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The differences between sales engineers and regional sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a sales engineer, becoming a regional sales representative takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a sales engineer has an average salary of $93,727, which is higher than the $57,926 average annual salary of a regional sales representative.
The top three skills for a sales engineer include pre sales, customer service and sales process. The most important skills for a regional sales representative are customer service, healthcare, and regional sales.
| Sales Engineer | Regional Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $93,727 | $57,926 |
| Hourly rate | $45.06 | $27.85 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 132,324 | 230,746 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
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.
A regional sales representative is responsible for selling goods and services to their designated areas by interacting with potential customers, demonstrating the product's features and functions, and responding to their inquiries and requests. Regional sales representatives should be highly communicative to negotiate with the customers to increase product sales and boost the company's profitability. They also assist in strategizing sales pitches, including promotional offers and processing of marketing materials. A regional sales representative also asks for feedback from the customers to improve their products and meet the public's demands and current market trends.
Sales engineers and regional sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Engineer | Regional Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $93,727 | $57,926 |
| Salary range | Between $66,000 And $132,000 | Between $41,000 And $80,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | California |
| Best paying company | Meta | Varian Medical Systems |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a sales engineer and a regional sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Sales Engineer | Regional Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 77% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between sales engineers' and regional sales representatives' demographics:
| Sales Engineer | Regional Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 90.1% Female, 9.9% | Male, 72.6% Female, 27.4% |
| 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, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 6% |