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The differences between pharmaceutical sales representatives and field technical 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 representative and a field technical representative. Additionally, a pharmaceutical sales representative has an average salary of $68,571, which is higher than the $52,665 average annual salary of a field technical 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 technical representative are customer service, technical support, and customer satisfaction.
| Pharmaceutical Sales Representative | Field Technical Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $68,571 | $52,665 |
| Hourly rate | $32.97 | $25.32 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 102,935 | 200,868 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 85% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 2 |
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.
Owning wide knowledge about an application, a field technical representative ensures that the customer knows how to use any application by providing technical support and solving issues if one arises. They also give advice on what application is best to use for a certain concern. They can also evaluate and give an honest review to further improve the application. They help companies install the application and apply every bit of enhancements incorporated in it to the best of their advantage.
Pharmaceutical sales representatives and field technical representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Pharmaceutical Sales Representative | Field Technical Representative | |
| Average salary | $68,571 | $52,665 |
| Salary range | Between $42,000 And $110,000 | Between $35,000 And $77,000 |
| Highest paying City | Boston, MA | Battle Creek, MI |
| Highest paying state | Massachusetts | Maryland |
| Best paying company | Eli Lilly and Company | MSC Software |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Technology |
There are a few differences between a pharmaceutical sales representative and a field technical representative in terms of educational background:
| Pharmaceutical Sales Representative | Field Technical Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 85% | Bachelor's Degree, 51% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | University of Pennsylvania |
Here are the differences between pharmaceutical sales representatives' and field technical representatives' demographics:
| Pharmaceutical Sales Representative | Field Technical Representative | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 41.0% Female, 59.0% | Male, 75.3% Female, 24.7% |
| 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, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.0% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |