All careersBusiness & finance

Technical Sales Representative

$104,920
median / year
$52,600 – $200,440
what most earn per year (10th–90th percentile)

What the job actually is

Sell technical or scientific products to businesses, explain how they work, and match them to client needs.

You may also see this posted as: Inside Sales Representative, Marketing Representative, Sales Representative.

Where you work

Client sites, offices, and the road

The hours

Weekday hours with travel and deadlines

The day to day

What you'd actually spend time doing

  • Negotiate prices or terms of sales or service agreements.
  • Prepare and submit sales contracts for orders.
  • Visit establishments to evaluate needs or to promote product or service sales.
  • Maintain customer records, using automated systems.
  • Answer customers' questions about products, prices, availability, or credit terms.

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

PerseveranceSocial OrientationSelf-ConfidenceAchievement Orientation

Software that shows up in the work

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

Microsoft ExcelMicrosoft Office softwareMicrosoft OutlookSalesforce softwareAmazon Web Services AWS softwareApache Hadoop

By the numbers

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

Median pay
$104,920
per year
Hourly median
$50.44
per hour
What most earn
$52,600–$200,440
yearly, 10th to 90th percentile
Openings a year
~27,200
projected, 2024–34
Outlook to 2034
+1.9%
Little change
Working in the U.S.
284,800
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.

BLS estimates 2.1% of workers in this occupation are self-employed.

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: Bachelor's degree.

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 knowledgePersuasionRelationship buildingPresentation

The honest take

Selling complex or scientific products, where pay is strong if you can pair a technical grasp with people skills.

Standard Occupational Classification 41-4011. 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.