Pharmaceutical sales person vs specialty representative

The differences between pharmaceutical sales people and specialty 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 sales person and a specialty representative. Additionally, a pharmaceutical sales person has an average salary of $130,507, which is higher than the $49,201 average annual salary of a specialty representative.

The top three skills for a pharmaceutical sales person include pharmaceutical products, sales territory and pharmaceutical sales. The most important skills for a specialty representative are patients, oncology, and dermatology.

Pharmaceutical sales person vs specialty representative overview

	Pharmaceutical Sales Person	Specialty Representative
Yearly salary	$130,507	$49,201
Hourly rate	$62.74	$23.65
Growth rate	4%	4%
Number of jobs	117,428	50,435
Job satisfaction	-	-
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 85%
Average age	47	47
Years of experience	2	2

What does a pharmaceutical sales person do?

Pharmaceutical salespersons must have a wide range of skills, such as proven work in pharmaceutical or medical sales, familiarity with the latest medical issues, and knowledge of programs like MS Office. Paid at $92K per year, those who seek this career will be required to educate physicians on new pharmaceutical developments and connect providers with new knowledge, drugs, and treatments for cutting-edge patient care.

What does a specialty representative do?

A specialty representative is responsible for selling specific goods and services to target customers through remote communication or site visits, depending on business requirements and client needs. Specialty representatives assist the marketing and sales team in delivering high-quality sales strategies and promotional techniques to attract customers, identifying their needs by researching industry trends to drive more revenue resources and achieve sales goals and objectives. A specialty representative should have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns, resolving complaints, and updating their accounts within the database.

Pharmaceutical sales person vs specialty representative salary

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

	Pharmaceutical Sales Person	Specialty Representative
Average salary	$130,507	$49,201
Salary range	Between $68,000 And $249,000	Between $26,000 And $92,000
Highest paying City	-	-
Highest paying state	-	-
Best paying company	-	-
Best paying industry	-	-

Differences between pharmaceutical sales person and specialty representative education

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

	Pharmaceutical Sales Person	Specialty Representative
Most common degree	Bachelor's Degree, 77%	Bachelor's Degree, 85%
Most common major	Business	Business
Most common college	University of Pennsylvania	University of Pennsylvania

Pharmaceutical sales person vs specialty representative demographics

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

	Pharmaceutical Sales Person	Specialty Representative
Average age	47	47
Gender ratio	Male, 50.2% Female, 49.8%	Male, 47.7% Female, 52.3%
Race ratio	Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%	Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.2% Asian, 5.1% White, 72.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage	6%	6%

Differences between pharmaceutical sales person and specialty representative duties and responsibilities

Pharmaceutical sales person example responsibilities.

Manage Santa Rosa/San Francisco territories, marketing and selling respiratory, urology, cardiology to pharmacies and primary care physicians.
Present, negotiate, and close hospital contracts for antibiotics.
Maintain inventory of samples on a monthly basis for reporting to FDA.
Collaborate with NP's and RN's in charge of Coumadin clinics to ensure proper patient use of Coumadin.
Collaborate with hospital formulary committees to introduce new products.
Integrate formulary knowledge and assistance program information for exceptional customer experience

Specialty representative example responsibilities.

Manage the strategic planning and territory development of neurology accounts.
Manage the development, productivity and utilization of local, regional and national speakers for hyperlipidemia and hypertension.
Attract and build strong advocates within large cardiology groups by building a reputation on integrity, product knowledge and accountability.
Develop and influence neurology and psychiatry opinion leaders by organizing medical education events, residency and speaker programs.
Present in-services for healthcare teams in surgery, ICU and GI settings.
Work with key colorectal surgeons and anesthesiologists to prepare for the launch of Entereg.

Pharmaceutical sales person vs specialty representative skills

Common pharmaceutical sales person skills

Pharmaceutical Products, 18%
Sales Territory, 15%
Pharmaceutical Sales, 9%
Sales Growth, 8%
Medical Sales, 8%
Healthcare Professionals, 6%

Common specialty representative skills

Patients, 27%
Oncology, 10%
Dermatology, 8%
Neurology, 6%
Educational Programs, 6%
Endocrinology, 5%

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Pharmaceutical Sales Person
Pharmaceutical Sales Person vs Specialty Representative

Updated January 8, 2025

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