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The differences between field technical representatives and sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a field technical representative, becoming a sales representative takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a sales representative has an average salary of $56,591, 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 sales representative are sales process, product knowledge, and customer service.
| Field Technical Representative | Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $52,665 | $56,591 |
| Hourly rate | $25.32 | $27.21 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 200,868 | 205,456 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.33 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
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.
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.
Field technical representatives and sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Field Technical Representative | Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $52,665 | $56,591 |
| Salary range | Between $35,000 And $77,000 | Between $33,000 And $94,000 |
| Highest paying City | Battle Creek, MI | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | Maryland | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | MSC Software | |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Pharmaceutical |
There are a few differences between a field technical representative and a sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Field Technical Representative | Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 51% | Bachelor's Degree, 54% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between field technical representatives' and sales representatives' demographics:
| Field Technical Representative | Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 75.3% Female, 24.7% | Male, 58.1% Female, 41.9% |
| 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, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |