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The differences between pharmaceutical sales specialists and outside sales 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 specialist, becoming an outside sales takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, an outside sales has an average salary of $77,292, which is higher than the $73,003 average annual salary of a pharmaceutical sales specialist.
The top three skills for a pharmaceutical sales specialist include patients, sales territory and diabetes. The most important skills for an outside sales are customer service, product knowledge, and ongoing support.
| Pharmaceutical Sales Specialist | Outside Sales | |
| Yearly salary | $73,003 | $77,292 |
| Hourly rate | $35.10 | $37.16 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 23,474 | 333,400 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 85% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
A pharmaceutical sales specialist's primary duty is to reach out to pharmacies, medical facilities, and physicians to discuss the latest medical drugs in an effort to secure sales. Their responsibilities typically revolve around learning and understanding everything about the products that they are offering, traveling to different areas to deliver samples, and maintaining records of all transactions. Furthermore, as a pharmaceutical sales specialist, it is essential to create marketing materials and build positive relationships with clients to accomplish sales targets, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.
An outside sales representative is responsible for generating the company's sales and revenues by offering goods and services to existing and potential clients, responding to the customers' inquiries and concerns about the products, and researching on possible leads. Outside sales representatives monitor the current industry trends to identify new business opportunities that would help the business adjust to market changes to achieve profitability goals. An outside sales representative must have excellent communication and customer service skills, immediately resolving complaints and assisting on marketing promotions to gain sales prospects.
Pharmaceutical sales specialists and outside sales have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Pharmaceutical Sales Specialist | Outside Sales | |
| Average salary | $73,003 | $77,292 |
| Salary range | Between $47,000 And $112,000 | Between $56,000 And $104,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Arlington, VA |
| Highest paying state | Nevada | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | AstraZeneca | Morgan Stanley |
| Best paying industry | Pharmaceutical | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a pharmaceutical sales specialist and an outside sales in terms of educational background:
| Pharmaceutical Sales Specialist | Outside Sales | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 85% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between pharmaceutical sales specialists' and outside sales' demographics:
| Pharmaceutical Sales Specialist | Outside Sales | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 47.9% Female, 52.1% | Male, 78.3% Female, 21.7% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.3% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |