How To Become A Technician/Sales Associate: What It Is and Career Path

What is a technician/sales associate and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A technician/sales associate works in a retail environment to assist customers with their technical needs and sell products. They demonstrate product features, troubleshoot issues, and recommend solutions. Technicians/sales associates use excellent communication skills to explain technical information to customers. They must also have strong sales skills to meet sales targets. Additionally, they may be responsible for performing repairs and maintenance on products as well as managing inventory and ordering supplies.

ScoreTechnician/Sales AssociateUS Average

Salary

2.8

Avg. Salary $35,654

Avg. Salary $59,228

Diversity

7.0

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.57%

Asian 7.66%

Black or African American 10.26%

Hispanic or Latino 19.41%

Unknown 5.31%

White 56.79%

Gender

female 26.91%

male 73.09%

Age - 39

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 39

Stress level

6.2

Stress level is manageable

7.1 - high

Complexity level

4.5

Complexity level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work life balance

8.5

Work life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

What are the pros and cons of being a technician/sales associate?

Pros

Opportunity for career advancement
Chance to work in a fast-paced environment
Opportunity to work in a team-oriented environment
Staying up-to-date with the latest products and trends
May provide employee discounts

Cons

Pressure to meet strict sales quotas
Chance of dealing with difficult customers
May have to deal with high-pressure situations
May have limited opportunities for time off during peak sales seasons
Physically draining tasks, such as lifting heavy boxes

Key steps to become a technician/sales associate

Explore technician/sales associate education requirements

Most common technician/sales associate degrees

Bachelor's

43.9 %

Associate

23.3 %

High School Diploma

22.2 %

Start to develop specific technician/sales associate skills

Skills	Percentages
Sales Floor	35.95%
Retail Environment	22.78%
Ladders	14.26%
Profitable Sales	10.54%
Tech Services	5.09%

Complete relevant technician/sales associate training and internships

Accountants spend an average of 1-3 months on post-employment, on-the-job training. New technician/sales associates learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a technician/sales associate based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real technician/sales associate resumes.

Research technician/sales associate duties and responsibilities

Contribute to marketing business online and manage Facebook page.
Provide apple sales and service.
Used Linux for hardware testing and monitoring.
Assist customers with system restores for windows operating system.

Prepare your technician/sales associate resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your technician/sales associate resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a technician/sales associate resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose from 10+ customizable technician/sales associate resume templates

Build a professional technician/sales associate resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your technician/sales associate resume.

Apply for technician/sales associate jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a technician/sales associate job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do technician/sales associates rate their job?

-/5

5 stars

4 stars

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1 star

Technician/sales associate reviews

A zippia user wrote a review on Jun 2021

Pros

I like mostly that I work with team oriented people. Some people that care and will help and that help others whether it's work related or not. That have good employee morale amongst each other not necessarily management but amongst each other.