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The differences between hospital sales representatives and pharmaceutical sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a hospital sales representative and a pharmaceutical sales representative. Additionally, a hospital sales representative has an average salary of $93,625, which is higher than the $68,571 average annual salary of a pharmaceutical sales representative.
The top three skills for a hospital sales representative include patients, territory sales and healthcare professionals. The most important skills for a pharmaceutical sales representative are patients, pharmaceutical products, and develop strong relationships.
| Hospital Sales Representative | Pharmaceutical Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $93,625 | $68,571 |
| Hourly rate | $45.01 | $32.97 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 165,793 | 102,935 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 85% | Bachelor's Degree, 85% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
Hospital sales representatives sell medical supplies to clinics, hospitals, doctors, and facilities. The representatives promote their company's products like medical equipment and/or pharmaceutical products. They increase product awareness, provide advice, introduce new products, and answer queries. It is also part of their job to explain the benefits and features of the products. They are expected to be responsive, keep their patient in mind, communicative, have good customer service, and should be knowledgeable in medicine.
The job of pharmaceutical sales representatives is to inform and educate doctors about a company's medical and pharmaceutical products. They serve as the link between a company and healthcare professionals to hit sales targets. They have varied responsibilities, including assessing clients' needs and presenting suitable products, delivering product samples, and working sales teams to develop and implement brand strategies. This role's qualifications include relevant work experience, excellent communication, sales, negotiation skills, and a bachelor's degree in a relevant field.
Hospital sales representatives and pharmaceutical sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Hospital Sales Representative | Pharmaceutical Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $93,625 | $68,571 |
| Salary range | Between $62,000 And $141,000 | Between $42,000 And $110,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Boston, MA |
| Highest paying state | - | Massachusetts |
| Best paying company | - | Eli Lilly and Company |
| Best paying industry | - | Pharmaceutical |
There are a few differences between a hospital sales representative and a pharmaceutical sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Hospital Sales Representative | Pharmaceutical Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 85% | Bachelor's Degree, 85% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between hospital sales representatives' and pharmaceutical sales representatives' demographics:
| Hospital Sales Representative | Pharmaceutical Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 58.9% Female, 41.1% | Male, 41.0% Female, 59.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |