Outside sales engineer vs outside sales representative

The differences between outside 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 outside sales engineer, becoming an outside sales representative takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an outside sales engineer has an average salary of $79,145, which is higher than the $60,443 average annual salary of an outside sales representative.

The top three skills for an outside sales engineer include customer relationships, HVAC and product line. The most important skills for an outside sales representative are customer service, work ethic, and sales process.

Outside sales engineer vs outside sales representative overview

	Outside Sales Engineer	Outside Sales Representative
Yearly salary	$79,145	$60,443
Hourly rate	$38.05	$29.06
Growth rate	6%	4%
Number of jobs	113,925	218,034
Job satisfaction	-	4.5
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Average age	44	47
Years of experience	6	4

What does an outside sales engineer do?

An outside sales engineer is both a specialist and a salesperson of scientific and technological products or services to businesses. You have an in-depth knowledge of the products and the engineering processes that make these products work so that you can demonstrate their benefits to customers. Outside sales engineers are technical customer service representatives working for businesses that sell engineering products or the makers - they are out in the field interacting, educating, and selling to potential customers.

What does an outside sales representative do?

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.

Outside sales engineer vs outside sales representative salary

Outside sales engineers and outside sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

	Outside Sales Engineer	Outside Sales Representative
Average salary	$79,145	$60,443
Salary range	Between $55,000 And $113,000	Between $41,000 And $87,000
Highest paying City	-	Minneapolis, MN
Highest paying state	-	New Jersey
Best paying company	-	Microsoft
Best paying industry	-	Manufacturing

Differences between outside sales engineer and outside sales representative education

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

	Outside Sales Engineer	Outside Sales Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 74%	Bachelor's Degree, 67%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	Northwestern University	SUNY College of Technology at Alfred

Outside sales engineer vs outside sales representative demographics

Here are the differences between outside sales engineers' and outside sales representatives' demographics:

	Outside Sales Engineer	Outside Sales Representative
Average age	44	47
Gender ratio	Male, 91.2% Female, 8.8%	Male, 71.5% Female, 28.5%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 1.6% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.9% Asian, 5.8% White, 78.2% 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%

Differences between outside sales engineer and outside sales representative duties and responsibilities

Outside sales engineer example responsibilities.

Manage inbound domestic and international logistics and domestic shipping with respect to carrier selection, forwarding, brokering and expediting.
Increase sales to existing OEMs and develop new OEM customers.
Develop and implement sales and marketing strategies to aggressively develop new OEM accounts.
Price, sell, and engineer HVAC products and services to contractors and building owners.
Increase revenue by developing better understanding of buying trends and customer decision-makers by instituting CRM and sales tracking software.
Design and maintain corporate CRM, customer quoting and invoicing systems for inside, outside sales teams, including accounting.

Outside sales representative example responsibilities.

Manage and maintain a weekly quota for broadband, and other wireless products.
Utilize CRM database to manage and track prospect interaction to ensure accurate documentation of window requirements and ongoing communication.
Web dev, SEO, PPC etc . )
Participate in the launching and marketing of broadband internet in Orlando with great success.
Provide care, materials, and essential tools for doctors and nurses working on patients in the E.R.
Create and maintain successful business partnerships with customers by analyzing, meeting and understanding their needs and patients needs.

Outside sales engineer vs outside sales representative skills

Common outside sales engineer skills

Customer Relationships, 10%
HVAC, 7%
Product Line, 7%
CRM, 5%
Trade Shows, 5%
Territory Sales, 5%

Common outside sales representative skills

Customer Service, 17%
Work Ethic, 8%
Sales Process, 4%
Business Sales, 4%
Cold Calls, 4%
Product Knowledge, 4%

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Outside Sales Engineer
Outside Sales Engineer vs Outside Sales Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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