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Inside sales engineer vs sales engineer

The differences between inside sales engineers and sales engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both an inside sales engineer and a sales engineer. Additionally, a sales engineer has an average salary of $93,727, 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 a sales engineer are pre sales, customer service, and sales process.

Inside sales engineer vs sales engineer overview

Inside Sales EngineerSales Engineer
Yearly salary$50,487$93,727
Hourly rate$24.27$45.06
Growth rate6%6%
Number of jobs156,700132,324
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 59%Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Average age4444
Years of experience66

What does an inside sales engineer do?

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.

What does a sales engineer do?

A sales engineer is responsible for assisting customers with their technical equipment and advanced scientific product needs. Sales engineers must have excellent knowledge of the scientific processes and component functions of the products they're selling to deliver presentations and orient the customers. Sales engineers' duties also include troubleshooting, identifying product defects, and upgrading systems for better optimization. They are also responsible for analyzing cost estimates documents, performing adjustments as needed, process payments, arranging deliveries, and settling customers' complaints by replacing damaged items or doing refunds.

Inside sales engineer vs sales engineer salary

Inside sales engineers and sales engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.

Inside Sales EngineerSales Engineer
Average salary$50,487$93,727
Salary rangeBetween $33,000 And $76,000Between $66,000 And $132,000
Highest paying CityAlexandria, VAWashington, DC
Highest paying stateNew YorkVirginia
Best paying companyFluid Components InternationalMeta
Best paying industryTechnologyTechnology

Differences between inside sales engineer and sales engineer education

There are a few differences between an inside sales engineer and a sales engineer in terms of educational background:

Inside Sales EngineerSales Engineer
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 59%Bachelor's Degree, 74%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeNorthwestern UniversityNorthwestern University

Inside sales engineer vs sales engineer demographics

Here are the differences between inside sales engineers' and sales engineers' demographics:

Inside Sales EngineerSales Engineer
Average age4444
Gender ratioMale, 65.3% Female, 34.7%Male, 90.1% Female, 9.9%
Race ratioBlack 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, 1.7% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 7.1% White, 76.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3%
LGBT Percentage7%7%

Differences between inside sales engineer and sales engineer duties and responsibilities

Inside sales engineer example responsibilities.

  • Manage inbound domestic and international logistics and domestic shipping with respect to carrier selection, forwarding, brokering and expediting.
  • Provide technical contribution during the RFP / RFI process.
  • Write custom SQL reports for customers.
  • Utilize SQL to query databases while troubleshooting issues.
  • Design and configure computer systems for clients in the Pre-Sales mode.
  • Generate 3D renderings in AutoCAD and other design software for customer review.
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Sales engineer example responsibilities.

  • Create and manage product/technical parts of responses to RFI and RFP requests.
  • Maintain and closely manage expenses, overall cost of sale, receivables, ROI.
  • Create tools to manage customer projects, such as standardized proposals, technical templates, and SQL tracking database.
  • Manage inbound domestic and international logistics and domestic shipping with respect to carrier selection, forwarding, brokering and expediting.
  • Perform detail responses and presentations to RFP, RFI and RFR requests on technical/sales opportunities.
  • Generate and release drawings on AutoCAD and SolidWorks for weld shop and machine shop parts fabrication.
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Inside sales engineer vs sales engineer skills

Common inside sales engineer skills
  • Customer Service, 24%
  • Product Knowledge, 4%
  • CRM, 4%
  • Customer Satisfaction, 3%
  • Cleanliness, 3%
  • Distributors, 3%
Common sales engineer skills
  • Pre Sales, 6%
  • Customer Service, 5%
  • Sales Process, 5%
  • Technical Support, 4%
  • Windows, 3%
  • CRM, 3%