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The differences between sales support engineers and sales associate and customer services 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 support engineer, becoming a sales associate and customer service takes usually requires 6-12 months. Additionally, a sales support engineer has an average salary of $78,335, which is higher than the $28,654 average annual salary of a sales associate and customer service.
The top three skills for a sales support engineer include CRM, product line and sales process. The most important skills for a sales associate and customer service are customer service, plumbing, and sales associates.
| Sales Support Engineer | Sales Associate And Customer Service | |
| Yearly salary | $78,335 | $28,654 |
| Hourly rate | $37.66 | $13.78 |
| Growth rate | 6% | -4% |
| Number of jobs | 118,608 | 298,588 |
| Job satisfaction | - | - |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | High School Diploma, 34% |
| Average age | 44 | 40 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 12 |
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.
Sales and customer service associates are employees who are responsible for closing out sales deals and attending to customer needs. They are in charge of selling company goods and services to potential clients, often citing the common needs of prospective clients to ensure sales. They also handle customer inquiries and complaints and try their best to mitigate any problems that would arise. They are expected to be experts on company products to ensure that they can provide the best service to customers. Sales and customer service associates should have strong interpersonal skills, customer service skills, and communication skills.
Sales support engineers and sales associate and customer services have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Sales Support Engineer | Sales Associate And Customer Service | |
| Average salary | $78,335 | $28,654 |
| Salary range | Between $52,000 And $116,000 | Between $21,000 And $38,000 |
| Highest paying City | Fort Collins, CO | Bellevue, WA |
| Highest paying state | Virginia | Connecticut |
| Best paying company | Agilent Technologies | GEICO |
| Best paying industry | Energy | Manufacturing |
There are a few differences between a sales support engineer and a sales associate and customer service in terms of educational background:
| Sales Support Engineer | Sales Associate And Customer Service | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 66% | High School Diploma, 34% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Business |
| Most common college | Stanford University | - |
Here are the differences between sales support engineers' and sales associate and customer services' demographics:
| Sales Support Engineer | Sales Associate And Customer Service | |
| Average age | 44 | 40 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 84.8% Female, 15.2% | Male, 39.8% Female, 60.2% |
| 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, 10.9% Unknown, 5.4% Hispanic or Latino, 22.0% Asian, 6.4% White, 54.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.7% |
| LGBT Percentage | 7% | 7% |