How to become a technical sales representative
Official title: Technical sales representative
Also called: Technical sales consultant, Technical sales engineer, Sales engineer, Product sales specialist, Equipment sales specialist, Computer sales representative
Technical sales representatives sell and promote goods for wholesalers and manufacturers of medical, scientific, engineering and electronic products.
Main tasks
- Sell medical, scientific, engineering and electronic products
- Contact potential customers
- Explain technical products and services
- Research customer needs
- Answer customer questions
- Negotiate prices and sales terms
- Prepare quotes and cost estimates
- Process sales and orders
How to become one
You need experience to become a technical sales representative. You usually need NCEA Level 3 to do the study or training for this job. Required: experience in similar work. Other requirements: a driver licence; a relevant tertiary qualification in sales or the industry you're working in.
Ways in
- University: Business & Commerce degrees, Offered by 6 universities in New Zealand
Pay · Past change · AI and this job
- Most common pay: $68,000 to $122,000 a year (median $91,000), a TEC estimate before tax.
- Lower: $54,000 a year · Upper: $168,000 a year
- TEC's pay figures are estimates only. TEC says they must not be used to set pay, in pay negotiations or in visa applications.
- Change in the number of people doing this job between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses: Steady (TEC). This is past change, not a forecast.
- People employed in the group Technical Sales Representatives: 4,821 at the 2018 Census and 5,844 at the 2023 Census (+21.2%). Past change, not a forecast.
- Generative AI could change some tasks in this job, by the ILO's global estimate.
Who does this work
- About 2,400 people did this job at the 2023 Census (TEC).
- In the group Technical Sales Representatives, 49% of workers are female (sex at birth, 2023 Census).
- Where people in the group Technical Sales Representatives work (2023 Census): Auckland 38.8%, Canterbury 14.8%, and Wellington 11.1%.
Related jobs
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Questions people ask
How do I become a technical sales representative?
You need experience to become a technical sales representative. You usually need NCEA Level 3 to do the study or training for this job. Required: experience in similar work. Other requirements: a driver licence; a relevant tertiary qualification in sales or the industry you're working in.
How much does a technical sales representative earn in New Zealand?
The Tertiary Education Commission estimates median pay at $91,000 a year, before tax. Most common pay is $68,000 to $122,000 a year.
Has the number of people working as a technical sales representative grown in New Zealand?
It has held steady: TEC records the number of people doing this job as steady between the 2018 and 2023 Censuses. This is past change, not a forecast.
Will AI change the work of a technical sales representative?
Generative AI could change some tasks in this job, by the ILO's global estimate.
Sources
- Tertiary Education Commission (Tahatu Career Navigator): Tahatu career ideas: descriptions, tasks, pay estimates, people employed, employment change 2018 to 2023, entry requirements, registration, interest scores (Site scrape 2026-10 (816 career ideas, sitemap lastmod 2026-10-01)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
- Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census totals by topic for individuals 2013, 2018, 2023 (CEN23_TBT_004): employed by occupation, ANZSCO V1.3, summed to unit group (2023 Census (CEN23_TBT_004)), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
- Stats NZ (via Figure.NZ): Census 2023: employed by regional council, occupation (ANZSCO V1.3 unit group) and sex at birth (2023 Census), CC BY 4.0 (Stats NZ), CC BY 3.0 NZ (Figure.NZ), retrieved 4 October 2026
- International Labour Organization, Generative AI and Jobs: A Refined Global Index of Occupational Exposure (ILO Working Paper 140, Gmyrek et al.) (ILO Working Paper 140, May 2025, Annex Table A1), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 4 October 2026
This content is sourced from the Tertiary Education Commission through the Tahatū Career Navigator website (www.tahatu.govt.nz) and used under the CC BY 4.0 licence. All or some of the information has been modified by Peernovo. TEC has not approved, endorsed or tested these modifications. TEC will not be held accountable for any errors within this content.
Qualification information from NZQA, used under CC BY 3.0 NZ.
This work is based on/includes Stats NZ's data which are licensed by Stats NZ for reuse under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International licence. Census data via Figure.NZ.
Includes information from O*NET OnLine by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA), used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications.
Sources: Tertiary Education Commission, Tahatū Career Navigator (career ideas, pay estimates, entry requirements and study options, CC BY 4.0, modified by Peernovo); Stats NZ, 2023 Census (via Figure.NZ) and the National Occupation List (CC BY 4.0); NZQA qualification information (CC BY 3.0 NZ); O*NET interest scores (CC BY 4.0); ILO global generative AI exposure index (CC BY 4.0). Links between career ideas and ANZSCO groups, degree fields and broad job groups are Peernovo's.
These results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Graduate outcomes: these results are not official statistics. They have been created for research purposes from the Integrated Data Infrastructure (IDI), which is carefully managed by Stats NZ.
Updated 4 October 2026