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Pharmaceutical representative vs medical sales representative

The differences between pharmaceutical representatives and medical sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a pharmaceutical representative and a medical sales representative. Additionally, a medical sales representative has an average salary of $74,079, which is higher than the $66,166 average annual salary of a pharmaceutical representative.

The top three skills for a pharmaceutical representative include pharmaceutical products, territory management and medical professionals. The most important skills for a medical sales representative are patients, medical sales, and customer service.

Pharmaceutical representative vs medical sales representative overview

Pharmaceutical RepresentativeMedical Sales Representative
Yearly salary$66,166$74,079
Hourly rate$31.81$35.61
Growth rate4%4%
Number of jobs51,956206,149
Job satisfaction-5
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 80%Bachelor's Degree, 82%
Average age4747
Years of experience22

Pharmaceutical representative vs medical sales representative salary

Pharmaceutical representatives and medical sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.

Pharmaceutical RepresentativeMedical Sales Representative
Average salary$66,166$74,079
Salary rangeBetween $42,000 And $103,000Between $45,000 And $121,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-California
Best paying company-Intuitive Surgical
Best paying industry-Pharmaceutical

Differences between pharmaceutical representative and medical sales representative education

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

Pharmaceutical RepresentativeMedical Sales Representative
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 80%Bachelor's Degree, 82%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Pharmaceutical representative vs medical sales representative demographics

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

Pharmaceutical RepresentativeMedical Sales Representative
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 44.3% Female, 55.7%Male, 51.3% Female, 48.7%
Race ratioBlack 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%Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between pharmaceutical representative and medical sales representative duties and responsibilities

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.
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Medical sales representative example responsibilities.

  • Lead the sales team in number of CPAP's sell monthly.
  • Work closely with manage care plans, Medicare and Medicaid to ensure full coverage of all products in portfolio
  • Follow policies and procedures to accomplish responsibilities including following HIPAA regulations.
  • Develop customer relationships and achieve sales objectives for product portfolio consisting of CNS products.
  • Present clinical information and lead discussions on various types of treatment for hypertension and acute coronary syndrome.
  • Utilize CRM database to manage and track prospect interaction to ensure accurate documentation of window requirements and ongoing communication.
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Pharmaceutical representative vs medical sales representative skills

Common pharmaceutical representative skills
  • Pharmaceutical Products, 17%
  • Territory Management, 13%
  • Medical Professionals, 7%
  • Market Share Growth, 6%
  • Neurology, 5%
  • Sales Growth, 5%
Common medical sales representative skills
  • Patients, 17%
  • Medical Sales, 16%
  • Customer Service, 9%
  • Sales Territory, 6%
  • Product Knowledge, 6%
  • Ventilation, 5%