physician

business office director

research fellow

economist

program analyst

Pros
Mission-Driven Work: Every project ties directly to protecting public health—you can see the real-world impact of your efforts.

Cutting-Edge Science: Daily exposure to emerging therapies, AI diagnostic tools, and global food-safety initiatives keeps the work intellectually stimulating.

Work–Life Balance: Flexible schedules, telework options, and generous leave make it easy to manage personal commitments.

Professional Development: FDA pays for certifications, conferences, and graduate courses; mentors are top-tier scientists and policy experts.

Collaborative Culture: Cross-center teamwork (drugs, devices, biologics, food) means you’re constantly learning from diverse specialists.

Cons
Complex Bureaucracy: Navigating multiple layers of clearance can slow down otherwise straightforward tasks.

Heavy Documentation: Expect extensive paper trails—great for accountability, but it can feel tedious.

Public Scrutiny: Decisions are high-profile; be prepared for media attention and stakeholder pressure.

Advice to Management
Keep expanding pilot programs like Real-Time Oncology Review and Agile IT rollouts—they empower staff to move life-saving products to market faster without sacrificing rigor. Continue investing in cloud-based review tools to lighten the documentation load.

Bottom Line
If you thrive on mission-focused work, crave intellectual challenge, and value stability with solid benefits, the FDA is hard to beat. The bureaucracy is real, but the opportunity to shape national health policy—and know your signature helped bring a critical therapy or safer food supply to millions—makes it more than worth it.

Been working for FDA as a food inspector for almost 8 years. I have had way worse jobs. But it seems like I do a lot of detailed work such as collecting evidence, writing affidavits, writing long inspection reports with exhibits for not much satisfaction in return. The FDA rarely takes any action and may at the most just have a regulatory meeting with a violative food manufacturer. I had spent a long time working on a case with my compliance officer and it went off to "the center" for a final decision. They sat on it for a year and nothing happened to the very violative company I inspected because the FDA admitted they took too long to make a decision. That is not looking out for public health and part of the violation was a product for consumption by children. Also, they often hire clueless inspectors that they do not get rid of. Probationary period is not enforced here, then you are stuck training and working with fellow idiots forever. I am currently looking to work for a different government agency.

Create, maintain, and update hard copy trip files for all travel, including review and preparation
for annual audit.

 Enter information provided by staff into the database and maintain travel database.

Communicate with staff travelers regarding their travel needs as well as the travel needs of partners and consultants.

Coordinate with Omega World Travel to provide trip itineraries to travelers
 Assist in processing visa forms and obtaining visas from foreign embassies, including coordinating with regional and program staff to obtain letters of invitation from regional offices.

Coordinate with Omega staff to obtain excess baggage vouchers when needed, and to ensure in-transit hotel accommodations
Send airline tickets to travelers (including sending packages via express mail services).

Arrange travel insurance providers (AIG and MedJet) for all travelers; maintain and update the MedJet lists of enrolled travelers and coordinate annual membership renewals with MedJet.

Coordinate with finance department to invoice travelers for personal travel costs, including sending invoices to travelers and following up with finance staff.

•	Migrated databases for the ORA-J and CVM-A applications using DataPump from Sun Solaris.
•	Performed migrations of Oracle 10gR2 databases from LDOMs to Oracle 11gR2 on SPARC T3 Oracle machines or Exadata x2-2 Oracle machines located in the FDA data center.
•	Used customized templates to create the target databases based on the Oracle components installed in the source databases.
•	Performed migrations as per FDA standards, regulations, security, policies and procedures.
•	Used Citrix for connections to Exadata machines located in the data center.
•	Worked with the Migration Team, their Team Leads and SAs.
•	Coordinated the migrations with the Application Team and the Applications DBAs.
•	Migrated databases from Sun Solaris using RMAN for large databases.
•	Databse migrations were from Oracle 10g RAC to Oracle 11g RAC.
•	Performed validation reports comparing the source and target databases.

 I recently had the pleasure of working with FDA , and I must say, their FDA office assistant service exceeded my expectations. From start to finish, the experience was seamless and professional.

The office assistant was incredibly knowledgeable about FDA regulations and processes, which was evident in their ability to navigate complex paperwork efficiently. They were always prompt in responding to queries and demonstrated a high level of attention to detail, ensuring all documents were accurately filled out and submitted on time.

Moreover, their friendly demeanor and willingness to go the extra mile made working with them a delight. They were proactive in anticipating our needs and provided valuable insights to streamline our workflow.

Overall, I highly recommend FDA office assistant service to anyone in need of reliable support in navigating FDA requirements. Their expertise, efficiency, and exceptional customer service make them stand out in their field.


What is the best part of working at the company?
Useful and invaluable knowledge of government agency structure and its procedures and protocols. 

What is the most stressful part about working at the company?
Executing job responsibilities with minimal, outdated and unreliable resources. 
Inconsistent communication among leadership that creates conflicting expectations never expressed otherwise.

What is the work environment and culture like at the company?
Varying degrees of invasive micromanagement to lack of direction in emergency siiuations for instance

What is a typical day like for you at the company?
The scheduled list of duties are ready every morning. Once completed other tasks can be accomplished if necessary.

I create many of my own projects at work. FDA has provided me with extensive regulatory and quality job experience. Workplace culture is arcade although they are trying to improve. I feel limited and overqualified for my position as I believe I can do much more than what my current position requires or the Agency allows me to practice or participate. The hardest part of the job is the slow pace of changes needed. The most enjoyable part of the job is its mission, the professionalism and dedication of many employees and the satisfaction of being able to protect public health in United States.

The FDA-wide Flexible Workplace Arrangements Program (FWAP) Plan provides the broadest parameters allowed by the Public Health Service. Plans may vary within the various components of FDA. This program applies to work which is performed away from the employee's official duty station on a long-term basis, i.e., more than two consecutive workweeks. It also applies to employees who, due to compelling reasons, need to work at home on special assignment/project on a short-term basis, i.e., two consecutive workweeks or less. Short-term flexible work arrangements may be based on the need to complete special assignments/projects, medical conditions (e.g., illness, injury), etc. Full-time and part-time permanent, temporary (appointments at least one year or more), and term employees and PHS Commissioned Corps Officers are covered by this Plan

Typical day at work for me is very Mandane. I basically have five different jobs and they just repeat all year round. I have learned that I have to stand my ground on what is right because no one totally has your back. Management can be the most amazing thing or the most horrifying. People are really friendly here And even though I started my job about six months ago and I’ve never met any of my colleagues in person there are still people that I can count on to help out when I need it. The hardest part of the job is learning new pieces of technology especially over zoom or teams because it’s hard to see what they’re doing while you’re trying to do it. The most enjoyable part of my job is that I know one day that I’ll be in a position where I could potentially make a difference in someone’s life.

This was my first real job in a lab that allowed me to work in many different areas of science. I now have a far greater respect for the FDA as a consumer. For example; To sell Chunk Light Tuna there are many standards and requirements the tuna must adhere to. This is the same with all products that are overseen by the FDA. I was given the opportunity to learn how the FDA makes sure that items sold to consumers meet standards and do not falsely portray themselves or their contents. There is a vast amount of procedural components set forth by the FDA and I learned how to stick to strict guidelines in lab work.Charming co-workers who were all extremely intelligent and willing to share knowledge with interns such as myself.

Top Job Titles	Average Salary
Physician 3 salaries reported	$213,575 per year
Business office director 5 salaries reported	$302,935 per year
Research fellow 2 salaries reported	$70,000 per year
Economist 2 salaries reported	$125,062 per year
Program analyst 1 salary reported	$92,802 per year

Working at FDA: Company Overview and Reviews

FDA

FDA Ratings

Popular jobs at FDA

Salary Satisfaction

Job Seeker Tools

Employer Tools

Browse

Stay Connected