Instruments sales representative vs pharmaceutical representative

The differences between instruments sales representatives and pharmaceutical representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both an instruments sales representative and a pharmaceutical representative. Additionally, an instruments sales representative has an average salary of $129,809, which is higher than the $66,166 average annual salary of a pharmaceutical representative.

The top three skills for an instruments sales representative include capital equipment, mixers and spine. The most important skills for a pharmaceutical representative are pharmaceutical products, territory management, and medical professionals.

Instruments sales representative vs pharmaceutical representative overview

	Instruments Sales Representative	Pharmaceutical Representative
Yearly salary	$129,809	$66,166
Hourly rate	$62.41	$31.81
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	159,779	51,956
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 80%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	2	2

Instruments sales representative vs pharmaceutical representative salary

Instruments sales representatives and pharmaceutical representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Instruments Sales Representative	Pharmaceutical Representative
Average salary	$129,809	$66,166
Salary range	Between $93,000 And $179,000	Between $42,000 And $103,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between instruments sales representative and pharmaceutical representative education

There are a few differences between an instruments sales representative and a pharmaceutical representative in terms of educational background:

	Instruments Sales Representative	Pharmaceutical Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 66%	Bachelor's Degree, 80%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Instruments sales representative vs pharmaceutical representative demographics

Here are the differences between instruments sales representatives' and pharmaceutical representatives' demographics:

	Instruments Sales Representative	Pharmaceutical Representative
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 66.4% Female, 33.6%	Male, 44.3% Female, 55.7%
Race ratio	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%	Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between instruments sales representative and pharmaceutical representative duties and responsibilities

Instruments sales representative example responsibilities.

Generate leads and evangelize product to physicians in orthopedics, hematology, internal medicine, surgery, critical care and cardiology.
Spearhead for the sales of high end clinical chemistry systems to hospital and reference labs.
Generate leads and evangelize product to physicians in orthopedics, hematology, internal medicine, surgery, critical care and cardiology.
Present PowerPoint presentations in a classroom environment to regional managers.

Pharmaceutical representative example responsibilities.

Manage and promote cardiovascular and respiratory products to local cardiologist, endocrinologists & allergists.
Manage Santa Rosa/San Francisco territories, marketing and selling respiratory, urology, cardiology to pharmacies and primary care physicians.
Collaborate with institution, cardiology, and diabetes specialists to increase penetration and productivity in hospital and endocrinology.
Complete extensive training in disease states such as hypertension, atherosclerosis, allergy, neurology and pain management.
Promote pharmaceuticals in the anti-microbial, neurology and gastroenterology markets.
Conduct discussions for a new drug for the treatment of hypertension.

Instruments sales representative vs pharmaceutical representative skills

Common instruments sales representative skills

Capital Equipment, 33%
Mixers, 21%
Spine, 15%
Chemistry, 13%
Instrument Sales, 11%
Trade Shows, 6%

Common pharmaceutical representative skills

Pharmaceutical Products, 17%
Territory Management, 13%
Medical Professionals, 7%
Market Share Growth, 6%
Neurology, 5%
Sales Growth, 5%

Instruments Sales Representative vs. similar jobs

Instruments Sales Representative related careers

Instruments Sales Representative related jobs

What similar roles do

Zippia Careers
Sales Industry
Instruments Sales Representative
Instruments Sales Representative vs Pharmaceutical Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

Browse sales jobs