Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between pharmaceutical sales representatives and field sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a pharmaceutical sales representative, becoming a field sales representative takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a pharmaceutical sales representative has an average salary of $68,571, which is higher than the $48,460 average annual salary of a field sales representative.
The top three skills for a pharmaceutical sales representative include patients, pharmaceutical products and develop strong relationships. The most important skills for a field sales representative are excellent time management, customer service, and powerpoint.
| Pharmaceutical Sales Representative | Field Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $68,571 | $48,460 |
| Hourly rate | $32.97 | $23.30 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 102,935 | 228,254 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 85% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
The job of pharmaceutical sales representatives is to inform and educate doctors about a company's medical and pharmaceutical products. They serve as the link between a company and healthcare professionals to hit sales targets. They have varied responsibilities, including assessing clients' needs and presenting suitable products, delivering product samples, and working sales teams to develop and implement brand strategies. This role's qualifications include relevant work experience, excellent communication, sales, negotiation skills, and a bachelor's degree in a relevant field.
A field sales representative is an employee who is employed by business-to-business (B2B) and wholesale organizations to visit leads and sell products or services to their customers in person. Field sales representatives must attract new customers and win new accounts so that they can maximize profitability within their territory. They travel around their assigned territory and visit their customers regularly to educate them on how their products can benefit them. Field sales representatives must also maintain records of all sales leads and monitor the organization's competitor, new products, and market conditions.
Pharmaceutical sales representatives and field sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Pharmaceutical Sales Representative | Field Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $68,571 | $48,460 |
| Salary range | Between $42,000 And $110,000 | Between $26,000 And $88,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Washington |
| Best paying company | Eli Lilly and Company | VMware |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Technology |
There are a few differences between a pharmaceutical sales representative and a field sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Pharmaceutical Sales Representative | Field Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 85% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between pharmaceutical sales representatives' and field sales representatives' demographics:
| Pharmaceutical Sales Representative | Field Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 41.0% Female, 59.0% | Male, 69.5% Female, 30.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | 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% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |