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The differences between surgical sales representatives and field sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 1-2 years to become a surgical sales representative, becoming a field sales representative takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a surgical sales representative has an average salary of $73,379, which is higher than the $48,460 average annual salary of a field sales representative.
The top three skills for a surgical sales representative include medical sales, product knowledge and GYN. The most important skills for a field sales representative are excellent time management, customer service, and powerpoint.
| Surgical Sales Representative | Field Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $73,379 | $48,460 |
| Hourly rate | $35.28 | $23.30 |
| Growth rate | 4% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 124,729 | 228,254 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 85% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 2 | 4 |
A surgical sales representative is responsible for selling surgical devices for health care facilities with cost-efficient offers but high-quality standards. Surgical sales representatives negotiate contracts with existing and potential clients by discussing the features and benefits of their products that would attract the clients' purchasing decisions. They also manage their business proposals by sending out e-mail campaigns or personally visiting the clients' area. A surgical sales representative must have excellent communication and organizational skills, especially in identifying the recent medical technology trends that would generate more revenue resources for the business.
A field sales representative is an employee who is employed by business-to-business (B2B) and wholesale organizations to visit leads and sell products or services to their customers in person. Field sales representatives must attract new customers and win new accounts so that they can maximize profitability within their territory. They travel around their assigned territory and visit their customers regularly to educate them on how their products can benefit them. Field sales representatives must also maintain records of all sales leads and monitor the organization's competitor, new products, and market conditions.
Surgical sales representatives and field sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Surgical Sales Representative | Field Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $73,379 | $48,460 |
| Salary range | Between $47,000 And $113,000 | Between $26,000 And $88,000 |
| Highest paying City | - | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | - | Washington |
| Best paying company | - | VMware |
| Best paying industry | - | Technology |
There are a few differences between a surgical sales representative and a field sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Surgical Sales Representative | Field Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 85% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Business | Business |
| Most common college | University of Pennsylvania | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between surgical sales representatives' and field sales representatives' demographics:
| Surgical Sales Representative | Field Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 47 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 66.6% Female, 33.4% | Male, 69.5% Female, 30.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 3.8% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 13.9% Asian, 5.1% White, 73.3% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% | Black or African American, 3.9% Unknown, 3.7% Hispanic or Latino, 14.5% Asian, 5.2% White, 72.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.2% |
| LGBT Percentage | 6% | 6% |