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Professional representative vs pharmaceutical sales specialist

The differences between professional representatives and pharmaceutical sales specialists can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. It typically takes 1-2 years to become both a professional representative and a pharmaceutical sales specialist. Additionally, a pharmaceutical sales specialist has an average salary of $73,003, which is higher than the $71,939 average annual salary of a professional representative.

The top three skills for a professional representative include pharmaceutical products, territory management and market share growth. The most important skills for a pharmaceutical sales specialist are patients, sales territory, and diabetes.

Professional representative vs pharmaceutical sales specialist overview

Professional RepresentativePharmaceutical Sales Specialist
Yearly salary$71,939$73,003
Hourly rate$34.59$35.10
Growth rate4%4%
Number of jobs94,09823,474
Job satisfaction--
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 79%Bachelor's Degree, 85%
Average age4747
Years of experience22

Professional representative vs pharmaceutical sales specialist salary

Professional representatives and pharmaceutical sales specialists have different pay scales, as shown below.

Professional RepresentativePharmaceutical Sales Specialist
Average salary$71,939$73,003
Salary rangeBetween $43,000 And $118,000Between $47,000 And $112,000
Highest paying City-San Francisco, CA
Highest paying state-Nevada
Best paying company-AstraZeneca
Best paying industry-Pharmaceutical

Differences between professional representative and pharmaceutical sales specialist education

There are a few differences between a professional representative and a pharmaceutical sales specialist in terms of educational background:

Professional RepresentativePharmaceutical Sales Specialist
Most common degreeBachelor's Degree, 79%Bachelor's Degree, 85%
Most common majorBusinessBusiness
Most common collegeUniversity of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania

Professional representative vs pharmaceutical sales specialist demographics

Here are the differences between professional representatives' and pharmaceutical sales specialists' demographics:

Professional RepresentativePharmaceutical Sales Specialist
Average age4747
Gender ratioMale, 46.4% Female, 53.6%Male, 47.9% Female, 52.1%
Race ratioBlack 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, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.4% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.6% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2%
LGBT Percentage6%6%

Differences between professional representative and pharmaceutical sales specialist duties and responsibilities

Professional representative example responsibilities.

  • Position office personnel to achieve NCQA patient self-management standards by planning and executing diabetes disease management programs.
  • Achieve sales growth objectives by incorporating product/technical knowledge, teamwork, customer and multi-product focus, innovation and creativity.
  • Identify think leaders & launch first in class diabetes management medication while reaching/exceeding sales objectives in all therapeutic categories.
  • Establish rapport with the respiratory department in the territories largest hospital which result in meeting and detailing``no-see"pulmonologists
  • Represent AstraZeneca products in the respiratory and cardiology markets.
  • Maintain point responsibility for cardiovascular and neurology franchise within district.
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Pharmaceutical sales specialist example responsibilities.

  • Organize and lead Coumadin education programs through Kroger pharmacies.
  • Accomplish daily sales activities and goals while working in a pod setting.
  • Train and lead development of new hire personal in CSS and primary care.
  • Achieve all sales goals and exceed projected goals for Q4 2012 and Q1 2013 ,
  • Attain #5 and #8 rankings nationally for TRX and NRX volume, out of 175 representatives.
  • Achieve territory highs in TRX and NRX first month in field by delivering a solid patient/provider benefit sales presentation.
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Professional representative vs pharmaceutical sales specialist skills

Common professional representative skills
  • Pharmaceutical Products, 17%
  • Territory Management, 14%
  • Market Share Growth, 9%
  • Neurology, 7%
  • Cardiology, 6%
  • Internal Medicine, 5%
Common pharmaceutical sales specialist skills
  • Patients, 33%
  • Sales Territory, 8%
  • Diabetes, 7%
  • Business Plan, 7%
  • Sales Strategies, 7%
  • Sales Performance, 5%