Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between field sales engineers and national sales managers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a field sales engineer, becoming a national sales manager takes usually requires 6-8 years. Additionally, a national sales manager has an average salary of $102,742, which is higher than the $90,950 average annual salary of a field sales engineer.
The top three skills for a field sales engineer include HVAC, customer satisfaction and technical support. The most important skills for a national sales manager are customer service, product development, and trade shows.
| Field Sales Engineer | National Sales Manager | |
| Yearly salary | $90,950 | $102,742 |
| Hourly rate | $43.73 | $49.40 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 5% |
| Number of jobs | 85,486 | 94,554 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 79% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Average age | 44 | 46 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 8 |
Usually, a field sales engineer prepares and delivers technical representations explaining a company's products or services to clients. Field sales engineers confer with engineers and customers for the assessment of the necessary equipment and in the identification of the required system. They conduct research and report the status of engineering projects. It is the duty of the field engineers to ensure everything in the field works efficiently and smoothly and that the engineering designs are followed.
A national sales manager is responsible for leading a large group of sales teams, monitoring sales performance, and implementing strategic sales procedures to drive revenues and achieve the organization's profitability goals. National sales managers identify business opportunities by analyzing current market trends and closing business partnerships to boost the company's brand popularity and attract more customers. They also monitor marketing strategies and negotiate continuous agreements with existing customers to keep them purchasing the company's services. A national sales manager creates sales forecasts, ensuring that the services provided by the organization align with the standard budget goals.
Field sales engineers and national sales managers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Field Sales Engineer | National Sales Manager | |
| Average salary | $90,950 | $102,742 |
| Salary range | Between $65,000 And $125,000 | Between $67,000 And $155,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Hartford, CT |
| Highest paying state | New York | Washington |
| Best paying company | Vuzix | NetApp |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a field sales engineer and a national sales manager in terms of educational background:
| Field Sales Engineer | National Sales Manager | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 79% | Bachelor's Degree, 79% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | University of Southern California |
Here are the differences between field sales engineers' and national sales managers' demographics:
| Field Sales Engineer | National Sales Manager | |
| Average age | 44 | 46 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 90.1% Female, 9.9% | Male, 80.4% Female, 19.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 1.7% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.3% Asian, 5.7% White, 77.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 3.2% Unknown, 4.4% Hispanic or Latino, 9.8% Asian, 4.1% White, 78.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |