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The differences between technical sales engineers and field sales representatives can be seen in a few details. Each job has different responsibilities and duties. While it typically takes 4-6 years to become a technical sales engineer, becoming a field sales representative takes usually requires 2-4 years. Additionally, a technical sales engineer has an average salary of $88,623, which is higher than the $48,460 average annual salary of a field sales representative.
The top three skills for a technical sales engineer include customer service, sales process and product line. The most important skills for a field sales representative are excellent time management, customer service, and powerpoint.
| Technical Sales Engineer | Field Sales Representative | |
| Yearly salary | $88,623 | $48,460 |
| Hourly rate | $42.61 | $23.30 |
| Growth rate | 6% | 4% |
| Number of jobs | 161,743 | 228,254 |
| Job satisfaction | - | 5 |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| Years of experience | 6 | 4 |
A technical sales engineer is a sales professional who provides technical sales support and advice about the products and services. Your duties typically include consulting and selling on scientifically and technologically advanced products, organizing sales visits, and liaising contracts and terms and conditions. Additionally, you are expected to collaborate with the design, engineering, production, and research and development departments on how to modify products and services that meet customers' needs. You are also responsible for attending meetings, conferences, and trade shows.
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.
Technical sales engineers and field sales representatives have different pay scales, as shown below.
| Technical Sales Engineer | Field Sales Representative | |
| Average salary | $88,623 | $48,460 |
| Salary range | Between $63,000 And $122,000 | Between $26,000 And $88,000 |
| Highest paying City | San Francisco, CA | Seattle, WA |
| Highest paying state | Oregon | Washington |
| Best paying company | VMware | |
| Best paying industry | Telecommunication | Technology |
There are a few differences between a technical sales engineer and a field sales representative in terms of educational background:
| Technical Sales Engineer | Field Sales Representative | |
| Most common degree | Bachelor's Degree, 73% | Bachelor's Degree, 73% |
| Most common major | Electrical Engineering | Business |
| Most common college | Northwestern University | SUNY College of Technology at Alfred |
Here are the differences between technical sales engineers' and field sales representatives' demographics:
| Technical Sales Engineer | Field Sales Representative | |
| Average age | 44 | 47 |
| Gender ratio | Male, 88.6% Female, 11.4% | Male, 69.5% Female, 30.5% |
| Race ratio | Black or African American, 1.6% Unknown, 6.2% Hispanic or Latino, 7.7% Asian, 8.7% White, 75.5% American Indian and Alaska Native, 0.3% | 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 | 7% | 6% |