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The differences between sales support engineers and implementation 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 implementation engineer. Additionally, an implementation engineer has an average salary of $88,779, 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 implementation engineer are java, troubleshoot, and infrastructure.
| Sales Support Engineer | Implementation Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $78,335 | $88,779 |
| Hourly rate | $37.66 | $42.68 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 6% |
| Number of jobs | 118,608 | 91,303 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| 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 implementation engineer is responsible for evaluating the company's technology solutions to support business operations and processes. Implementation engineers assist with the overall technical design concept and diagnostic tests to ensure that the features and performance meet the highest quality standards and business requirements. They also identify the systems' potential failures and develop troubleshooting reports as necessary. An implementation engineer must have excellent communication and technical skills to strategize improvements on the systems' infrastructure for optimization.
Sales support engineers and implementation engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Support Engineer | Implementation Engineer | |
| Average salary | $78,335 | $88,779 |
| Salary range | Between $52,000 And $116,000 | Between $64,000 And $121,000 |
| Highest paying City | Fort Collins, CO | San Francisco, CA |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | California |
| Best paying company | Agilent Technologies | Apple |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Technology |
There are a few differences between a sales support engineer and an implementation engineer in terms of educational background:
| Sales Support Engineer | Implementation Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Stanford University |
Here are the differences between sales support engineers' and implementation engineers' demographics:
| Sales Support Engineer | Implementation Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 44 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 84.8% Female, 15.2% | Male, 83.7% Female, 16.3% |
| 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, 6.9% Asian, 10.7% White, 74.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |