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The differences between field technical representatives and pharmaceutical sales specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a field technical representative and a pharmaceutical sales specialist. Additionally, a pharmaceutical sales specialist has an average salary of $73,003, which is higher than the $52,665 average annual salary of a field technical representative.
The top three skills for a field technical representative include customer service, technical support and customer satisfaction. The most important skills for a pharmaceutical sales specialist are patients, sales territory, and diabetes.
| Field Technical Representative | Pharmaceutical Sales Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $52,665 | $73,003 |
| Hourly rate | $25.32 | $35.10 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 200,868 | 23,474 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 85% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Owning wide knowledge about an application, a field technical representative ensures that the customer knows how to use any application by providing technical support and solving issues if one arises. They also give advice on what application is best to use for a certain concern. They can also evaluate and give an honest review to further improve the application. They help companies install the application and apply every bit of enhancements incorporated in it to the best of their advantage.
A pharmaceutical sales specialist's primary duty is to reach out to pharmacies, medical facilities, and physicians to discuss the latest medical drugs in an effort to secure sales. Their responsibilities typically revolve around learning and understanding everything about the products that they are offering, traveling to different areas to deliver samples, and maintaining records of all transactions. Furthermore, as a pharmaceutical sales specialist, it is essential to create marketing materials and build positive relationships with clients to accomplish sales targets, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.
Field technical representatives and pharmaceutical sales specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Field Technical Representative | Pharmaceutical Sales Specialist | |
| Average salary | $52,665 | $73,003 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $77,000 | Between $47,000 And $112,000 |
| Highest paying City | Battle Creek, MI | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Maryland | Nevada |
| Best paying company | MSC Software | AstraZeneca |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Pharmaceutical |
There are a few differences between a field technical representative and a pharmaceutical sales specialist in terms of educational background:
| Field Technical Representative | Pharmaceutical Sales Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 85% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between field technical representatives' and pharmaceutical sales specialists' demographics:
| Field Technical Representative | Pharmaceutical Sales Specialist | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 75.3% Female, 24.7% | Male, 47.9% Female, 52.1% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |