A sales engineer is a type of engineer who’s tasked with organizing a company’s sales towards their partners. Typically, sales engineers would demonstrate various pieces of sophisticated equipment to potential buyers, usually in the business sector (and not to individual, personal clients). Sales engineers commonly work in teams and it’s not rare for them to be directly from the engineering team that’s designed the product in question to begin with.
The job of a sales engineer combines knowledge in both engineering as well as sales – a good sales engineer must not only be perfectly knowledgeable and educated in the technical aspects of the product they’re trying to sell, but also have a persuasive nature and a good ability to push products through the market. It’s a common perception that these two qualities are very rarely found in the same person, and thus skilled sales engineers are highly valued and sought after in many areas of the business world.
The job of a sales engineer can earn a considerably high salary, typically between $60,000 – $95,000. The job offers some good benefits, such as flexible working hours and good prospects for further development, and in general it’s seen as a great choice for those who’re able to cope with its high demands. Good sales engineers, as mentioned above, tend to be highly renowned and valued in the job market. On the other hand, this has lead to an oversaturation in some places, where the job doesn’t tend to be as lucrative as it usually is.