, up to and including 4 years (34.8%)
On-the-job training: Over 6 months, up to and including 1 year (27.3%)
Preparation level: O*NET job zone 4: Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
Licensing: Not yet verified. Check your state licensing board.

Check before planning

Licensing for Regulatory Affairs Managers is not yet verified for any state: check the state licensing board before planning.
Projection education uses SOC 11-9199 (detailed_parent); it may describe a broader group.

Limits

Distributions show what current workers or occupational experts report, not legal minimums.
Requirements vary by employer and state; time to qualify is not estimated.

Source: O*NET 31.0 Database (USDOL/ETA, CC BY 4.0); BLS Employment Projections · dataset 2026.10.8 · method e3-qualification-1.0.0

Work environment

How the typical conditions of this occupation compare with 911 occupations in O*NET (very low = the lowest fifth).

Levels are relative. Most occupations involve a lot of contact with people, for example, so “very low” can still mean regular contact; the last column shows what workers actually reported.

Rankings compare typical U.S. occupation-level work conditions; individual jobs and employers vary. Data: O*NET 31.0 Work Context and BLS wages (May 2025).
Condition	Level	Compared with other occupations	Most common answer (O*NET survey)
Contact with others	Low	Lower on contact with others than 66% of occupations compared	43% of surveyed respondents chose “Contact with others most of the time”
Dealing with the public	Very low	Lower on dealing with the public than 87% of occupations compared	39% of surveyed respondents chose “Not important at all”
Teamwork	Very high	Higher on teamwork than 85% of occupations compared	65% of surveyed respondents chose “Extremely important”
Freedom to make decisions	Low	Lower on freedom to make decisions than 66% of occupations compared	57% of surveyed respondents chose “Some freedom”
Time pressure	Low	Lower on time pressure than 67% of occupations compared	52% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week”
Conflict situations	Moderate	Higher on conflict situations than 58% of occupations compared	39% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a month or more but not every week”
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people	Low	Lower on dealing with unpleasant or angry people than 75% of occupations compared	45% of surveyed respondents chose “Once a year or more but not every month”
Consequence of error	Moderate	Lower on consequence of error than 54% of occupations compared	30% of surveyed respondents chose “Very serious”

Work-pressure profile

Time pressure: low
Conflict situations: moderate
Dealing with unpleasant or angry people: low
Consequence of error: moderate

Each part is shown on its own. There is no combined stress score, and conditions vary by employer and role.

Full answer distributions