Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between professional services engineers and pre 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 professional services engineer and a pre sales engineer. Additionally, a pre sales engineer has an average salary of $116,651, which is higher than the $98,091 average annual salary of a professional services engineer.
The top three skills for a professional services engineer include customer service, professional services and java. The most important skills for a pre sales engineer are sales process, pre sales, and cloud.
| Professional Services Engineer | Pre Sales Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $98,091 | $116,651 |
| Hourly rate | $47.16 | $56.08 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 114,048 | 68,855 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 4 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
Professional Services Engineers are employees who represent their company in their client's work environment. They are usually software engineers or any other information technology-related engineers. They are expected to be familiar with company's products. Professional Services Engineers act as the bridge between the company and the client. They are usually assigned to be on-site at the client's office to act as the technical representative of the company. As such, they do the installing, setting up, managing, troubleshooting, maintaining, and repairing the company's software for the client. They may also help out in product training and maximizing the user experience.
A pre-sales engineer's role is to assist clients by offering technology recommendations and advice, aiming to secure sales and client satisfaction. Aside from selling products and services, a pre-sales engineer is also responsible for coordinating with various sales personnel, identifying the needs of clients, discussing how the equipment and devices can help attain business goals, and answering any inquiries about the subject. Furthermore, it is essential to develop positive relationships with clients, all while adhering to the company's policies and regulations.
Professional services engineers and pre sales engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Professional Services Engineer | Pre Sales Engineer | |
| Average salary | $98,091 | $116,651 |
| Salary range | Between $64,000 And $149,000 | Between $84,000 And $160,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | Oregon |
| Best paying company | Gracenote | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a professional services engineer and a pre sales engineer in terms of educational background:
| Professional Services Engineer | Pre Sales Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 59% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Business | Computer Science |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between professional services engineers' and pre sales engineers' demographics:
| Professional Services Engineer | Pre Sales Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 57.9% Female, 42.1% | Male, 83.5% Female, 16.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 1.7% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 5.8% White, 78.1% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 1.7% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 8.4% White, 75.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |