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Field sales trainer vs sales engineer

The differences between field sales trainers and sales engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 2-4 years to become a field sales trainer, becoming a sales engineer takes usually requires 4-6 years. Additionally, a sales engineer has an average salary of $93,727, which is higher than the $35,814 average annual salary of a field sales trainer.

The top three skills for a field sales trainer include product knowledge, sales training and territory management. The most important skills for a sales engineer are pre sales, customer service, and sales process.

Field sales trainer vs sales engineer overview

Field Sales TrainerSales Engineer
Yearly salary$35,814$93,727
Hourly rate$17.22$45.06
Growth rate4%6%
Number of jobs229,922132,324
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 78%Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Average age4744
Years of experience46

What does a field sales trainer do?

Field sales trainers are expected to train sales representatives with the standards created by the company to improve sales and increase the satisfaction of every customer. These trainers also provide workshops to improve the skills of staff regarding sales. They oversee the performance of those trainees during fieldwork and provide them with feedback that may help them advance their skills for future promotions.

What does a sales engineer do?

A sales engineer is responsible for assisting customers with their technical equipment and advanced scientific product needs. Sales engineers must have excellent knowledge of the scientific processes and component functions of the products they're selling to deliver presentations and orient the customers. Sales engineers' duties also include troubleshooting, identifying product defects, and upgrading systems for better optimization. They are also responsible for analyzing cost estimates documents, performing adjustments as needed, process payments, arranging deliveries, and settling customers' complaints by replacing damaged items or doing refunds.

Field sales trainer vs sales engineer salary

Field sales trainers and sales engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Field Sales TrainerSales Engineer
Average salary$35,814$93,727
Salary rangeBetween $20,000 And $61,000Between $66,000 And $132,000
Highest paying City-Washington, DC
Highest paying state-Virginia
Best paying company-Meta
Best paying industry-Technology

Differences between field sales trainer and sales engineer education

There are a few differences between a field sales trainer and a sales engineer in terms of educational background:

Field Sales TrainerSales Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 78%Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaNorthwestern University

Field sales trainer vs sales engineer demographics

Here are the differences between field sales trainers' and sales engineers' demographics:

Field Sales TrainerSales Engineer
Average age4744
Gender ratioMale, 70.4% Female, 29.6%Male, 90.1% Female, 9.9%
Race ratioBlack or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.1% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%Black or African American, 1.7% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 7.1% White, 76.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage6%7%

Differences between field sales trainer and sales engineer duties and responsibilities

Field sales trainer example responsibilities.

  • Utilize CRM to manage territory effectively.
  • Manage merchandising and POS materials at the retail store level ensuring meticulous compliance with all current corporate initiative regulations.
  • Assist with development and roll out of Salesforce application for worldwide sales team.
  • Charge with extensive CRM management, territory segmenting, scheduling, detail meeting preparation and follow-up, prospecting and sales tracking.
  • Develop and implement marketing programs for distributors and retailers, including co-op advertising plans, promotional events, and merchandising techniques.
  • Assist annuity external wholesalers with creating a territory business plan.

Sales engineer example responsibilities.

  • Create and manage product/technical parts of responses to RFI and RFP requests.
  • Maintain and closely manage expenses, overall cost of sale, receivables, ROI.
  • Create tools to manage customer projects, such as standardized proposals, technical templates, and SQL tracking database.
  • Manage inbound domestic and international logistics and domestic shipping with respect to carrier selection, forwarding, brokering and expediting.
  • Perform detail responses and presentations to RFP, RFI and RFR requests on technical/sales opportunities.
  • Generate and release drawings on AutoCAD and SolidWorks for weld shop and machine shop parts fabrication.
  • Show more

Field sales trainer vs sales engineer skills

Common field sales trainer skills
  • Product Knowledge, 13%
  • Sales Training, 12%
  • Territory Management, 9%
  • Account Management, 7%
  • Training Programs, 6%
  • Sales Process, 6%
Common sales engineer skills
  • Pre Sales, 6%
  • Customer Service, 5%
  • Sales Process, 5%
  • Technical Support, 4%
  • Windows, 3%
  • CRM, 3%