Explore jobs
Find specific jobs
Explore careers
Explore professions
Best companies
Explore companies
The differences between sales engineers and 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 sales engineer and an engineer. Additionally, a sales engineer has an average salary of $93,727, which is higher than the $92,077 average annual salary of an engineer.
The top three skills for a sales engineer include pre sales, customer service and sales process. The most important skills for an engineer are python, cloud, and C++.
| Sales Engineer | Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $93,727 | $92,077 |
| Hourly rate | $45.06 | $44.27 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 132,324 | 618,207 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | 4.33 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Average age | 44 | 41 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
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.
Engineers are highly trained professionals who determine the feasibility of various projects, usually related to the construction industry. They are considered experts in mathematics and science, two disciplines that they need to use in designing and coming up with plans for projects. They should also be well-versed in different construction or industrial materials, and they ensure that appropriate materials are used for the project. They also ensure that the projects meet the requirements of the groups that hired them. They create spaces that would both address the needs of the end-users and the industry standards. They also ensure that the projects they make would stand the test of time.
Sales engineers and engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Engineer | Engineer | |
| Average salary | $93,727 | $92,077 |
| Salary range | Between $66,000 And $132,000 | Between $65,000 And $130,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Huntsville, AL |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | New Hampshire |
| Best paying company | Meta | Fort Bend County |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Automotive |
There are a few differences between a sales engineer and an engineer in terms of educational background:
| Sales Engineer | Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 65% |
| Most common major | Business | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | Michigan Technological University |
Here are the differences between sales engineers' and engineers' demographics:
| Sales Engineer | Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 90.1% Female, 9.9% | Male, 86.3% Female, 13.7% |
| Race ratio | 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% | Black or African American, 3.3% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.1% Asian, 15.0% White, 67.9% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 5% |