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The differences between clinical specialists and sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 2-4 years to become both a clinical specialist and a sales representative. Additionally, a clinical specialist has an average salary of $67,002, which is higher than the $56,591 average annual salary of a sales representative.
The top three skills for a clinical specialist include patients, excellent interpersonal and patient care. The most important skills for a sales representative are sales process, product knowledge, and customer service.
| Clinical Specialist | Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $67,002 | $56,591 |
| Hourly rate | $32.21 | $27.21 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 55,670 | 205,456 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.33 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 4 | 4 |
A Clinical Specialists role is to assist in the selling of particular medical devices that need more detailed and complex knowledge. They work in laboratories as part of a team of technologists, technicians, and supervisors.
Sales representatives primarily sell the company's products and services to businesses or organizations. They should be adept at closing out sales, negotiating, and providing customer service. They should be knowledgeable about the products or services of the manufacturer or producer they represent. They must also have strong analytical skills that would help them in coming up with cost-benefit analysis in assessing the current roster of clients and even prospective ones. Sales representatives should also be able to maintain good working relationships with all involved stakeholders, especially clients.
Clinical specialists and sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Clinical Specialist | Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $67,002 | $56,591 |
| Salary range | Between $39,000 And $113,000 | Between $33,000 And $94,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Connecticut | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | Genentech | |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Pharmaceutical |
There are a few differences between a clinical specialist and a sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Clinical Specialist | Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 57% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Most common major | Nursing | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between clinical specialists' and sales representatives' demographics:
| Clinical Specialist | Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 29.6% Female, 70.4% | Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 10.9% Unknown, 4.3% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 9.0% White, 66.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.4% | Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 9% | 6% |