Other Sales and Related Workers

How to become a Sales Engineer

Official title: Sales Engineers

Also called: Business Development Engineer, Inside Sales Engineer, Product Sales Engineer, Sales Applications Engineer, Sales Engineer, Technical Marketing Engineer, Technical Sales Engineer

Sell business goods or services, the selling of which requires a technical background equivalent to a baccalaureate degree in engineering.

Main tasks

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.
Identify resale opportunities and support them to achieve sales plans.
Confer with customers and engineers to assess equipment needs and to determine system requirements.
Plan and modify product configurations to meet customer needs.

How to become one

To enter the occupation, sales engineers typically need a bachelor's degree in engineering or a related field. Sales engineers combine technical knowledge of the products or services they are selling with strong interpersonal skills.

Typical education to start: Bachelor's degree

Read the full guide from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics

Ways in

College: Engineering degrees, Offered by 36 universities in the US

Pay · Outlook · AI and this job

Median pay: $124,900 a year The middle half earn $92,890 to $161,230.
About 51,600 people work in this job now, and about 53,000 are projected by 2035. (+2.8%)
People already use generative AI for a good share of this work, which usually changes the job more than it replaces it. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as high.

Questions people ask

How do I become a Sales Engineer?

How much does a Sales Engineer earn in the US?

Median full-time pay is $124,900 a year (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics). The middle half earn $92,890 to $161,230.

Is a Sales Engineer a growing career in the US?

Yes. Employment is projected to grow 3% by 2035, from about 51,600 to about 53,000 people (U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics).

Do you need a degree to become a Sales Engineer?

Usually. 74% of people in this job hold a bachelor's degree or higher.

Will AI change the work of a Sales Engineer?

People already use generative AI for a good share of this work, which usually changes the job more than it replaces it. Microsoft Research rates its AI applicability as high.

Sources

Microsoft Research: Working with AI: AI applicability by occupation (2025-12-22 (built on O*NET 29.0)), CC BY 4.0, retrieved 2026-10-03
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Employment Projections (2025-35 (released 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Outlook Handbook (2025-35 edition (published 2026-08-27)), Public domain (BLS); photographs excluded, retrieved 2026-10-03
U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics: Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics (May 2025), Public domain (BLS), retrieved 2026-10-03

Updated 2026-10-03

This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database 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.