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The differences between sales support engineers and application 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 support engineer and an application engineer. Additionally, an application engineer has an average salary of $92,921, which is higher than the $78,335 average annual salary of a sales support engineer.
The top three skills for a sales support engineer include CRM, product line and sales process. The most important skills for an application engineer are technical support, java, and C++.
| Sales Support Engineer | Application Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $78,335 | $92,921 |
| Hourly rate | $37.66 | $44.67 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 118,608 | 111,338 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 6 |
A sales support engineer assists customers by dealing with complex issues and concerns, resolving them using their technical expertise. They usually communicate with customers using calls and correspondence, and through this, they also develop and deliver sales proposals, answer inquiries, and provide price quotes. Moreover, a sales support engineer also works to assist sales teams by conducting research and analyses to develop procedures that will optimize operations, producing data and guidelines, and creating sales strategies for profit growth.
An application engineer is responsible for creating and re-designing system applications based on clients' specifications and sales demands. Application engineers run diagnostic tests on software programs, identify areas of improvement, install necessary updates, upgrade optimization, revise system codes, and provide technical support for customers' needs. They also generate ideas and locate other business opportunities by analyzing current trends in the technology market that would help build revenues and increase profitability for the company. An application engineer must have a strong command of programming languages, software application processes, and general technology disciplines.
Sales support engineers and application engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Support Engineer | Application Engineer | |
| Average salary | $78,335 | $92,921 |
| Salary range | Between $52,000 And $116,000 | Between $69,000 And $125,000 |
| Highest paying City | Fort Collins, CO | Redwood City, CA |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | California |
| Best paying company | Agilent Technologies | Morgan Lewis |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Technology |
There are a few differences between a sales support engineer and an application engineer in terms of educational background:
| Sales Support Engineer | Application Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 72% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Mechanical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Georgia Institute of Technology |
Here are the differences between sales support engineers' and application engineers' demographics:
| Sales Support Engineer | Application Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 84.8% Female, 15.2% | Male, 87.4% Female, 12.6% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 1.6% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 8.0% Asian, 8.2% White, 75.7% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | Black or African American, 1.4% Unknown, 6.1% Hispanic or Latino, 6.7% Asian, 11.5% White, 74.0% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |