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The differences between inside sales engineers and inside sales specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become an inside sales engineer, becoming an inside sales specialist takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an inside sales specialist has an average salary of $50,944, which is higher than the $50,487 average annual salary of an inside sales engineer.
The top three skills for an inside sales engineer include customer service, product knowledge and CRM. The most important skills for an inside sales specialist are customer service, CRM, and sales process.
| Inside Sales Engineer | Inside Sales Specialist | |
| Yearly salary | $50,487 | $50,944 |
| Hourly rate | $24.27 | $24.49 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 156,700 | 251,423 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
An inside sales engineer is an individual who uses specialized technical knowledge to negotiate between sales units and clients to increase the profits and revenue of a company. Inside sales, engineers must seek clients who will benefit from their products or services and aim to maximize client potential in the different allocated regions. Inside sales engineers must also provide technical help and carry out training, if necessary, once a sale has been made.
An inside sales specialist is primarily responsible for securing sales by reaching out to clients to sell products and services. They may communicate with customers through calls and correspondence or personally recommend products in a retail store setting. Moreover, they are also responsible for responding to inquiries or concerns, identifying the customers' needs, devising strategies to find sales opportunities, and discussing products to customers. An inside sales specialist is often required to meet sales goals and report to managers should there be any issues or problems.
Inside sales engineers and inside sales specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Inside Sales Engineer | Inside Sales Specialist | |
| Average salary | $50,487 | $50,944 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $76,000 | Between $34,000 And $75,000 |
| Highest paying City | Alexandria, VA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | New York | Washington |
| Best paying company | Fluid Components International | Keller Williams Greater Seattle |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Real Estate |
There are a few differences between an inside sales engineer and an inside sales specialist in terms of educational background:
| Inside Sales Engineer | Inside Sales Specialist | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between inside sales engineers' and inside sales specialists' demographics:
| Inside Sales Engineer | Inside Sales Specialist | |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 65.3% Female, 34.7% | Male, 52.0% Female, 48.0% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 1.7% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.3% Asian, 5.7% White, 77.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 6% |