Summary Report for:
41-9031.00 - Sales Engineers
Sell business goods or services, the selling of which requires a technical background equivalent to a baccalaureate degree in engineering.
Sample of reported job titles:
Applications Engineer, Systems Engineer, Account Manager, Sales Engineer, Product Manager, Account Executive, Product Sales Engineer, Sales Executive, Technical Sales Manager
Tasks | Tools & Technology | Knowledge | Skills | Abilities | Work Activities | Work Context | Job Zone | Education | Interests | Work Styles | Work Values | Related Occupations | Wages & Employment | Additional Information
Tasks
- Plan and modify product configurations to meet customer needs.
- Confer with customers and engineers to assess equipment needs and to determine system requirements.
- Collaborate with sales teams to understand customer requirements, to promote the sale of company products, and to provide sales support.
- Secure and renew orders and arrange delivery.
- Develop, present, or respond to proposals for specific customer requirements, including request for proposal responses and industry-specific solutions.
- Sell products requiring extensive technical expertise and support for installation and use, such as material handling equipment, numerical-control machinery, and computer systems.
- Diagnose problems with installed equipment.
- Recommend improved materials or machinery to customers, documenting how such changes will lower costs or increase production.
- Prepare and deliver technical presentations that explain products or services to customers and prospective customers.
- Provide technical and non-technical support and services to clients or other staff members regarding the use, operation, and maintenance of equipment.
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Tools & Technology
Tools used in this occupation:
| Desktop computers |
| Mainframe computers |
| Notebook computers — Laptop computers |
| Personal computers |
Technology used in this occupation:
| Data base user interface and query software — IBM DB2; Microsoft SQL Server; Oracle DBMS; Sybase SQL Server |
| Electronic mail software — Microsoft Exchange; Microsoft Outlook |
| Enterprise resource planning ERP software — Hyperion Solutions Hyperion System 9 Bi+; Oracle PeopleSoft; SAP Business One; SAP BusinessObjects software |
| Graphics or photo imaging software — Graphics software |
| Presentation software — Microsoft PowerPoint; WebEx Sales Center |
| Spreadsheet software — Microsoft Excel |
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Knowledge
| Customer and Personal Service — Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction. |
| Sales and Marketing — Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems. |
| Engineering and Technology — Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services. |
| Design — Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models. |
| English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar. |
| Computers and Electronics — Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming. |
| Administration and Management — Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources. |
| Mathematics — Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications. |
| Mechanical — Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance. |
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Skills
| Persuasion — Persuading others to change their minds or behavior. |
| Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents. |
| Speaking — Talking to others to convey information effectively. |
| Active Listening — Giving full attention to what other people are saying, taking time to understand the points being made, asking questions as appropriate, and not interrupting at inappropriate times. |
| Judgment and Decision Making — Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one. |
| Social Perceptiveness — Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do. |
| Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions or approaches to problems. |
| Writing — Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience. |
| Complex Problem Solving — Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions. |
| Service Orientation — Actively looking for ways to help people. |
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Abilities
| Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand. |
| Oral Comprehension — The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences. |
| Speech Recognition — The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person. |
| Written Comprehension — The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing. |
| Speech Clarity — The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you. |
| Deductive Reasoning — The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense. |
| Inductive Reasoning — The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events). |
| Problem Sensitivity — The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing there is a problem. |
| Fluency of Ideas — The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity). |
| Information Ordering — The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations). |
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Work Activities
| Getting Information — Observing, receiving, and otherwise obtaining information from all relevant sources. |
| Selling or Influencing Others — Convincing others to buy merchandise/goods or to otherwise change their minds or actions. |
| Communicating with Persons Outside Organization — Communicating with people outside the organization, representing the organization to customers, the public, government, and other external sources. This information can be exchanged in person, in writing, or by telephone or e-mail. |
| Interacting With Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information. |
| Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems. |
| Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time. |
| Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job. |
| Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used. |
| Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person. |
| Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others. |
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Work Context
| Duration of Typical Work Week — Number of hours typically worked in one week. |
| Electronic Mail — How often do you use electronic mail in this job? |
| Telephone — How often do you have telephone conversations in this job? |
| Face-to-Face Discussions — How often do you have to have face-to-face discussions with individuals or teams in this job? |
| Letters and Memos — How often does the job require written letters and memos? |
| Work With Work Group or Team — How important is it to work with others in a group or team in this job? |
| Contact With Others — How much does this job require the worker to be in contact with others (face-to-face, by telephone, or otherwise) in order to perform it? |
| Indoors, Environmentally Controlled — How often does this job require working indoors in environmentally controlled conditions? |
| Structured versus Unstructured Work — To what extent is this job structured for the worker, rather than allowing the worker to determine tasks, priorities, and goals? |
| Coordinate or Lead Others — How important is it to coordinate or lead others in accomplishing work activities in this job? |
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Job Zone
| Title |
Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed |
| Education |
Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not. |
| Related Experience |
A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified. |
| Job Training |
Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training. |
| Job Zone Examples |
Many of these occupations involve coordinating, supervising, managing, or training others. Examples include accountants, sales managers, database administrators, teachers, chemists, environmental engineers, criminal investigators, and special agents. |
| SVP Range |
(7.0 to < 8.0) |
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Education
Percentage of Respondents |
Education Level Required |
| Not available |
Bachelor's degree |
| Not available |
Associate's degree |
| Not available |
Some college, no degree |
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Interests
Interest code: ERI
| Enterprising — Enterprising occupations frequently involve starting up and carrying out projects. These occupations can involve leading people and making many decisions. Sometimes they require risk taking and often deal with business. |
| Realistic — Realistic occupations frequently involve work activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They often deal with plants, animals, and real-world materials like wood, tools, and machinery. Many of the occupations require working outside, and do not involve a lot of paperwork or working closely with others. |
| Investigative — Investigative occupations frequently involve working with ideas, and require an extensive amount of thinking. These occupations can involve searching for facts and figuring out problems mentally. |
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Work Styles
| Cooperation — Job requires being pleasant with others on the job and displaying a good-natured, cooperative attitude. |
| Initiative — Job requires a willingness to take on responsibilities and challenges. |
| Independence — Job requires developing one's own ways of doing things, guiding oneself with little or no supervision, and depending on oneself to get things done. |
| Persistence — Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles. |
| Achievement/Effort — Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks. |
| Attention to Detail — Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks. |
| Dependability — Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations. |
| Integrity — Job requires being honest and ethical. |
| Stress Tolerance — Job requires accepting criticism and dealing calmly and effectively with high stress situations. |
| Adaptability/Flexibility — Job requires being open to change (positive or negative) and to considerable variety in the workplace. |
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Work Values
| Achievement — Occupations that satisfy this work value are results oriented and allow employees to use their strongest abilities, giving them a feeling of accomplishment. Corresponding needs are Ability Utilization and Achievement. |
| Working Conditions — Occupations that satisfy this work value offer job security and good working conditions. Corresponding needs are Activity, Compensation, Independence, Security, Variety and Working Conditions. |
| Relationships — Occupations that satisfy this work value allow employees to provide service to others and work with co-workers in a friendly non-competitive environment. Corresponding needs are Co-workers, Moral Values and Social Service. |
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Related Occupations
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Wages & Employment Trends
National
| Median wages (2010) |
$42.01 hourly, $87,390 annual |
| Employment (2008) |
78,000 employees |
| Projected growth (2008-2018) |
Average (7% to 13%)
|
| Projected job openings (2008-2018) |
35,000 |
| Top industries (2008) |
|
State & National
Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2010 wage data
and 2008-2018 employment projections
.
"Projected growth" represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2008-2018). "Projected job openings" represent openings due to growth and replacement.
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Sources of Additional Information
Disclaimer:
Sources are listed to provide additional information on related jobs, specialties, and/or industries.
Links to non-DOL Internet sites are provided for your convenience and do not constitute an endorsement.
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