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The differences between sales engineers and sales/account 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 sales/account representative takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a sales engineer has an average salary of $93,727, which is higher than the $56,954 average annual salary of a sales/account representative.
The top three skills for a sales engineer include pre sales, customer service and sales process. The most important skills for a sales/account representative are customer service, CRM, and sales process.
| Sales Engineer | Sales/Account Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $93,727 | $56,954 |
| Hourly rate | $45.06 | $27.38 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 132,324 | 257,122 |
| Job satisfaction | 5 | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| 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 sales account representative is responsible for managing and responding promptly to customer complaints and queries of clients. They focus on customer concerns and contact prospects. They work on upselling or cross-selling products and services, collaborating with account executives, and prepare reports to upper management. This job requires you to be a goal-driven person, energetic, and have excellent communication skills. Moreover, this is a challenging job; at times, it requires being extra polite and calm in handling customer complaints and other related situations.
Sales engineers and sales/account representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Engineer | Sales/Account Representative | |
| Average salary | $93,727 | $56,954 |
| Salary range | Between $66,000 And $132,000 | Between $39,000 And $81,000 |
| Highest paying City | Washington, DC | Olympia, WA |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | Washington |
| Best paying company | Meta | Smartsheet |
| Best paying industry | Technology | Technology |
There are a few differences between a sales engineer and a sales/account representative in terms of educational background:
| Sales Engineer | Sales/Account Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 74% | Bachelor's Degree, 69% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between sales engineers' and sales/account representatives' demographics:
| Sales Engineer | Sales/Account Representative | |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 90.1% Female, 9.9% | Male, 57.8% Female, 42.2% |
| 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, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.6% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 6% |