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The differences between inside sales engineers and outside sales representatives 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 outside sales representative takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an outside sales representative has an average salary of $60,443, 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 outside sales representative are customer service, work ethic, and sales process.
| Inside Sales Engineer | Outside Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $50,487 | $60,443 |
| Hourly rate | $24.27 | $29.06 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 156,700 | 218,034 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4.5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| 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 Outside Sales Representative specializes in customer service and relations, focusing on reaching sales targets through selling and networking with clients. Among the duties revolve around reaching out to customers through calls, email, or even arranging appointments, monitoring and keeping an organized record of sales, communicating with managers or supervisors, adhering to the company's policies and regulations, and keeping extensive knowledge about the brand and the trends. Besides building rapport with customers, it is also essential for an Outside Sales Representative to be proactive and create strategies to help meet the sales target.
Inside sales engineers and outside sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Inside Sales Engineer | Outside Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $50,487 | $60,443 |
| Salary range | Between $33,000 And $76,000 | Between $41,000 And $87,000 |
| Highest paying City | Alexandria, VA | Minneapolis, MN |
| Highest paying state | New York | New Jersey |
| Best paying company | Fluid Components International | Microsoft |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between an inside sales engineer and an outside sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Inside Sales Engineer | Outside Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 67% |
| 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 outside sales representatives' demographics:
| Inside Sales Engineer | Outside Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 65.3% Female, 34.7% | Male, 71.5% Female, 28.5% |
| 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, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 6% |