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Sales Engineer

$124,900
median / year
$73,870 – $195,270
what most earn per year (10th–90th percentile)

What the job actually is

Sell complex scientific and technical products by explaining how they meet a customer's needs.

You may also see this posted as: Business Development Engineer, Product Sales Engineer, Technical Marketing Engineer, Inside Sales Engineer, Sales Applications Engineer, Technical Sales Engineer.

Where you work

Client sites, offices, and travel

The hours

Full time, some travel

The day to day

What you'd actually spend time doing

  • Develop, present, or respond to proposals for specific customer requirements, including request for proposal responses and industry-specific solutions.
  • Collaborate with sales teams to understand customer requirements, to promote the sale of company products, and to provide sales support.
  • Create sales or service contracts for products or services.
  • Visit prospective buyers at commercial, industrial, or other establishments to show samples or catalogs, and to inform them about product pricing, availability, and advantages.
  • Keep informed on industry news and trends, products, services, competitors, relevant information about legacy, existing, and emerging technologies, and the latest product-line developments.

Good fit if you like…

Enterprising

leading, persuading, selling, or turning an idea into action

Conventional

organizing information, following systems, and getting details right

Investigative

solving problems, analyzing evidence, and figuring out how things work

O*NET job zone 4 of 5

High preparation—usually a four-year degree plus experience—is common.

Work styles that matter most

DependabilitySocial OrientationPerseveranceAchievement Orientation

Software that shows up in the work

Examples employers report—not a checklist you must already know.

Amazon Web Services AWS softwareMicrosoft Azure softwareMicrosoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft PowerPointPython

By the numbers

May 2025 BLS wage & employment data · 2024–34 BLS employment projections.

Median pay
$124,900
per year
Hourly median
$60.05
per hour
What most earn
$73,870–$195,270
yearly, 10th to 90th percentile
Openings a year
~5,000
projected, 2024–34
Outlook to 2034
+5.5%
Faster than average
Working in the U.S.
51,790
people, nationwide

Openings a year counts new jobs plus the ones that open when people retire or move on — a truer picture of your odds than growth alone.

“Median” means half earn more and half earn less. Your city, employer, and years on the job move it a lot — that is what the 10th-to-90th range shows.

What it pays in your state

Statewide medians are a better starting point than the national number. Your city and experience still matter.

BLS state wage tables

How you get in

Typical starting education

Bachelor's degree

Training path: Engineering degree plus sales training.

Related work experience: None.

On-the-job training: Moderate-term on-the-job training.

License or certification

No license required to start in most places.

Check the path where you live

Licensing rules and available programs change by state. These federal tools take you to the current official listings.

What it takes

Technical knowledgeCommunicationSalesProblem-solving

The honest take

Sells complex technical products by explaining to business buyers how they actually work.

Standard Occupational Classification 41-9031. Pay and employment from the BLS May 2025 OEWS survey; outlook and openings from the 2024–34 employment projections; job context from the Occupational Outlook Handbook; tasks, interests, work styles, software examples, and job zone from O*NET 30.3. See something off? Tell us.