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The differences between product sales engineers and outside sales can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a product sales engineer, becoming an outside sales takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a product sales engineer has an average salary of $92,735, which is higher than the $77,292 average annual salary of an outside sales.
The top three skills for a product sales engineer include product sales, UL and product development. The most important skills for an outside sales are customer service, product knowledge, and ongoing support.
| Product Sales Engineer | Outside Sales | |
| Yearly salary | $92,735 | $77,292 |
| Hourly rate | $44.58 | $37.16 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 139,762 | 333,400 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
Production sales engineer positions will require good judgment and business sense, resilience, and even, in an increasing capacity, foreign language skills, as well as teamwork and problem-solving skills. Those who choose this career path will be called upon to provide pre-sales technical assistance and product education, as well as make technical presentations and demonstrations. They will also be required to form liaisons with the sales team and other technical experts and solve any issues clients may have.
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.
Product sales engineers and outside sales have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Product Sales Engineer | Outside Sales | |
| Average salary | $92,735 | $77,292 |
| Salary range | Between $67,000 And $126,000 | Between $56,000 And $104,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Arlington, VA |
| Highest paying state | California | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | Morgan Stanley | |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a product sales engineer and an outside sales in terms of educational background:
| Product Sales Engineer | Outside Sales | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 63% | Bachelor's Degree, 60% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between product sales engineers' and outside sales' demographics:
| Product Sales Engineer | Outside Sales | |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 74.8% Female, 25.2% | Male, 78.3% Female, 21.7% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 1.7% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 6.5% White, 77.2% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | 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 | 7% | 6% |