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The differences between sales support engineers and product support 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 a product support engineer. Additionally, a product support engineer has an average salary of $90,379, 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 a product support engineer are product support, technical support, and troubleshoot.
| Sales Support Engineer | Product Support Engineer | |
| Yearly salary | $78,335 | $90,379 |
| Hourly rate | $37.66 | $43.45 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 2% |
| Number of jobs | 118,608 | 201,554 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Average age | 44 | 41 |
| 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.
A product support engineer is responsible for resolving technical issues of end-users regarding the products and services offered by the company. Product support engineers conduct troubleshooting operations for system failures and write resolution reports for reference. They also support the product analysts in improving the product's features and processes to prevent the reoccurrence of defects and maintain optimal performance. A product support engineer designs automation procedures and runs multiple diagnostic tests to ensure high-quality outputs and avoid operational delays.
Sales support engineers and product support engineers have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Support Engineer | Product Support Engineer | |
| Average salary | $78,335 | $90,379 |
| Salary range | Between $52,000 And $116,000 | Between $67,000 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 a product support engineer in terms of educational background:
| Sales Support Engineer | Product Support Engineer | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | Bachelor's Degree, 66% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Electrical Engineering |
| Most common college | Stanford University | Northwestern University |
Here are the differences between sales support engineers' and product support engineers' demographics:
| Sales Support Engineer | Product Support Engineer | |
| Average age | 44 | 41 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 84.8% Female, 15.2% | Male, 80.7% Female, 19.3% |
| 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, 3.4% Unknown, 4.6% Hispanic or Latino, 9.4% Asian, 13.0% White, 69.4% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.1% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 5% |