Sales Engineers
41-9031.00
Bright Outlook Updated 2024

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

Occupation-Specific Information

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.
  • Prepare and deliver technical presentations that explain products or services to customers and prospective customers.
  • Recommend improved materials or machinery to customers, documenting how such changes will lower costs or increase production.
  • Maintain sales forecasting reports.
  • Document account activities, generate reports, and keep records of business transactions with customers and suppliers.
  • Research and identify potential customers for products or services.
  • Secure and renew orders and arrange delivery.
  • Develop sales plans to introduce products in new markets.
  • Attend trade shows and seminars to promote products or to learn about industry developments.
  • Attend company training seminars to become familiar with product lines.
  • Arrange for demonstrations or trial installations of equipment.
  • Train team members in the customer applications of technologies.
  • Sell products requiring extensive technical expertise and support for installation and use, such as material handling equipment, numerical-control machinery, or computer systems.
  • Provide information needed for the development of custom-made machinery.
  • Provide technical and non-technical support and services to clients or other staff members regarding the use, operation, and maintenance of equipment.
  • Diagnose problems with installed equipment.
  • Write technical documentation for products.
  • Report to supervisors about prospective firms' credit ratings.
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Technology Skills

  • Access software — Citrix cloud computing software
  • Administration software — Cisco Systems CiscoWorks
  • Application server software — Docker Hot technology ; Kubernetes Hot technology
  • Authentication server software — Single sign-on SSO
  • Business intelligence and data analysis software — IBM Cognos Business Intelligence; IBM Cognos Impromptu; MapReduce big data software; MicroStrategy
  • Calendar and scheduling software — Scheduling software
  • Cloud-based data access and sharing software — Platform as a service PaaS; Software as a service SaaS
  • Cloud-based management software — Google Cloud software; Splunk Enterprise Hot technology
  • Communications server software — IBM Domino
  • Computer aided design CAD software — Autodesk AutoCAD Hot technology ; Dassault Systemes SolidWorks Hot technology
  • Content workflow software — Atlassian JIRA Hot technology
  • Customer relationship management CRM software — Microsoft Dynamics Hot technology ; Salesforce software In-Demand Hot technology
  • Data base management system software — Apache Cassandra Hot technology ; Apache Hadoop Hot technology ; Apache Pig; Teradata Database Hot technology ; 1 more
  • Data base reporting software — SAP BusinessObjects Crystal Reports
  • Data base user interface and query software — Amazon Web Services AWS software In-Demand Hot technology ; IBM DB2 Hot technology ; Microsoft SQL Server Hot technology ; Oracle Database Hot technology ; 4 more
  • Development environment software — C Hot technology ; Microsoft Azure software In-Demand Hot technology ; Ruby Hot technology
  • Electronic mail software — Microsoft Exchange; Microsoft Outlook In-Demand Hot technology
  • Enterprise application integration software — Enterprise application integration EAI software; Extensible markup language XML Hot technology
  • Enterprise resource planning ERP software — Hyperion Solutions Hyperion System 9 Bi+; Oracle PeopleSoft Hot technology ; SAP Business Objects; SAP software Hot technology ; 5 more
  • Expert system software — Ansible software Hot technology
  • Financial analysis software — Sales analysis software
  • Graphics or photo imaging software — Graphics software
  • Internet browser software — Web browser software
  • Internet directory services software — Microsoft Active Directory Hot technology ; Network directory services software
  • Internet protocol IP multimedia subsystem software — Voice over internet protocol VoIP system software
  • Network monitoring software — Wireshark
  • Network security and virtual private network VPN equipment software — Firewall software; Virtual private networking VPN software
  • Network security or virtual private network VPN management software — Cisco Systems VPN Client
  • Object or component oriented development software — C++ Hot technology ; Oracle Java Hot technology ; Perl Hot technology ; R Hot technology ; 1 more
  • Office suite software — Google Workspace software Hot technology ; Microsoft Office software In-Demand Hot technology
  • Operating system software — Apple iOS Hot technology ; Microsoft Windows Server Hot technology ; Shell script Hot technology ; UNIX Hot technology ; 3 more
  • Presentation software — Microsoft PowerPoint In-Demand Hot technology ; WebEx Sales Center
  • Process mapping and design software — Microsoft Visio Hot technology
  • Project management software — Microsoft Project Hot technology ; Microsoft SharePoint Hot technology ; Microsoft Teams Hot technology
  • Spreadsheet software — Microsoft Excel In-Demand Hot technology
  • Switch or router software — Border Gateway Protocol BGP Hot technology
  • Transaction security and virus protection software — McAfee; NortonLifeLock cybersecurity software
  • Video conferencing software — Microsoft Office Live Meeting
  • Web platform development software — Extensible hypertext markup language XHTML; JavaScript Hot technology ; PHP Hot technology ; React Hot technology ; 4 more
  • Word processing software — Microsoft Word Hot technology
Hot technology
Hot Technologies are requirements most frequently included across all employer job postings.
In demand
In Demand skills are frequently included in employer job postings for this occupation.

Occupational Requirements

Work Activities

  • Communicating with People Outside the 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.
  • 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.
  • Identifying Objects, Actions, and Events — Identifying information by categorizing, estimating, recognizing differences or similarities, and detecting changes in circumstances or events.
  • Working with Computers — Using computers and computer systems (including hardware and software) to program, write software, set up functions, enter data, or process information.
  • Estimating the Quantifiable Characteristics of Products, Events, or Information — Estimating sizes, distances, and quantities; or determining time, costs, resources, or materials needed to perform a work activity.
  • Establishing and Maintaining Interpersonal Relationships — Developing constructive and cooperative working relationships with others, and maintaining them over time.
  • Communicating with Supervisors, Peers, or Subordinates — Providing information to supervisors, co-workers, and subordinates by telephone, in written form, e-mail, or in person.
  • Thinking Creatively — Developing, designing, or creating new applications, ideas, relationships, systems, or products, including artistic contributions.
  • Updating and Using Relevant Knowledge — Keeping up-to-date technically and applying new knowledge to your job.
  • Making Decisions and Solving Problems — Analyzing information and evaluating results to choose the best solution and solve problems.
  • Evaluating Information to Determine Compliance with Standards — Using relevant information and individual judgment to determine whether events or processes comply with laws, regulations, or standards.
  • Organizing, Planning, and Prioritizing Work — Developing specific goals and plans to prioritize, organize, and accomplish your work.
  • Analyzing Data or Information — Identifying the underlying principles, reasons, or facts of information by breaking down information or data into separate parts.
  • Providing Consultation and Advice to Others — Providing guidance and expert advice to management or other groups on technical, systems-, or process-related topics.
  • Interpreting the Meaning of Information for Others — Translating or explaining what information means and how it can be used.
  • Processing Information — Compiling, coding, categorizing, calculating, tabulating, auditing, or verifying information or data.
  • Training and Teaching Others — Identifying the educational needs of others, developing formal educational or training programs or classes, and teaching or instructing others.
  • Documenting/Recording Information — Entering, transcribing, recording, storing, or maintaining information in written or electronic/magnetic form.
  • Developing Objectives and Strategies — Establishing long-range objectives and specifying the strategies and actions to achieve them.
  • Judging the Qualities of Objects, Services, or People — Assessing the value, importance, or quality of things or people.
  • Resolving Conflicts and Negotiating with Others — Handling complaints, settling disputes, and resolving grievances and conflicts, or otherwise negotiating with others.

Detailed Work Activities

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Work Context

Experience Requirements

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 real estate brokers, sales managers, database administrators, graphic designers, conservation scientists, art directors, and cost estimators.
SVP Range
(7.0 to < 8.0)

Training & Credentials

State training
Local training
Certifications
Find certifications nationwide

Apprenticeship Opportunities

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Worker Requirements

Skills

  • Persuasion — Persuading others to change their minds or behavior.
  • 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.
  • Critical Thinking — Using logic and reasoning to identify the strengths and weaknesses of alternative solutions, conclusions, or approaches to problems.
  • Judgment and Decision Making — Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
  • Reading Comprehension — Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work-related documents.
  • Social Perceptiveness — Being aware of others' reactions and understanding why they react as they do.
  • Complex Problem Solving — Identifying complex problems and reviewing related information to develop and evaluate options and implement solutions.
  • Negotiation — Bringing others together and trying to reconcile differences.
  • Active Learning — Understanding the implications of new information for both current and future problem-solving and decision-making.
  • Service Orientation — Actively looking for ways to help people.
  • Writing — Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
  • Systems Analysis — Determining how a system should work and how changes in conditions, operations, and the environment will affect outcomes.
  • Systems Evaluation — Identifying measures or indicators of system performance and the actions needed to improve or correct performance, relative to the goals of the system.
  • Time Management — Managing one's own time and the time of others.
  • Coordination — Adjusting actions in relation to others' actions.
  • Instructing — Teaching others how to do something.
  • Learning Strategies — Selecting and using training/instructional methods and procedures appropriate for the situation when learning or teaching new things.
  • Mathematics — Using mathematics to solve problems.

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.
  • English Language — Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
  • Mathematics — Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
  • 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.
  • Design — Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
  • Administrative — Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
  • Mechanical — Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.

Education

How much education does a new hire need to perform a job in this occupation? Respondents said:

  • 57%
     
    Bachelor’s degree required

Worker Characteristics

Abilities

  • Oral Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
  • 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).
  • 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.
  • Written Expression — The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
  • 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).
  • 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 that there is a problem.
  • Category Flexibility — The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
  • 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).
  • Near Vision — The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
  • Originality — The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
  • Number Facility — The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
  • Mathematical Reasoning — The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
  • Memorization — The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
  • Speed of Closure — The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.

Interests

Interest code: EC
Want to discover your interests? Take the O*NET Interest Profiler at My Next Move.
  • Enterprising — Work involves managing, negotiating, marketing, or selling, typically in a business setting, or leading or advising people in political and legal situations. Enterprising occupations are often associated with business initiatives, sales, marketing/advertising, finance, management/administration, professional advising, public speaking, politics, or law.
  • Conventional — Work involves following procedures and regulations to organize information or data, typically in a business setting. Conventional occupations are often associated with office work, accounting, mathematics/statistics, information technology, finance, or human resources.

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.

Work Styles

  • Attention to Detail — Job requires being careful about detail and thorough in completing work tasks.
  • Integrity — Job requires being honest and ethical.
  • Dependability — Job requires being reliable, responsible, and dependable, and fulfilling obligations.
  • 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.
  • 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.
  • Analytical Thinking — Job requires analyzing information and using logic to address work-related issues and problems.
  • Persistence — Job requires persistence in the face of obstacles.
  • 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.
  • Leadership — Job requires a willingness to lead, take charge, and offer opinions and direction.
  • Innovation — Job requires creativity and alternative thinking to develop new ideas for and answers to work-related problems.
  • Self-Control — Job requires maintaining composure, keeping emotions in check, controlling anger, and avoiding aggressive behavior, even in very difficult situations.
  • Achievement/Effort — Job requires establishing and maintaining personally challenging achievement goals and exerting effort toward mastering tasks.
  • Social Orientation — Job requires preferring to work with others rather than alone, and being personally connected with others on the job.
  • Concern for Others — Job requires being sensitive to others' needs and feelings and being understanding and helpful on the job.

Workforce Characteristics

Wages & Employment Trends

Median wages (2023)
$56.23 hourly, $116,950 annual
State wages
Local wages
Employment (2023)
59,700 employees
Projected growth (2023-2033)
Faster than average (6% to 8%)
Projected job openings (2023-2033)
5,800
State trends
Top industries (2023)

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2023 wage data and 2023-2033 employment projections . “Projected growth” represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2023-2033). “Projected job openings” represent openings due to growth and replacement.

Job Openings on the Web

State job openings
Local job openings

More Information

Professional Associations

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National Associations
Accreditation, Certification, & Unions