Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products
What Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products Do
Sell goods for wholesalers or manufacturers to businesses or groups of individuals. Work requires substantial knowledge of items sold.
See full salary breakdown & percentiles →
Career Outlook
National employment outlook, 2024–2034.
- Related work experience
- None
- On-the-job training
- Moderate-term on-the-job training
- Self-employed
- 2.1%
Source: BLS Employment Projections — 2024-2034.
How Much Preparation Does This Take?
Job Zone 4 of 5Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed
- Experience
- A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations.
- Education
- Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.
- Job training
- Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.
Source: O*NET Job Zones.
Key Knowledge Areas
Subject-matter areas this occupation draws on most, per O*NET.
- Sales and Marketingimportance 4.9/5
- Customer and Personal Serviceimportance 4.8/5
- English Languageimportance 4.4/5
- Mathematicsimportance 3.9/5
- Transportationimportance 3.7/5
- Computers and Electronicsimportance 3.2/5
- Administration and Managementimportance 2.9/5
- Communications and Mediaimportance 2.8/5
Work Environment
What the day-to-day work setting is like, per O*NET.
- Contact With Others5.0/5
- Telephone Conversations5.0/5
- Work With or Contribute to a Work Group or Team4.9/5
- Deal With External Customers or the Public in General4.9/5
- E-Mail4.8/5
- Frequency of Decision Making4.7/5
Careers With Similar Skills
Occupations whose Transferable Skills profile most closely matches this one — a mathematical comparison, not observed data about people actually moving between these careers.
- Door-to-Door Sales Workers, News and Street Vendors, and Related Workers99% skill match
- Arbitrators, Mediators, and Conciliators97% skill match
- Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and Athletes97% skill match
- Travel Agents97% skill match
- Labor Relations Specialists96% skill match
- Advertising Sales Agents96% skill match
- Tax Examiners and Collectors, and Revenue Agents96% skill match
- Insurance Sales Agents96% skill match
Transferable Skills
Cross-functional skills this occupation draws on most, per O*NET — the kind that carry over to other careers.
- Social Perceptivenessimportance 3.8/5
- Persuasionimportance 3.8/5
- Negotiationimportance 3.8/5
- Coordinationimportance 3.1/5
- Service Orientationimportance 3.1/5
- Complex Problem Solvingimportance 3.1/5
- Judgment and Decision Makingimportance 3.1/5
- Time Managementimportance 3.0/5
Software & Technologies
Tools and software used in this occupation, per O*NET.
Hot Technologies
Other Software Used
- 3M Post-it App
- ACT! Premium
- Adobe Dreamweaver
- Advantage Signature Marketing Group Web Master
- Airtable
- Apache Groovy
- Apple Keynote
- Aptean Onyx CRM
Work Style
Personal work characteristics that matter most for this occupation, per O*NET.
- Perseverance
- Social Orientation
- Self-Confidence
- Achievement Orientation
- Optimism
- Dependability
- Initiative
Career Interests
This occupation’s RIASEC interest profile, per O*NET — how strongly it fits each of the six Holland interest types.
- EnterprisingHigh
- ConventionalMedium
- SocialLow
- RealisticLow
- InvestigativeLow
- ArtisticLow
This page includes information from the O*NET 30.3 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.
Where This Career Is Most Concentrated
Metro areas where sales representatives, wholesale and manufacturing, except technical and scientific products make up the largest share of local employment, relative to the national average (BLS location quotient).
- 1Elkhart-Goshen, IN2.33× national avg
- 2Wausau, WI1.76× national avg
- 3Cedar Rapids, IA1.72× national avg
- 4Oshkosh-Neenah, WI1.71× national avg
- 5Lafayette, LA1.70× national avg
Possible Career Moves
A computed starting point, not observed job-change data — see the full list for why each one might fit.
- Advertising Sales AgentsLateral Move
- Insurance Sales AgentsLateral Move
- Agents and Business Managers of Artists, Performers, and AthletesCareer Change
- Customer Service RepresentativesCareer Change
Related Education Programs
Schools that offer related fields of study, based on the NCES CIP-SOC crosswalk — not a guarantee that graduates enter this specific career.
Farm/Farm and Ranch Management
- Texas A&M University-College Station (College Station, TX)grads earn ~$77,479
- University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (Champaign, IL)grads earn ~$86,646
- Cornell University (Ithaca, NY)grads earn ~$145,218
- Iowa State University (Ames, IA)grads earn ~$67,529
- Oklahoma State University-Main Campus (Stillwater, OK)grads earn ~$60,830
Selling Skills and Sales Operations
- New York University (New York, NY)grads earn ~$120,018
- CUNY Bernard M Baruch College (New York, NY)grads earn ~$76,565
- Texas A&M University-College Station (College Station, TX)grads earn ~$93,141
- University of Wisconsin-Madison (Madison, WI)grads earn ~$82,081
- West Chester University of Pennsylvania (West Chester, PA)
Special Products Marketing Operations
- Fashion Institute of Technology (New York, NY)grads earn ~$60,504
- Florida State College at Jacksonville (Jacksonville, FL)grads earn ~$47,402
- Fashion Institute of Technology (New York, NY)grads earn ~$70,727
- Kent State University at Kent (Kent, OH)grads earn ~$61,055
- Saint Joseph's University - Philadelphia (Philadelphia, PA)grads earn ~$80,764