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The differences between product applications engineers and sales engineers can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 4-6 years to become both a product applications engineer and a sales engineer. Additionally, a product applications engineer has an average salary of $101,877, which is higher than the $93,727 average annual salary of a sales engineer.
The top three skills for a product applications engineer include technical support, product line and RF. The most important skills for a sales engineer are pre sales, customer service, and sales process.
| Product Applications Engineer | Sales Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $101,877 | $93,727 |
| Hourly rate | $48.98 | $45.06 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 101,218 | 132,324 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A product applications engineer's job is to determine business needs and develop solutions with product managers and address customer queries and issues promptly. They typically address customer questions and issues in a timely manner. They communicate feedback from customers to the design team and provide post-sales support to make suitable modifications in product design. Moreover, it is part of their responsibility to evaluate new software products, check defects, conduct internal application trials for verification, and maintain accurate documentation of problems related to applications, including solutions.
A sales engineer is responsible for assisting customers with their technical equipment and advanced scientific product needs. Sales engineers must have excellent knowledge of the scientific processes and component functions of the products they're selling to deliver presentations and orient the customers. Sales engineers' duties also include troubleshooting, identifying product defects, and upgrading systems for better optimization. They are also responsible for analyzing cost estimates documents, performing adjustments as needed, process payments, arranging deliveries, and settling customers' complaints by replacing damaged items or doing refunds.
Product applications engineers and sales engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Applications Engineer | Sales Engineer | |
| Average salary | $101,877 | $93,727 |
| Salary range | Between $75,000 And $138,000 | Between $66,000 And $132,000 |
| Highest paying City | Mountain View, CA | Washington, DC |
| Highest paying state | California | Virginia |
| Best paying company | Meta | |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a product applications engineer and a sales engineer in terms of educational background:
| Product Applications Engineer | Sales Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 74% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between product applications engineers' and sales engineers' demographics:
| Product Applications Engineer | Sales Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 89.4% Female, 10.6% | Male, 90.1% Female, 9.9% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 1.4% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 6.6% Asian, 11.1% White, 74.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 1.7% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 7.1% White, 76.8% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |