Regulatory Pros and Hopefuls Gather in Chicago for Midwest Career Day

The first-ever RAPS Midwest Regional Career Day was held last month outside Chicago, attracting 75 attendees from surrounding areas and as far away as Minneapolis and Louisville, KY. Attendees came to network, meet with recruiters and hear presentations from a range of speakers. Presenters included the event organizers from the RAPS Chicago Chapter, several experienced regulatory professionals talking about their own career paths, job search experts, an investigator for the US Food and Drug Administration, leaders of several prestigious academic programs in—or closely related to—regulatory affairs and RAPS’ Vice President of Strategy and Market Development Dee Kaminsky.

“I was so impressed with the job the chapter leaders did in putting this together,” said Kaminsky. The program was packed, running a full Saturday, from 9:00 am to 4:30 pm, and many participants even stuck around afterward to chat with presenters and one another. “It’s interesting how many people are interested in regulatory affairs,” said RAPS Chicago Chapter Chair Carol Cooper. “It’s a great, dynamic profession. There are definitely a lot of people who want to get in.”

Attendees seemed to represent a mix of backgrounds. Some were professionals in related fields and other career changers looking to get into the regulatory profession. Some were students. Others had regulatory experience but were looking to change their focus or had been downsized and were seeking new opportunities.

RAPS has several other career-related events coming up in the next two months, including the Mid-Atlantic Regional Career Day, 16 May at the Johns Hopkins University Montgomery County Campus in Rockville, MD; another installment of RAPS’ popular Virtual Career Fair, 18 June and a face-to-face RAPS Career Fair in Minneapolis, 25 June. For more RAPS events, check the RAPS Event Calendar